Press Release - October 1, 2008
Bienestar Receives Grant from BPA for New After-School Science Program

Bienestar is pleased to announce the receipt of a grant in the amount of $500 from the Bonneville Power Administration to support a new afterschool science program for children in grades K-8.

Bienestar is a nonprofit community development corporation providing affordable housing for low-income working families in Washington and Columbia counties.  The organization provides resident services programs for adults and children who live in the ten multifamily properties owned by Bienestar.  In partnership with the Oregon Health Career Center and volunteers from Intel, the AKA (All Kids Are) Science program was launched by Bienestar for children in grades 2 and 3 who live in our affordable housing properties in Hillsboro.  Staff and volunteers received training from Oregon Health Career Center in the delivery of their one-hour, eight week science curriculum this summer.  The class that started this week is one of several planned for different age groups throughout the year.

Pictured Left and Right: Children from Montebello and Sierra West Apartments at first AKA Science Club doing a physics experiment.

The AKA Science program is a hands-on, one hour activity-based science learning projects designed to interest elementary school-age children in science.

Sarah Anderson of OHCC explains that “turning kids onto science at an early age will help to direct them toward future careers in health and engineering.” That is also the hope of Bonneville Power Administration in providing the funding to launch the first year of programs.  It is also the hope of Intel volunteers, led by Emilio Canas, who will deliver programs to children at Bienestar properties this year as part of Intel’s 40th anniversary commitment of volunteer hours to the community.

“Most folks in the northwest often don’t realize the great work that Bonneville Power Administration does behind the scenes to help young people become the energy scientists of the future.”, says Executive Director Karen Shawcross.  “We are grateful to BPA and to BPA engineer and Bienestar board member Don Ruff for this generous donation that will capture the children’s interest in science early on.  Our mission is to build housing, hope and futures for the well-being of working families, and we hope that some of our resident children will be motivated toward science study and careers in health and engineering.”

BPA is a not-for-profit federal electric utility that markets more than a third of the electricity consumed in the Pacific Northwest.  The power is produced at 31 federal dams and one nuclear plant in the Northwest and is sold to more than 140 Northwest utilities.  BPA operates a high-voltage transmission grid comprising more than 15,000 miles of lines and associated substations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

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