The Next Door Inc. Names Organization’s First-Ever Community Partner Award Recipient
For over ten years, The Next Door Inc. (TNDI) has recognized community members' and donors’ contributions to the organization through Volunteer of the Year and Philanthropist of the Year awards. This year, TNDI has added a new award to celebrate the individuals, businesses, and organizations who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and partnership with our nonprofit, significantly contributing to our mission and initiatives by supporting and advocating for our programs, clients, and TNDI as a whole. We are delighted to announce that Sam Ko, the Oregon Department of Education’s (ODE) Education Program Specialist, is TNDI’s first-ever Community Partner of the Year!
Sam has worked as the Education Program Specialist for the past 16 years and with TNDI for the last nine years as TNDI's liaison to the Department of Education. In his role, Sam helps ODE create budgets for all of Oregon State’s Long-Term Care and Treatment Programs (LTCT), the Juvenile Detention Education Program (JDEP), Youth Corrections Education Program (YCEP), and Correctional, Hospital, and Treatment Schools (CHaTS). At The Next Door, Sam's support and expertise have been invaluable.
For the last nine years, Sam has worked to help TNDI establish quality education at the Klahre House (KH). When there is money available to eligible day treatment programs like The Next Door’s Klahre House School, Sam advocates for TNDI in securing the funding needed to operate a Long-Term Care and Treatment school. As a result, KH educators have been able to attend additional training courses to learn about how to educate youth in a trauma-informed setting.
Working in partnership with KH School Administrator, Timothy Shampoe, Sam has also helped create pathways that have allowed youth to have access to 21st-century technology in KH classrooms and a state-of-the-art computer lab. Students who have never been out of state have had a chance to see history and places through a virtual reality system, allowing youth to do more, and see more, than ever before.
"Sam Ko has helped me create a school that reaches into cracks where society has left our students,” says Timothy Shampoe, TNDI School Administrator. “He understands where our youth have come from and has helped us to create a school in which they can learn, thrive, and do more than just survive. Sam’s partnership with The Next Door Inc. has, in my opinion, helped create the strongest Alternative Education program in the Columbia River Gorge.”
Every two years, Sam performs TNDI’s LTCT audits, ensuring TNDI is following all State, federal, and program laws, as well as providing rigorous education instruction that allows all students the best education in hard situations.
“With his guidance, TNDI has sent several youth to college, the military, and several more have completed their GED,” continues Shampoe. “This school and its transition program have a proven track record of success, in part because of our partnership with Sam.”
We would like to extend our sincerest thanks to Sam Ko for his longstanding commitment to our organization and the youth we serve. We’d also like to thank all the local partners nominated for this award for their dedication to our organization’s success including the United Church of Christ in The Dalles, Riverside Church in Hood River, Washington Gorge Action Programs, Fish Food Bank of Hood River, and Beneventi’s Pizza in Bingen. Their support serves as a powerful reminder of all that can be accomplished when we come together as a community.