Community Articles

Over the course of ten years, Yoncalla School District leaders and community members, especially parents of young children, have walked side-by-side reinventing the elementary school’s approach to family and child support.

Nestled on the western slopes of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, east of the ridge that separates Highway 203 from North Powder, five students and two local ranchers plot their morning’s work.

In the wake of 2020’s devastating Slater Fire, a group of leaders in Happy Camp, California and the Karuk Tribe rallied to fill a critical void in their community: child care.

In 1971, a group of concerned residents in Hood River identified a need for a residential treatment facility for troubled youth. They launched The Next Door out of a rented farmhouse, offering treatment and beds to 10 youth.

Almost two years ago, the Almeda Fire engulfed over 2,500 homes in a community already struggling with a dire shortage of affordable housing units.

 “The Ford Institute Leadership Program’s vision of community vitality and building capacity has been realized in amazing ways in many communities,” explains Mary Ward from her Southern Oregon home.

In 2016, Mario Jimenez Sifuentez published ‘Of Forests and Fields: Mexican Labor in the Pacific Northwest.’ His book shares the story of Mexican immigrants who, out of view of most Oregonians, became the foundation of our agriculture economy.

As the French Creek fire burned in the night outside of Glide on Sept. 7, Abigail Malek posted to social media: “If you have friends out there, check with them to see if they need any help.”

When it comes to keeping the most vulnerable residents safe and healthy, the actions of community leaders throughout Oregon demonstrate that community building and public health create a powerful combination. 

Bilingual public education, traffic safety and a vision for more inclusive, united communities motivated residents in Molalla to get involved. The path to creating the change they wanted?

Welcome to the issue archive for Community Vitality, a storytelling publication published by The Ford Family Foundation from 2000 through 2021.