In the News
We talked to a nonprofit education support organization Connected Lane County to hear how they are endeavoring to provide relevant education that sets our youth up for success.
Annual Fix-it Fair is hosted at Connected Lane County’s Spark at Booth-Kelly
Fix-it Fair allows youth and young adults to bring in items that need repair. Local “fixers” provide guidance and teach participants how to fix items that might otherwise be thrown out. See it in the news below! KATU2 Reuse and repair: Learn repair skills at Springfield’s Fix-It Fair this Novemberby News Staff
Connected Lane County helps provides books to more than 2,400 children
BookFest was established seven years ago by Connected Lane County and United Way of Lane County. Each year, elementary school students are able to pick out five free books to keep! Check out the 2024 news coverage below. KEZI 9 News: Lane County’s BookFest 2024 provided books to more than 2,400 childrenBy: Ryan Bonham
Connected Lane County is the beneficiary of Market Fest 2024
Connected Lane County was the nonprofit beneficiary of the 5th annual Market Fest event hosted by Obie Companies at 5th Street Public Market. WaFD bank contributed a $10,000 grant, and Connected Lane County will receive a portion of the proceeds from vendor sales, supporting youth in our community. See it in the news! KEZI 9…
Invention Club expands accross middle schools in Lane County
Connected Lane County will expand its Invention Club to middle schools across the County. Invention Club is a STEM-based learning program in collaboration with Oregon MESA that culminates in a MESA showcase. Check it out in the news! Portland State University: Oregon MESA Expands with Two New Regional Centers in Washington County and Lane Countyby…
KMTR News Coverage: STEM Opportunities in Schools
Connected Lane County received $5,000 in grant money from the Pacific Power Foundation to expand Invention Club, a STEM-based learning experience, into Lincoln Middle School in Cottage Grove. To learn more about the story, check out the KMTR news coverage below! “STEM opportunities coming to Cottage Grove School thanks to $5K grant” by Dannie Condon.
Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention News
Connected Lane County piloted Direct Cash Transfers for Lane County youth. See the news coverage below! KLCC Executive Director Heidi Larwick and Program Lead Annie Dropek (pictured above) sit down with KLCC Reporter Michael Dunne to discuss Connected Lane County’s pilot program for Direct Cash Transfers to prevent youth homelessness. Listen to the interview to…
EWEB Industry Tour News Coverage
In March 2024, Connected Lane County coordinated a tour of EWEB’s facility. Dozens of youth from schools across Lane County came to EWEB to explore the Utility Service Industry. The high school youth learned about various high-wage, high-demand jobs and saw how a large utility company like EWEB operates. The youth visited various stations and…
Endless Mileage Project News Coverage
The Agency worked with Endless Mileage to create new tree tags that display athletes’ finishing times. The Endless Mileage is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering sustainable environments and programming that inspires the next generation of track and field athletes to break barriers. Read more!
Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Congresswoman Val Hoyle visit Connected Lane County’s Spark at Booth-Kelly
On Thursday, February 22, 2024, Connected Lane County hosted the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, and Congresswoman, Val Hoyle, to provide a tour of Spark at Booth-Kelly and a roundtable discussion with program youth about their experiences at Connected Lane County. It was a wonderful experience for youth and industry partners to share…
marketingJAM makes waves in a three-day weekend competition
marketingJAM, the three-day marketing competition, wrapped up a successful showcase! We had 12 teams and saw competitors from Bethel, Creswell, Junction City, Siuslaw, Springfield, and 4J. Teams took on real-world challenges from local nonprofits, including Springfield Education Foundation, Lane Workforce Partnership, City Club of Eugene, and Positive Community Kitchen. Marmalade Marketeers from Creswell High School…
“Sparks” will soon be flying at the Booth-Kelly Center in Springfield — ones that will intersect community, education, and business for the county’s young and underserved population. This spring, Connected Lane County...
Siuslaw’s Business Tech students competed in an event in Eugene from Jan. 20-22. It was Business teacher Eddie Meilke’s team’s first competition — something that clearly had no barring on the team’s ultimate potential.
Between tree farming, horseback riding, sports marketing, construction, coding, computer programming, and more, eighth-graders who attended the Middle School Career Expo each found out about jobs they had never heard of before.
Eighth graders from around Lane County made their way to Spark on 7th to participate in Connected Lane County's annual Middle School Career Exploration event.
— KVAL
"Every child in Oregon deserves an education that will give them an equal shot at success in our modern economy,” Brown said. “A deep understanding of computer science is a critical skill for today’s workforce."
Oregon Governor Kate Brown visited Spark on 7th... She’s dedicating 5 million dollars in emergency education funds to provide grants, with special consideration for programs that reach women, people of color, and rural communities.
— KLCC
BookFest, a community-wide program hosted by United Way of Lane County and Connected Lane County, began in 2018 in response to the gaps in reading scores in local schools. BookFest gets books into the hands of K-2 students around the county.
— KMTR
It all started when Danielle was introduced to Connected Lane County and their Navigate Program, which provides workforce development training opportunities to young people ages 14-24. They helped her land a job at St. Vincent DePaul, and explore...
With the help of a local construction company, one 17-year-old is gaining hands-on experience that is helping him understand and discover a career path that fits best for him.
— KEZI
From Dec. 3 through Dec. 5, the Siuslaw business and technology program competed in the annual codeORcreate Hack-a-thon. This is the third consecutive year the team has entered this competition. This is also the third straight year SHS has taken 1st place honors in the category of game design and development.
Spark on 7th is Connected Lane County’s new space where community, education, and industry come together to support Lane County youth for invention, education, and career-connected learning. Spark on 7th has hosted a number of tech industry partners and collaborations including Trifoia, CodeNinjas, Palo Alto Software, Hunter Communications, Pronoia Tools
— Sally Bell, Technology Association of Oregon
We focus on STEM, Career Connected Learning, Early Literacy, and education and workforce re-engagement. In July 2021, we opened a new space in downtown Eugene called Spark on 7th. Spark on 7th is a place where community, education, and industry come together to support Lane County youth.
Oregon Community Foundation's IGNITE program inspires regional partnerships to increase STEM opportunities for youth that experience the opportunity gap.
Inspired by the local efforts of Connected Lane County and Youth Era, Hunter Communications decided to donate internet and phone service, as well as sound devices to Connected Lane County’s new Spark on 7th building and Youth Era’s Drop-in Shelter.
Connected Lane County opened Spark on 7th in 2021 to help teach youth technical skills. Spark on 7th is the newest — and largest to date — initiative by Connected Lane County, a local nonprofit focused on improving student success for historically underserved populations around Lane County.
— Becky-Jo Samples for City of Eugene Downtown News
The buzz in the room was palpable—30 students tinkering, creating, programming, and learning about technology. They were part of Spark on 7th’s first camp, an invention lab where students were tasked to invent a new technology following an air quality theme, mentored by local industry professionals.
Media Inquiries
If you need information for newspaper, TV, radio, or other media reports, contact Becky-Jo Samples, Marketing Director, at beckyjo@connectedlane.org.