One caring adult can make a world of difference for a child.

Studies show that early and consistent contact between a child and a concerned adult can have a dramatic, positive impact on that child’s future. That’s why PGE has long embraced the idea of mentoring, and why we encourage and support our employees who mentor and volunteer with youth through a variety of community programs.

Here are some of the major mentoring programs that we support:

Oregon Mentors
PGE was among the founding members of Oregon Mentors, a business-led, community-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to the dramatic expansion of quality mentoring throughout Oregon. The idea behind Oregon Mentors is simple: when we invest today in expanding our community’s capacity to mentor our youth, we will see an incredible return in the lives of our children and the health of our communities. Learn more on the Oregon Mentors Web site.

SMART
Start Making A Reader Today, or SMART, is a state-wide reading program that brings together thousands of Oregonians to help kindergarten through third grade children read and succeed. SMART’s vision is simple yet profound — to transform our children’s future through reading. Through caring relationships with adult volunteers, SMART instills self-confidence and a lifelong love of books and learning in children who need extra help. Many PGE employees volunteer with this program each year. PGE awards $250 to the SMART program in their honor, which amounted to an $10,000 contribution in 2006. Learn more on the SMART Web site.