Pioneer Relief Nursery receives grant from Wildhorse Foundation for facility improvement!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: September 1st, 2026

Contact: Elizabeth Hoffman, (541) 377-7435, libbyh@pioneerreliefnursery.org

Pioneer Relief Nursery receives grant from the Wildhorse Foundation for Facility Improvement

Pioneer Relief Nursery will improve our Therapeutic Classrooms with a $15,000 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation.

Please give a description of how the grant will affect your service or project and any other benefits received from receiving this grant. You may want to include a quote from one of the project’s or organization’s leaders.

Pioneer Relief Nursery puts a lot of focus on ensuring that our classrooms are safe and reflect the high quality that we know the children in our care deserve. Our staff spend many hours carefully planning the classroom environment to be welcoming, safe, and calm. In a busy classroom, walls require frequent cleaning and are subject to dents and dings that require regular repair to ensure safety. The Facility Improvement grant provided by Wildhorse Foundation will be used to improve the safety, durability, and overall quality of our classroom environments by installing rigid vinyl wall protection panels along the lower half of classroom walls. These durable, easy-to-clean panels will help protect walls from everyday wear, damage, and frequent cleaning while creating a safer, more functional space for children and staff. This improvement will extend the life of our classroom spaces and help us maintain welcoming, high-quality environments where children can learn, play, and thrive.

Each year, the Wildhorse Foundation makes grants to eligible nonprofit, government, and Tribal organizations within the homeland area of the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla people. Also eligible for funding are Tribal government agencies or Native American charitable organizations with their base of operations within Oregon, as well as national or regional Indian organizations. The Wildhorse Foundation has awarded a total of over $20 million in grant funding since its establishment in 2001. Grants are awarded on a quarterly basis with the deadlines being January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. For more information, visit the Foundation’s website at www.thewildhorsefoundation.com.

Pioneer Relief Nursery is a family strengthening agency that focuses on partnering with families to increase safety, stability, and connection. One of our most important program components is our Therapeutic Classrooms for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Our classrooms are busy spaces where children can grow and develop with safety and loving guidance. We understand how important early childhood education is and take our role in children’s lives seriously. We want our classrooms to always reflect how important this work is. With frequent use, classroom walls require regular maintenance and frequent intensive repair. The photo above shows our toddler classroom after many hours of patching, repair, and painting this August. We are looking forward to the installation of the wall protection panels so that our preparation for future school years will be much less time consuming. We look forward to sharing updates as this project comes to life!

About the Wildhorse Foundation: The fund reflects the commitment of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to take a proactive, positive role in the well-being of the community. Funds, derived from a percentage of revenues from Wildhorse Resort & Casino, are managed and distributed by a Board of Directors comprised of community leaders and representatives of the CTUIR.