Grant funds have again saved the afterschool program at McNary Heights Elementary.

For the second year in a row, the Umatilla School District ended the 2010-11 school year unsure if the $70,000 program would continue because of funding, but school officials said with the receipt of two grants, the program will continue.

McNary Heights has received a $40,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, an organization dedicated to improving life in Oregon through effective philanthropy, and a $30,000 grant from the Silver Family Foundation, a group that supports non-profit educational opportunities for children.

Now in its sixth year, the afterschool program is staffed by teachers, volunteers, community members and high school students. Students select what class to participate in before the session begins, and during the program, each receives an hour of a chosen enrichment activity, such as dance, scrapbooking, Lego Science, video, life sports or computer software. Each student, regardless of class, also receives a meal and 20 minutes of academic assistance.

In the past, the program served between 220 and 240 students each year; last year, more than 430 students participated.

With the grants, McNary Heights will operate the full program next year, which, according to former assistant principal Bryan Long, includes 96 days of after-school programing in three eight-week sessions.

Last year, the program was funded through a $60,499 grant from the Oregon Community Foundations Eastern Oregon Regional Action Initiative (RAI), a program designed to distribute funds to programs in nine Eastern Oregon counties.

The Umatilla School District would like to celebrate the continued support of the Oregon Community Foundation, and we welcome the Silver Family Foundation as financial partners of the McNary Heights After-School Program, Long said in a press release. We are very appreciative of their support and excited for the opportunity for our students.