This fall, the Eugene Education Foundation awarded 51 enrichment grants totaling $169,599 to classrooms across 4J. These grants reach every grade band in the district: 45 percent went to elementary schools, 20 percent to middle schools, 18 percent to high schools, and 18 percent to district-wide programs that touch multiple schools at once.

Keeping kids fed, safe, and supported

The largest share of this year’s funding, nearly 21 percent, went toward PE and adaptive supports. That includes a $9,947 grant for Inclusion on Bikes, which builds an adaptive bike fleet and gives free refurbished bicycles to students in need, and $10,000 for All-Abilities Sports Awareness Week, which brings adapted sports like wheelchair basketball and goalball into elementary and middle school gyms.

Basic needs made up another meaningful piece of the pie. A $10,000 grant is funding clothing closets, laundry facilities, and food support systems across middle schools, giving students long-term access to essentials that make it easier to stay in class and focused on learning.

After-school programs stay open

Nearly 15 percent of this year’s grants supported after-school care, largely through EEF’s investment in the BEST program (Boosting and Enriching Students Today). Facing significant budget cuts for 2026-27, BEST sites across the district received a combined $25,000 to maintain academic intervention, arts instruction, and hands-on STEM and literacy support for hundreds of students who rely on the program every afternoon.

Literacy and libraries

Literacy programs and library refreshes accounted for over 13 percent of this year’s awards. Grants funded new nonfiction science collections, expanded Spanish-language titles, and updated fiction for schools where library budgets haven’t kept pace with a changing student body. One elementary school used its grant to replace a 27-year-old science collection and grow its representation of BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women authors. Another is building a monthly parent book study, complete with childcare and shared meals, to bring families into their kids’ literacy development.

Arts, music, and classroom enrichment

Arts and music made up close to 11 percent of this year’s funding, and classroom enrichment another 12 percent. Highlights include transportation and tickets for more than 1,200 elementary students to attend the Eugene Symphony at the Hult Center, guitars for a new high school guitar class, and a basket-weaving workshop led by a Lane Arts Council artist that connects fourth graders to Indigenous studies through hands-on art.

Other classroom enrichment grants rebuilt a school garden with twelve raised beds for science and nutrition education, added outdoor fitness equipment to combat sedentary recess time, and funded a full day of hands-on science with the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for nearly 460 K-5 students.

Field trips and everyday access

Field trip grants, while a smaller share of this year’s funding, removed real barriers for students. Grants covered transportation and entry fees for underserved and high-mobility students to take part in local and out-of-town trips they otherwise couldn’t afford, connecting classroom learning to real-world experience.

New this year: an artists-in-residence grant

Alongside this year’s enrichment grants, EEF is investing an additional $30,000 to fund artists-in-residence for Title 1 elementary schools. The donation will bring working artists directly into classrooms that serve our highest-need students, giving kids access to professional arts instruction that many schools can no longer fund on their own. We’re actively fundraising to grow this program to reach more schools next year. If you’d like to support it, reach out to learn how to give.

Thank you

None of this happens without the community that funds it. Thank you for making another year of grants possible for 4J students and teachers.

Over holiday break, a 4J family experiencing homelessness had something most of us take for granted: a safe place to sleep. Thanks to the Eugene Education Foundation’s Rosie’s Fund, they spent the holidays in a warm hotel room instead of a van. They were together, comfortable, and safe.

This is what Rosie’s Fund does. It removes barriers so kids can be kids, and families can stay together.’

Rosie’s Fund was started by a generous 4J educator who believed that students experiencing severe trauma deserve more than our good intentions. They deserve real help, right when they need it most. What began as a $100,000 gift has grown into a lifeline for elementary families in crisis.

The fund operates on a simple belief: when a child’s immediate needs aren’t met—when they don’t have a safe place to sleep, food to eat, or basic stability—they can’t learn fractions or write an essay. They’re in survival mode. And they need our community to show up.

Rosie’s Fund provides emergency support to elementary families and students in 4J experiencing severe trauma. Whether it’s securing temporary housing, accessing mental health resources, or covering other critical needs, the fund steps in to provide what families need to move forward.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, which means educators don’t have to wait for a funding cycle. When a student is in crisis, help can happen now.

You can help

If you’d like to support families in crisis by contributing to Rosie’s Fund, we’d be grateful for your generosity. Every donation honors the legacy of the educator who started this fund and helps us continue providing real support when families need it most.

Touchdowns scored by the Ducks at Autzen Stadium this football season turned into a $40,000 donation for the Eugene Education Foundation (EEF) through OnPoint Community Credit Union’s “Touchdown for Teachers” campaign.

Since 2022, OnPoint has committed $1,000 per University of Oregon touchdown at Autzen Stadium, up to $40,000 annually. This year’s contribution brings the three-year partnership total to $120,000, making it one of the most significant education investments supporting Eugene School District 4J teachers and students.

OnPoint presented the donation on the field at Autzen Stadium during the Nov. 22 University of Oregon football game. Brad Unger, OnPoint’s Coburg Road branch manager and EEF board member, and Laura Brown, executive director of EEF, accepted the check.

“Teachers know what works in their classrooms. When we fund their vision, we see remarkable growth happen for our 4J students,” says Brown. “With OnPoint’s generous partnership, we’re able to do that across dozens of projects and classrooms every year.”

At ECCO High School, art supplies from an EEF-funded grant helped one sophomore discover she was an artist, which was something she didn’t believe about herself just months before. “I didn’t know I could do this,” she said after completing her first painting. “I didn’t think I was an artist until now.” Her work was soon featured publicly at the New Zone Art Gallery in downtown Eugene, where she and several classmates sold their artwork, earning recognition from the broader arts community.

Similarly, at Churchill High School, a teacher brought published author and ultramarathoner Emily Halnon to campus through an EEF grant. Four male juniors stayed for her writing workshop and volunteered to share their work aloud, behavior their teacher had never seen before in regular class. “Students who are unengaged came alive,” the teacher observed. “They were inspired and engaged.”

“These moments remind us exactly why ‘Touchdown for Teachers’ matters,” said Unger. “When we invest in students and schools, we’re investing in our community’s future. OnPoint believes in teachers. We believe in their ideas. And that belief transforms how students experience school.”

Dr. Larry Hirons, a South Eugene High School graduate from the class of 1959, credits much of his success to his exceptional educators. About 25 years ago, Larry sought to thank his retired educators by sending each of them thoughtful handwritten notes of gratitude. Months later, a handful wrote back. Their responses revealed what educators often don’t hear: how much they’ve positively impacted lives.

Today, Hirons is amplifying his vision in partnership with the Eugene Education Foundation (EEF). EEF, a local nonprofit that has supported Eugene School District 4J since 1993, is promoting their annual Thank-a-Thon. This event is now a community-wide campaign that invites students, families, and community members to write letters of gratitude to 4J teachers, coaches, counselors, and staff. Presented by SELCO Community Credit Union, the initiative aims to celebrate and recognize the educators who influence the lives of our students.

Hirons has pledged $150 for every personalized note that is delivered to an educator up to nearly $18,000 to bring this vision to life.