Our Foundation’s Archives

With approximately 3,000 opportunities annually for children to participate in life-expanding activities, the Mudd Nick Foundation focuses on developing Learning Experiences for children that complement, enhance, and broaden what they learn in the classroom. We direct our efforts and energies on delivering impactful, stimulating, fun, and meaningful experiences. In close partnership with the North Tillamook County schools, we identify and fund opportunities to which local children would not otherwise have access.

These learning experiences focus on providing children:

• access to the arts and cultural activities both within their local area and beyond
• opportunities to participate in athletic programs
• ways to build self-esteem and self-reliance
• a chance to give back to their community.

Elementary Schools

• Community Arts Project(170) – School-wide learning about artists and time periods will give students the opportunity to use their creative skills to create art through guided art lessons at Garibaldi Elementary School.
• STEM & Science Fair(155) – Students will participate in this school-wide science fair designed to inspire students with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) activities and stations.
• Team Tillamook Forestry Center(65) – 2nd and 3rd graders will learn about the life cycle of salmon and forests.
• Team Animal Habitats, Adaptation, and Traits(35) – Kindergarteners and 1st graders will learn about the lives of animals.
• Battle of the Books Competition (100) – 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders will read books from a list provided by the State of Oregon, followed by a team competition about their readings.
• Science Assembly(170) – Two entomologists will conduct a school-wide assembly focusing on bugs and present the knowledge gained from their field research to teach about biodiversity and the special roles arthropods have on the planet.
• Art Moms(195) – Monthly art instruction will be furnished by local artists to all grade levels at Nehalem Elementary School.
• Gilbert House Children’s Museum in Salem(49) – 1st and 2nd graders will visit this interactive museum named in honor of American inventor Alfred Carlton Gilbert, which displays several of his inventions, most notably the Erector.
• Team Weather, Climate & Wings(60) – 3rd and 4th graders will learn about weather and climate.
• Theatre, Lunch, Barnes & Noble in Portland(53) – 4th and 5th graders will go on a field trip to Portland to attend the theatre, have lunch and visit a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
• Science Trip to Portland Zoo(42) – 3rd and 4th graders will visit the Portland Zoo.
• Talented and Gifted Students (TAG) (30) – TAG students will learn about science from science teacher Kim Miller one day after school per month.
• Fire Department, Tillamook County Library, Nehalem Bay State Park(45) – Kindergarteners and 1st graders will go on a field trip to tour a fire station, the Tillamook County Library, and Nehalem Bay State Park.

• Washington DC trip (15) – 8th graders will spend Spring Break touring historical Jamestown, Williamsburg, a Civil War battlefield, museums, and landmarks in Washington DC.
• Oregon Children’s Theatre, Lunch(70) – 7th graders will watch a play in Portland.
• Oregon State University(75) – 8th graders will tour Oregon State University to experience campus life and learn about STEM careers.
• Newport Aquarium(72) – 6th graders will go on a field trip to the Newport Aquarium.
• TAG Camp(25) – TAG students in 7th and 8th grade will be given unique learning experiences by the Portland Saturday Academy Group.
• OMEA District III Band Festival(22) The band will participate in this festival.
• Women in Trades(40) – This will expose 8th-grade girls to trades traditionally under-served by women.
• Tech Club Lego League & Mini Maker Faire(30) – This will support the after-school robotics club’s competition and enable attendance at the Faire, which showcases inventions, creativity, and resourcefulness.
• Battle of the Books (50) 7th and 8th graders will participate in this competition focused on reading.

• Future Business Leaders Association (FBLA) State Tournament(30) – This funds the students’ participation in the Oregon FBLA State Conference.
• Robotics (20) – Students who have developed robots will participate in the FIRST Tech Challenge League.
• Career Expo in Portland(120) – Students will participate in this expo, which will expose students to careers and post-secondary options.
• Western Oregon University Anatomy Visit(15) – 11th and 12th-grade students will have the opportunity to see a real human cadaver as part of their health science studies.
• Girls Sport Leadership(10) – Girls will attend this sports leadership conference in Portland where Nike and Adidas employees will discuss careers in sports.
• Arizona Spring Break Baseball Tournament (15) – The varsity baseball team will play in a tournament in Arizona and watch some professional spring training games.
• ASPIRE(75) – This series of experiences will help students prepare for post-high school life.
• Art Literature Partnership(12) – This program will broaden students’ understanding through visual and written artistic creation.
• Oregon Music Education Association District III Band Festival(30) Students in the band will participate in this festival.
• CTE Field Trip(33) – The program will help students learn about careers in the construction trade and training opportunities.
• Portland Trail Blazer Game(18) – Students will attend a pre-season basketball game in a Blazer skybox arranged by Bucky Buckwalter and hosted by the Blazers.
• Cezar E. Chavez Leadership Conference(13) – This conference will provide cultural awareness, increase pride, and present ideas about making college an option for Spanish-speaking students.
• Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Conference(1) – A student with leadership skills will meet similarly gifted students from around the state at this conference.
• Engineering Expo at Oregon State University(5) – Students will visit Oregon State University to see senior engineering projects and learn about engineering careers.
• Fire School (8) – This initial training in firefighting will give students an advantage if they apply for summer jobs or internships with the Oregon Department of Forestry or for other natural resource jobs.

• PX2 Weekend Camp(30) – This program will be available to all 7th graders interested in learning the power of positive thinking and ways to open the door to positive thinking and to create an avenue to set and then reach goals.
• 4H Camp(30) – Students will attend this week-long summer camp in the Salem area for boys and girls.
• Missoula Children’s Theatre(60) – The theatre will be open to all children interested in having a week-long theatre experience, which will include auditions, rehearsals, and a final production attended by the community.
• NKN Youth Athletics(100) – A grant to this organization provides structured competitive sports for children from 3rd to 6th
• Summer Art Camp (60) – Three one-week camps for campers ages 5 to 12 will enable hands-on, creative art projects and team-building activities.
• Oregon Writers Festival(29) – Students in grades 4th through 12th from across Oregon will gather in small groups, listen to published authors talk about their craft, share their work with peers from other schools, and compose new pieces in workshops run by local authors and teachers.
• Portland Opera to Go(440) – Middle and high school English Language Art classes will receive 30 minutes of instruction by the actors prior to attendance of the performance of Puccini’s La Boheme at the school.
• S.H.E. Warriors(20) – This girl's recreational running group trains girls for 5K races and instructs them on developing a healthy lifestyle.
• North County Recreation District (NCRD) Swim Program(200) – This donation supports swim instruction for children at NCRD.
• Forest to Sea Summer Camp(25) – Children ages 7 to 10 will learn about the connections between people and the natural world.
• Gardening and Cooking Day Camp(24) – The camp will introduce children to the farm-to-table concept and provide hands-on activities and exploration of the science behind the food.

• Great Big Art Bash(GBAM) (18) – Students will attend this comprehensive week-long day camp for art and music during the summer conducted by staff and volunteers at Bay City Art Center; it also enables parents to have nearly 25 hours of respite care relief while their children attend the camp.
• Rock Climbing Wall (20) – The installation of a rock-climbing wallboard at Nehalem Elementary School in the sensory room will help students modulate their sensory systems.
• Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools (100) – This will fund the commencement of the program by buying uniforms for our integrated sports teams/intermural teams (teams that have, at the minimum, an equal number of students with and without disabilities playing together). The longer-term goal is to build a more inclusive school-wide culture that includes school-wide awareness activities (i.e., spreading the word to end the R-word campaign).