Co-op Family Center

09/01/2026

Kim's Farewell update...

Unfortunately, due to the rain on Wednesday, we need to make a change to our plans for celebrating Kim Frank.

While we’re disappointed that we can’t celebrate together as originally planned, we are looking forward to a smaller, special gathering on Friday with our Pre-K/K and School-Age classrooms, including a bike ride to celebrate Kim and all that she means to our Co-op community.

A memory book will be available at the Co-op for everyone who would like to share a special message, memory, or words of appreciation for Kim. If you aren’t able to stop by, you are also welcome to leave your message here, and we will make sure it finds its way into her memory book.

Kim has been such a meaningful part of our community, and we would love for her memory book to be filled with the kind words, memories, and love of the many people whose lives she has touched.

We hope you’ll join us in celebrating Kim in whatever way you can — whether by leaving a heartfelt message, sharing a memory, or simply stopping in to spend a few moments with her on Friday. ❤️

Thank you for helping us make this celebration special for Kim!

08/25/2026

‼️EVENT DATE CHANGED to Friday, September 4th due to rain‼️ Join us as we celebrate Teacher Kim's incredible 30-year legacy at the Co-op with a special retirement bike ride and park celebration! 🚲💚Can't join us for the park celebration? Reach out to [email protected] for more information about how you can celebrate Kim.

06/23/2026

The Co-op is hiring for an Executive Director position!

We are seeking an innovative and community-minded Executive Director to lead us into our next chapter. The Executive Director leads daily operations while also developing forward thinking strategies that promote sustainability, growth, and high-quality learning. This role requires strong administrative abilities, a deep commitment to early childhood education, and the capacity to build meaningful relationships with staff, families, and community partners. This position is a critical and high-profile position to the University of Oregon community, local community, and the early childhood education field. The position serves as the primary spokesperson for the Co-op Family Center and is responsible for ensuring a positive reputation in the community.

The ideal candidate will have in-depth knowledge of nonprofit management and organizational leadership in the world of childhood education, including strategic planning, financial management, program evaluation, development and fundraising, and personnel management. The Executive Director reports to the Board of Directors.

For full consideration, apply by July 15, 2026.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more or applying, please read the linked job description for more information:

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/621d2e364caf0b06761d9cf1/6a32f886aa69bf09f0519d0f_Co-op%20Family%20Center%20ED%20Job%20Post.pdf

01/08/2026

Happy New Year everyone!

We are starting 2026 with AMAZING news: thanks to the outpouring of support and the generous 1:1 matching gift, we are now $500 away from hitting our $10,000 direct drive goal 🎉

https://givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025

(Note: The total amount listed on the website does not reflect the offline donations we have received.)

It is so inspiring to see what our community can do when we pull together. This milestone is a vital piece of our larger $200,000 playground renovation, and seeing the finish line in sight is such a joyful way to begin the term.

If you’ve been meaning to participate or would like to help us bridge this final gap, you can do so at the attached link.

Whether through a donation or simply sharing our vision with your own networks, we are so grateful to have you walking this path with us! ❤️

Help us give the playground new life!

12/17/2025

We have incredibly exciting news!! An anonymous donor has offered a 1:1 match for all future donations until we reach our $10,000 goal! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

This means every dollar you give from today on is doubled. If you donate $50, it becomes $100 for our new playground. We’ve raised $4,500 so far through community support — this match is the final push we need to reach the finish line. Double your impact here: https://givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025 We want to share our sincere thanks to those who have already donated or encouraged others to support our playground renovation fund!

If you’ve already donated, please consider sharing this news with your network! Thank you for helping us build a space where our children can flourish. It’s a beautiful reflection of what we can build together to nourish our children’s development. We believe play environments are "third teachers," helping children grow physically, emotionally, and socially. Your support helps us provide a more engaging outdoor play environment for them!

We are deeply grateful for the families and friends who walk this path with us. Your generosity creates a place where curiosity, confidence, and joy can flourish every day.

https://givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025

Best,

Heida and Larry, Interim Co Directors, Co-op Family Center

P.S. This match makes our $200k renovation project more attainable than ever. Let's hit that $10k mark together!

12/02/2025

Co-op Family Center Community

Thank you so much to everyone who has already supported our playground renovation — we’re just over $2,500 toward our $10,000 goal, and your generosity has truly lifted this campaign. We still have four weeks left and we would be so grateful if you continued sharing our fundraiser with family and friends. Every single gift moves us closer to giving our children the safe, engaging outdoor space they deserve.

https://givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025

With four weeks left in our fundraiser, we could really use your help getting the word out. Please share our campaign with family and friends; With Giving Tuesday, this is a wonderful moment to ask: Is there someone in your life who might want to support a local nonprofit childcare center’s efforts to update their playground?

Every single gift makes a difference to us and our chance to address the big needs of our playground!

A HUGE thank you also goes out to our teachers for helping gather all the wonderful child perspectives now seen up at the front display. The kids’ playground ideas are creative, thoughtful, and so much fun – and our teachers have been incredible partners in capturing their visions. Heather and Kim, our teacher representatives on the renovation team, have shared the collective teacher group’s invaluable insights with our landscape architects and we are so grateful for their voices and all the teachers’ deep care for the children’s needs in the outside environment! Here at the Co-op, our playgrounds are treated as extensions of our classrooms into the outdoor space. We have witnessed it firsthand and had the privilege of taking part in many outdoor games and projects throughout the years.

And finally, we’d love your involvement on our display wall too. Add a speech bubble with the playground features you love or even share your favorite local playgrounds. Your input adds so much to this collaborative process. Thank you for being part of this project with us!

11/25/2025

Help Us Carry Suzy’s Vision Forward

Suzy Blanchard, the Co-op Family Center’s founding director, built a community full of curiosity, care, and connection. She helped create our playground, a space where children explore, imagine, and grow every day. After decades of joyful play, it’s time to renew this beloved space, and memorial gifts in her honor became the first stepping stones of our playground renovation. Your support can help carry Suzy’s legacy forward by creating a safe, imaginative, and vibrant outdoor space for children and families for years to come. Every gift makes a difference – thank you for helping bring this vision to life!

https://givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025

11/21/2025

Every day at the Co-op, our playground comes alive with muddy hands, imaginative adventures, and shared laughter. It’s where friendships start, confidence grows, and children discover new abilities that even surprise themselves.

For decades, this outdoor space has been at the heart of our community. But time, weather, and persistent flooding have taken their toll. The playground needs care, attention, and renewal so it can continue to be the place where children safely explore and grow.

Today, we’re officially launching our fundraising effort to revitalize the Co-op playground. With your support, we can create a safer, more engaging, more resilient space for the children who fill it with wonder every single day – and for the families who will join our community in the years ahead.

Every gift brings us closer to this vision. You can also help by liking and sharing our post to help spread the word.

Thank you for being part of a community that always shows up for our children – for believing in their capacity to learn through play and for helping us create an environment worthy of their curiosity.

givebutter.com/CFCPlayground2025

10/30/2025

In Memory of Suzy Blanchard, continuing to inspire

The Co-op Family Center, formerly known as Amazon, was brought to life under the leadership of our first director, Suzy Blanchard. More than a founder, Suzy was a guiding light whose vision and compassion helped shape the heart and soul of our community. For those of us who had the privilege of knowing her—through the Co-op or Amazon—her passion, wisdom, and unwavering dedication to children and families continue to inspire everything we do today.
Her vision laid the foundation for our philosophy and our practices — a legacy that lives on in every classroom, every family interaction, and every child’s joyful learning moment.

As Suzy’s family communicated, she was a force of nature who poured her heart into family, community, and the lives of countless children.

When Suzy passed away, her family suggested donations be sent to the Co-op in her memory. As we were beginning to visualize a playground renovation, we felt the timing of these donations in her honor would be the steppingstones to the new playground at the Co-op. Suzy was instrumental in involving the Co-op community, UO Landscape Architecture Department and funders in creating the original design of our playground in 1999. After many many years of happy play on the playground, it is time for us to refresh with new elements of imaginative play inspired by our philosophy and community

Please watch for the developing design of our new space

09/04/2025

We are deeply saddened to share that our beloved Suzy Blanchard — the first Director, teacher, and visionary of the Co-op Family Center (formerly Amazon Family Center) — has passed away.

Suzy was more than a founder; she was a guiding light who helped shape the heart and soul of our community. For those of us who had the honor of knowing her through the Co-op or Amazon, her passion, insight, and unwavering dedication to children and families continue to inspire everything we do.

Her vision laid the foundation for our philosophy and our practices — a legacy that lives on in every classroom, every family interaction, and every child’s joyful learning moment.

Please see the attached message from Suzy’s family with a request for stories and photos as they celebrate

Our beloved Suzy Blanchard (1945–2025), passed away peacefully at home with Dad on August 25 in Portland.
She was a force of nature who poured her heart into family, community, and the lives of countless children.
We’ve created a memorial site where you can share photos, stories, and tributes, and find updates about her future celebration of life:
https://everloved.com/life-of/susan-suzy-wisner-blanchard/
💜 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Co-op Family Center in Eugene, where she devoted much of her career: https://givebutter.com/zCZyta