Community Service Programs at Winona Grange #271

Once upon a time, Winona Grange, along with every other Grange ever established, served a local, rural, agricultural community. Time has changed the landscape of America. Although many Granges still find themselves in rural settings, Winona Grange #271 is now in the heart of a larger metropolitan population center. From the beginning, Granges played a pivotal role in securing essential supplies for the farmers, collective bargaining in their marketing efforts, legislation for education of their children, and a central location for social recreation, to name but a few. A longer list can be found on the Grange History page. Winona Grange recognizes that some community challenges are still with us today. Hunger is still a significant challenge in Oregon. With all the shortfalls in education funding, we see that there are goals we can work toward in concert with our local schools. And, every new generation will need to include some farmers, for every new mouth needs to be fed. To address these needs, Winona Grange #271 has ongoing programs in these areas: Grange Gardens, to coordinate efforts to grow fresh vegetables and fruits for our local Food Bank, Words for Thirds, to supply local Third Graders with appropriate Dictionaries, Agricultural Scholarships, awarded to Tigard-Tualatin High School Seniors each year. More information on all of these programs will be found below. Social recreation: The Grange Hall, with its hard maple dance floor, is still just as good to dance in, as it was back when it was first built in 1940. And, two local groups of Square Dancers still dance there, too. Our Hall schedule can be found on the The Hall page.

Gardens for the Food Bank

Grange Gardens The Gardens for the Food Bank program coordinates community efforts to grow fresh vegetables and fruits as donations for the local Food Bank. Individuals and groups may participate. You can grow an extra row, or a whole garden, on your own property. Or, if you don't have sufficient space where you are, a Winona Grange member has made space available for others to use at a nearby Tualatin Century Farm. Space provided has been tilled, with organic mulch, and irrigation water is available on site. Bring your seeds, starts and plants, and grow along with the rest of us. You may also donate unused, viable seeds, starts and plants for others to use, either at the Grange Garden, or in other locations. The Grange will see that whatever is donated, gets put to good use. All produce and proceeds go to the local Food Bank. To get started, email us with your name and contact information, and we will direct you to the Grange Garden project. Or, let us know how you would like to participate.

Words for Thirds

The Grange is proud to support The Dictionary Project through its Words for Thirds program. Through the tireless efforts of the Grange's network of more than 300,000 volunteers, America's oldest rural and agricultural organization has presented third grade students across the nation with more than 100,000 dictionaries. Each year, Winona Grange provides a Third Grade class with dictionaries, one for each student. Many Oregon schools have had to make difficult decisions regarding funding for textbooks, dictionaries and other reference materials; the Grange is happy to be of help in this vital area. If you or your group are interested in partnering with us in this effort, please feel free to contact us.

Winona Grange Agricultural Scholarships

Seniors in the Tigard-Tualatin School District intending to enter a college degree program leading to a career in Agriculture, be it in Farming, Forestry, or Veterinary Medicine, are eligible to apply for a $2500 Agricultural Scholarship from Winona Grange #271. Most years, Winona Grange makes one scholarship available; however, there have been notable exceptions. In 2007, three scholarships were awarded to students from Tualatin. For 2008, one scholarship has been awarded to Jake Moriniti, a Senior from Tigard High. The Award was formally made at Tigard High's Senior Awards Night, May 27th, by Dolores Crossway, Winona Grange's Master. Jake will be enrolled in the Forestry Program at Oregon State University this coming Fall. Students in the Tigard-Tualatin School District can obtain more information from their Guidance Counselors. The Application Form has all the necessary details and requirements.