Summer 2025
REV Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 4
Child Care in Union County
To help strengthen support for working families, Union County and the Rural Engagement and Vitality Center (REV) are examining the issues of early childhood care in the county.
Throughout late July and August, REV held a series of in-person sessions for families and child care providers to hear their experiences with finding and/or providing this critical service. On August 15, a survey was launched to gather input from local parents, guardians, and caregivers to better understand the accessibility, affordability, and overall impact of child care in Union County.
The survey—open now through Friday, October 17, 2025—is designed for Union County residents who are 18 or older and who regularly care for at least one child ages 0–5 living in their household. Participants will help shape local and regional efforts to strengthen child care options, and their input will also inform a broader early childhood research project across Eastern Oregon.
The project is funded by the National Association of Counties (NACo) through the Rural Leaders for Economic Mobility (RLEM) initiative—a national program supporting county leaders in pursuing effective, evidence-based strategies to help individuals and families move out of poverty. Union County is one of only 10 rural counties in the nation selected for the program.
The survey can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/r/unioncountychildcare; it is available in English and Spanish.
GRACE NOTE
Our summer edition of the REV newsletter is fittingly coming on the heels of “back-to-school season.” We blinked and summer is drawing to a close. I am personally excited about crisp fall mornings, but less enthusiastic about earlier sunsets.
REV’s summer traditionally begins with the Cottonwood Crossing Summer Institute for high school students and K–12 teachers. For the first time in its long history, we had to cancel the high school program due to the Ferry Fire that swept through Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Thankfully, the park’s structures were spared, and we were still able to host the Teacher Institute the following week. Educators came from across Oregon, from a one-room schoolhouse to larger districts, to share and learn together. We are already anticipating next year, when students will be able to study wildfire recovery in real time as the Canyon regenerates.
My summer included extensive travel and engagement across Eastern Oregon and beyond. I visited Treasure Valley Community College, connected with the Eastern Oregon Border Board, joined League of Oregon Cities regional meetings, and went door-to-door in Morrow County to listen and learn from residents. In July, I had the privilege of gathering in Philadelphia with county officials from across the nation to explore strategies for advancing rural communities. It was encouraging to see the common challenges that unite rural leaders everywhere and share effective strategies. It also reinforced the importance of local engagement. Consider this a call to action to participate in your local democracy: join your next county commission or city council meetings because your voice matters.
Closer to home, I spent July and August hosting focus groups with parents and child care providers in Union County. The stories I heard were both heart-wrenching and inspiring. Parents spoke of their struggles to patch together child care, providers are stretched thin, but underneath the challenges were stories of support and hope for a better future. These conversations revealed both the urgency of the challenges around child care and the strength of our community’s commitment to finding solutions. Alongside Commissioner Anderes and Alexia Nice, I am deeply grateful to everyone who has shared their experiences and ideas. Together, we are exploring solutions to increase child care access and affordability, a critical step for families and the local workforce alike.
At REV, we know that building strong communities and implementing positive change takes many forms and many people. We are fortunate to work alongside dedicated partners, expert consultants and faculty, students who are eager to work on community benefit projects, generous funders, and the countless “cheerleaders” who want to see Eastern Oregon communities thrive.
Thank you for being part of this work. Whether you participate in a community meeting, respond to a survey, share your story in a focus group, or make donations to causes you care about, you are helping shape a vibrant and prosperous future for Eastern Oregon. Together, we’ll keep making it happen.
Grace Donovan
Executive Director
CURRENT PROJECTS
Working Toward Safe Drinking Water in West Glen
The second of three community meetings to discuss preferred solutions for safe drinking water in West Glen was recently held, with more than 80 people in attendance.
West Glen lies within the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, where many domestic wells test far above the EPA’s nitrate limit of 10 parts per million. To protect residents’ health, the State of Oregon is currently funding free water delivery for households with contaminated wells until a permanent public water system is available. Residents are eligible to receive 25 gallons each month; any needs beyond that, households supplement with purchasing water. These efforts is the short-term solution while the community, county, and state continue working together on long-term solutions.
REV was contracted by Morrow County to conduct community engagement and facilitate three public meetings where residents can share their input on preferred solutions.
The near-term goal is to secure a stable, permanent source of safe drinking water for West Glen residents. In the long term, Morrow County, state agencies, and regional partners are also exploring strategies to restore the aquifer and address regional groundwater contamination.
The next community meeting has been rescheduled for October 15, 6–8 p.m. The Sage Center, Boardman.
Faculty partner Dr. Dustin Ellis (Political Science) is supporting this effort, and Dr. Sandra Nava Nieto (Spanish) has provided translation assistance. All meetings and materials are offered in both Spanish and English.
RECENT EVENTS / PROJECTS
REV’s Summer Outdoor Education Programs: Teaching in the Heart of Cottonwood Canyon
This summer, REV celebrated the return of the Cottonwood Canyon Teachers Institute at Cottonwood Canyon State Park.
Although the Cottonwood Crossing Student Institute for high schoolers was canceled this year due to the Ferry Fire that began south of the park on June 12, we are grateful all park facilities—including the Experience Center, cabins, and campgrounds—were spared. With power and water restored, Cottonwood Canyon remains a vibrant setting for outdoor learning.
Award-Winning REV Project Showcased on the Global Stage
Dr. Daniel Costie, Eastern Oregon University professor, represented REV at the 2025 EPIC-Network Conference, held June 16–19 in Chicago in partnership with the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress. He presented Collaborative Decision-Making: Fostering Connections with Communities, Holistic Solutions: Integrating Food, Energy, Water, and Infrastructure, highlighting REV’s applied research and community partnerships in Eastern Oregon.
The presentation featured the Rural Transportation Equity project, a state-funded initiative recommended by Governor Kotek’s Racial Justice Council. Conducted in Morrow County—where 39% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino and 18% are foreign-born—the project engaged student researchers and community partners to address barriers to transportation access for disadvantaged populations.
The project’s goals included increasing ridership of fixed-route and demand-response transit services, raising awareness of existing options, and providing recommendations to improve accessibility and equity in rural transit systems.
This initiative was honored with a 2024 state award for community engagement, recognizing the project’s innovative approach to combining research, student learning, and meaningful collaboration with local communities.
Oregon Frontier Innovation Hub
Frontier Oregon Innovation Hub Awarded State Grant to Support Entrepreneurs
In August, Business Oregon and the Oregon Innovation Council (Oregon InC) announced the intent to award $465,000 in Regional Innovation Hub grant funding to the Frontier Oregon Innovation Hub, led by the Rural Engagement & Vitality (REV) Center at Eastern Oregon University.
The Frontier Oregon Innovation Hub provides technical assistance, mentorship, networking, and access to resources for innovation-based entrepreneurs across Eastern Oregon. This new grant will enable the Hub to expand its work supporting high-growth, scalable business concepts, helping innovators connect with capital, talent, and collaborative opportunities.
Regional Innovation Hubs are a central strategy of Oregon’s 10-Year Innovation Plan, designed to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems statewide. By enhancing coordination of services and resources, the program fosters a culture of innovation while ensuring Oregon’s entrepreneurs have the support they need to succeed.
Trailblazers at the Table: Oregon’s CPG Frontier
This August, the Oregon Frontier Innovation Hub teamed up with Next Level Strategy to spotlight the future of consumer packaged goods (CPG) in Oregon. Through a dynamic LinkedIn Live series—The Trailblazers’ Table: Exploring Oregon’s CPG Frontier—entrepreneurs, experts, and leaders came together to dig into the realities of growing CPG startups in our region.
Over several sessions, speakers explored everything from marketing and sales to operations and scaling, all with an eye toward strengthening Oregon’s broader CPG ecosystem. The conversations highlighted both the challenges and opportunities for innovators in rural and urban communities alike, offering practical takeaways and sparking new connections across the state.
If you missed the live discussions, don’t worry—you can still catch the recordings and hear directly from Oregon’s CPG trailblazers. Watch them here.
OPPORTUNITIES
Whether it’s helping with our social media platforms or working with youth and helping them explore the benefits of living in the eastern Oregon landscape, we have paid internships available for EOU students.
for EOU students
If you are or know of any EOU students looking for experiential learning opportunities, have them check our Student Internships.
for EOU faculty
EOU faculty members looking for opportunities to collaborate and give students a real-world experience in their chosen field, see the model REV uses and projects we’ve done.
for area community leaders
If you are a community leader seeking support for an initiative or challenge in your community, see how REV works with partners and connect with us to determine if REV is the right partner for you.
Follow REV on social media to stay informed on its events and projects.
HOW TO SUPPORT REV
The Rural Engagement & Vitality Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which creates partnerships between Eastern Oregon University and entities in eastern Oregon to enhance the vitality of the region and develop tomorrow’s rural workforce and leaders. Please consider making a donation. Your financial support enables all the programming we offer to continue and grow.
About the REV Newsletter
Summer 2025
Volume 2, Number 4
The newsletter of the Rural Engagement & Vitality (REV) Center is a quarterly publication designed to inform its audience about activities of the center. For more information about this newsletter, contact Terri Kaiser, Editor, PO Box 31, La Grande, OR 97850.
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