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Help Terra Linda build a running track

Act quickly to support Terra Linda Elementary School’s effort to build a standard quarter-mile all-weather track for students and the community. They need to raise $32,000 by January 27 to be eligible for a $20,000 grant.

Terra Linda has been part of the Cedar Mill community for over 40 years. The school is located just east of 143rd, between Cornell and Burton. A Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) park is located north of the school, but it has a severe drainage problem and wasn’t considered for this project.

The track will go around the margins of the current sports fields west of the school. The project will also improve drainage for those fields.

An initial anonymous donation of $25,000 got the group effort underway. The Track Committee has currently raised $31,608, which, once they receive the match, will be $67,716.60. In December, they submitted two grant applications: one to the Nike Community Impact Fund for $20,000, and the other to the Trailblazers, “Take it to the Court for Education” fund for $10,000. Another anonymous donor has stepped up to match whatever the group can raise. If they win those grants, the donor will also match them.

Want to be a part of the project? Any size donation is helpful, and whatever you donate will be doubled! Visit the website: TerraLindaPTC.org/track and make a donation today. For only $250 you can have your family’s name permanently stenciled onto the track!

Apart from any grants, Nike will double-match donations that its employees make through their WE donating portal. So a Nike employee donation actually generates an amount six times the original donation. For example, a Nike employee can donate $25, which is matched with $50 by Nike = $75. This is then matched by the anonymous donor with another $75 = $150 total!! Or a $250 donation through Nike actually yields $1500 with all the matching donations, plus a name on the track! Visit the group website for a link to the Nike donation portal.

THPRD provides maintenance for sports facilities at area schools so that its sports leagues can use them outside school hours. This is expected to occur with this facility. Design and engineering for the project will be jointly undertaken by THPRD and the Beaverton School District (BSD). A joint meeting is scheduled for mid-January, according to volunteer Project Chair Kelly Olson.

Parent volunteers recently established a Running Club to encourage kids to get enough exercise. Participation is free and all students are members. Over 82% of students have been participating. Olson explains that because the students currently have to run on grass, they’re prevented from using the field when it’s wet, even if it’s not raining. A permanent all-weather track will enable everyone to get more exercise, more safely.

The initial fundraising push should raise enough to fund an asphalt track. Olson says their planned auction in April should raise enough additional money to upgrade the project to a rubber track (their auction goal is $25,000). They may be able to work with Nike’s preferred builder, who would likely employ “regrind,” a surface incorporating ground-up recycled shoes. That decision will be up to BSD, she says. In all, the project is expected to cost around $160,000.

Kelly Olson, who has two children already at Terra Linda, and another child who will be in Kindergarten in the fall, says, “I think it is important for our community to know that our school has 39% economically disadvantaged students. Most people assume that because Terra Linda is located ‘N of 26’ that our school is comprised of privileged students like the surrounding schools. We want to emphasis that this diversity makes our school unique and special.”

She also notes that many local businesses are stepping up to support the school effort, including ProFocus, TapWire, and World of Smiles Pediatric Dentistry. This is an exciting project that will be a welcome addition to the community around the Terra Linda Elementary School. Please consider donating today. Every dollar will be at least doubled!

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