There are many Hood River service organizations that provide great benefit back to the local community such as the Lions, Elks, Kiwanis, and Rotary, but one such group is rarely noticed. It is the Philanthropic Educational Organization, or P.E.O. as it is known, which is a women’s only group dedicated to funding post-secondary educational opportunities for other women, said a press release.
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There are 225,000 P.E.O. members in over 6,000 chapters across the United States and Canada, 150 of which are in Oregon. Here in the Gorge, there’s a P.E.O. chapter in Hood River, one in White Salmon, and three in The Dalles.Â
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P.E.O. is an International organization where women celebrate the advancement of women, educate women through scholarships, grants, awards, loans, and stewardship of the four-year Cottey College for Women in Missouri, and motivate women to achieve their highest potential.
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In 2019, the Hood River P.E.O. chapter awarded over $4,200 in scholarships to Hood River Valley High School graduates Andrea Quintana Morales and Estefani Reyes Morales, plus a single mother of two attending Columbia Gorge Community College.
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Previous Hood River graduates Elizabeth Bailey, Payton Rigert and Alina Watt were also each awarded a $2,500 scholarship for excellence in leadership, academics, extracurricular activities, community service and potential for future success. Low interest loans (2 percent) for a total of $38,000 were arranged for three other women presently in undergraduate and post graduate studies.
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Hood River P.E.O. generates scholarship funds through an annual rummage sale in July and a Holiday Tea in November. This year’s rummage sale will be this Saturday, July 20 at the Pine Grove Grange, 2835 Van Horn Drive, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with prices reduced after 1 p.m. The sale will include household items, recreational equipment, clothing, jewelry, furniture and other items and all proceeds will go toward scholarships for women.
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