Coe Building Centennial on May 5 for oldest school in district

History Museum of Hood River County marks the 150th anniversary of the first school district in Hood River County with a temporary exhibit that opened this week.

Memorabilia from Coe will be on display in the building and historic photos will be taken at the event and made available to the attendees.

Anyone who has historic mementos or old photos from Coe is encouraged to bring it to the “show and tell” session.

Also on the agenda is the singing of the birthday song and birthday cake.

The event is sponsored by the Hood River County Education Foundation (www.hrcef.org).

and donations to the Foundation’s Opportunity Campaign to support participant fees for middle school sports and activities will be encouraged.

HRCEF annually awards over $50,000 in college scholarships to Hood River Valley High School graduating seniors and to HRVHS graduates who are sophomores, juniors and seniors in college.

In addition, HRCEF provides over $20,000 annually in teacher grants to Hood River County School District teachers and staff for innovative teaching ideas that cannot be funded in regular school budgets.

A new initiative, the HRCEF Opportunity Campaign, is now raising funds to assure that all middle school students are able to participate in fee-based sports and activities. With continuing cuts requiring “Pay-to-Play” for middle school sports, many families cannot afford the costs. Participation has dropped by 50 percent.

HRCEF has pledged to help raise $50,000 per year for three years to support middle schoolers via the Opportunity Campaign. With the help of generous grants from the Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital Foundation, Hood River Lions, and donations in memory of Jim Mallon, most of the funds for 2016-17 have been raised. Students who need financial support to play are now being recruited at both middle schools.

See the HRCEF webpage at www.hrcef.org.