Blue Mountain Early Learning HUB

We're gonna do some yappin about the who, what, where, when, why, and how of Sweet Potato's Closet!
First up is the WHO?
Who does Sweet Potato's help?
Most of us know that we serve foster families. Foster families were why the Closet was started, and for awhile, they were all we served.
But now, present day, we serve WAY more people.

Anyone with a worker is eligible to come in and shop at Sweet Potato's Closet, depending on their case plan.
Who is a worker? Super question. Anyone who works with our partners, including but not limited to- Oregon DHS (child welfare OR self sufficiency), CPS (To prevent kids from coming into care), Umatilla County CARE, Umatilla Morrow Head Start, Community Counseling Solutions, Clarvida, Powerhouse, COPES, Good Shepherd Connextions, Capeco, and a few others! We also invite school staff to come in and get things for students if they need them.

If none of these apply to someone, and they need clothing, we have a clothing request form on our website that allows ANYONE to get a box of clothes, with very few questions asked.

In 2025, our most frequent community partners were Umatilla Morrow Head Start, Umatilla County CARE, Oregon Department of Human Services, and Good Shepherd Connextions. We are proud to partner with these excellent organizations to create long term change!

In 2025, we served a little over 3,300 people, not counting our holiday drive!

You probably know someone that counted on or counts on Sweet Potato's Closet.

https://givebutter.com/SweetPotatosCloset

Well friends,
Due to the economy, costs rising, less available grants, and less monetary donations, our days are numbered. Our money guy is working on getting a close guesstimate, but we've only got a few months left in us.
We've got some fundraisers planned, all the grants in that we have found, and we're shifting to cutting the (already) lean budget where we can.
Grants are difficult for a couple reasons. There aren't a bunch available. Several have restrictions, like we can't use funds for general operations. (Rent, utilities, insurance, etc)

We need your help!!
Please, please donate.
Becoming a monthly donor has a significant positive impact, as we can count on that every month!
Reach out to businesses and ask them to donate! (I'll be sending emails this week too)
Want to take on a benefit for us? Please do!!

Please help! I don't want to close. We serve so many people in their darkest hours, we don't want to leave them hanging.

https://givebutter.com/SweetPotatosCloset

BMELH hosts Read Out and Read site visits.
This week, the Blue Mountain Early Learning Hub partnered with the Northwest Reach Out and Read team for a two-day presentation tour as part of the Blue Mountain Expansion Project. Together, the team visited five clinics, advancing a shared goal of doubling Reach Out and Read services across Umatilla, Morrow, and Union counties.



Reach Out and Read is a nonprofit program that promotes early childhood literacy by integrating books into pediatric care. During well-child visits, healthcare providers give young children age-appropriate books and encourage parents to read aloud with them daily. By combining medical guidance with literacy support, the program helps build strong language skills, fosters healthy parent-child relationships, and sets the foundation for lifelong learning and school success.



This multi-year effort aims to reach 80% program saturation—impacting more than 25,000 well-child visits annually. When fully realized and sustained, the project would have the potential to distribute thousands of books alongside critical early literacy education during the well-child visit schedule for children ages 0–5.



To learn more about Reach Out and Read, visit their website, or explore the Oregon annual report.

Shout out to this crew from the InterMountain Education Service District who came to the PELC Community Read In today celebrating reading and Read Across America Week!!

Blue Mountain Early Learning HUB

La Grande Kindergarten Round-Up and Pre-K Registration is Thursday, April 23rd, from 5 PM to 7 PM at the District Office, 1305 N. Willow St. We will have giveaways!! Please bring birth certificate, proof of immunizations and proof of residency. Questions? Email [email protected]

Do you work with families who are pregnant or raising a child in the first 1,000 days of life?
We invite you to join us for a Navigator Connection event!
This is an opportunity to meet other service organizations, learn about available resources, and strengthen connections to better support families.
📍 Location: DHS Building Rm # 153 , La Grande
📅 Date: March 19th
⏰ Time: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Come meet fellow direct service providers and learn more about the programs offered in our region.
Register here: https://bmelh.org/ncregistration
For information about future events and other Upstream: Child Success Pilot initiatives, visit:
https://bmelh.org/upstream
We hope to see you there!

Are you interested in being a foster parent?
Join us for a night of conversation about foster care, reunification and adoption!

Do you work with families who are pregnant or raising a child in the first 1,000 days of life?
We invite you to join us for a Navigator Connection event!
This is an opportunity to meet other service organizations, learn about available resources, and strengthen connections to better support families.
📍 Location: DHS Building, Milton‑Freewater
📅 Date: January 22
⏰ Time: 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Come meet fellow direct service providers and learn more about the programs offered in our region.
Register here: https://bmelh.org/ncregistration
For information about future events and other Upstream: Child Success Pilot initiatives, visit:
https://bmelh.org/upstream
We hope to see you there!

Do you work with families that are pregnant or raising a child in the first 1000 days of life?

We would like to invite you to a Navigator Connection event to meet other service organization and better understand the resources out there, and how to contact those resources.

Our next event will be in Milton-Freewater at the DHS building, Jan 22, 11:30-1:30. Come meet other direct service providers and learn about their programs.

Register here for the next event: https://bmelh.org/ncregistration
For more information about future events and other Upstream: Child Success Pilot initiatives, check out our webpage: https://bmelh.org/upstream

We had the opportunity to partner with Child Care Resource & Referral to host the Oregon Department of Early Learning and Care in our region. Check out these photos from their visit and all the amazing programs we saw.