Strong, healthy, growing communities are good for the area and good for our company, and we want to do our part to make our communities better places to live. Each year, we proudly support and participate in a number of community events and activities.
“Excellence in Leadership” Scholarship Program
In 2002, we launched our “Excellence in Leadership” scholarship program, which is designed to benefit local graduating high school seniors, and college freshmen, sophomores and juniors that have permanent residency in Tillamook County. Graduating high school seniors in Morrow County are also eligible.
June Dairy Parade
The Tillamook County June Dairy Parade and Festival is a celebration of the County’s dairy industry and heritage. When the event was in danger of being canceled in 2002 due to lack of funding, we took over sponsorship to keep this popular tradition alive.
Taste of Tillamook County
The Taste of Tillamook County celebrates the county’s rich and diverse food industry. We participate each year as a presenting sponsor and vendor. We also help plan the event, which started in 2003, and continue that support to the present. As a vendor, we arrange for a local high school organization or club to staff the booth. In return, they keep all proceeds.
Southern California Park Cleanups
We support many community events in Southern California and have arranged multiple park cleanups in and around Los Angeles, including four in Santa Ana and one in El Monte. We were very honored to receive a 2005 Community Building Award from the city of Santa Ana.
Community Outreach
The cooperative plans and supports a number of community-based programs in the communities in which we operate.
In Oregon
Each year, we donate to more than 200 local and statewide organizations, many of which support agriculture and the local and state dairy industries. These include local food banks, Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), 4-H, Future Farmers of America (FFA), Ag-in-the-Classroom, and the Tillamook and Morrow County fairs, among others.
We recently dedicated a portion of the proceeds of the sale of our new Tillamook Orange Cream ice cream in Oregon and Southwest Washington to the Oregon Youth Soccer Association.
Additionally, our sales team supports and participates in events that benefit a variety of charitable organizations across the Pacific Northwest. We also make political contributions to support bills that promote agriculture and/or the dairy industry.
Outside Oregon
Hurricane Katrina devastated many communities on the Gulf Coast. We sent nearly 30,000 pounds of cheese to the region to aid victims. In 2005, we sponsored a soccer tournament in the Los Angeles area called Copa Tillamook. More than 5,000 boys and girls participated in the event.
Employee Volunteerism
We are deeply involved in our communities, including our employees and our owners. We privately contribute time and money to a variety of organizations and events, including the annual United Way campaign, Relay for Life, Taste of Tillamook County, as well as programs at our local churches, children’s schools and other community groups.
