Cortez Community Members Buoy Educators’ Spirits With a Thank-You Lunch | LOR Foundation Skip to content
Complete Education

Cortez Community Members Buoy Educators’ Spirits With a Thank-You Lunch

  • Local Champion: Cortez Teacher Appreciation Committee
  • Date Funded: April 18, 2022
  • Grant Amount: $5,820

Beleaguered by the challenges of the pandemic, online education, and recent curriculum changes, educators in Cortez’s Montezuma-Cortez RE-1 School District were exhausted, frustrated, and feeling a lack of appreciation. To buoy their spirits and address this problem, the Cortez Teacher Appreciation Committee—a volunteer group of engaged community members—decided to host an appreciation lunch that included prizes, thank-you goody bags, and live music for the district’s nearly 300 teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and school secretaries. LOR’s funding supported the purchase of gifts and helped make the lunch possible.

This project is fiscally sponsored by Onward! A Legacy Foundation

In The News

Cortez Celebrates Teachers (Cortez Journal)

Expressing Appreciation (Four Corners Free Press)

Contact our community officer in Cortez. Meet Nicci Crowley
More Education Solutions
Education / Questa Farm-to-Table Series Builds Career Skills for Questa Youth
Local Champion:
Localogy
Date funded:
August 17, 2026
Grant Amount:
$7,100
Education / Buffalo IPads Expand Dyslexia Screenings for Buffalo Kids
Local Champion:
Learning Tree Christian School
Date funded:
August 13, 2026
Grant Amount:
$2,145
Education / Buffalo Hands-On Learning Supplies Help Meet Buffalo’s Growing Preschool Demand
Local Champion:
Learning Tree Christian School
Date funded:
August 13, 2026
Grant Amount:
$2,759
Education / Buffalo A Farmers Market Booth Teaches Buffalo Students Full Cycle Food Production
Local Champion:
New West High School
Date funded:
August 7, 2026
Grant Amount:
$4,700
Education / Weiser Bookshelves Make More Titles Available for Weiser Readers
Local Champion:
Friends of the Weiser Public Library
Date funded:
July 31, 2026
Grant Amount:
$3,000
Education / Cortez A Student Success Center Prepares Cortez Students to Thrive
Local Champion:
Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1
Date funded:
July 28, 2026
Grant Amount:
$9,484

Share an Idea

If you have an idea for improving quality of life in Cortez or Monte Vista, Colorado; Lander, Wyoming; Libby, Montana; Questa or Taos, New Mexico; or Weiser, Idaho, use this form to start a conversation with us.

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.