COCC’s ‘Growing Together’ Campaign Culminates with $100K from Tykeson Family Foundation

Dec. 17, 2025

Major fundraising for Central Oregon Community College’s Madras campus expansion, set to open for winter term’s first day on Jan. 5, has culminated with a generous capping grant of $100,000 from the Tykeson Family Foundation.

The investment in the “Growing Together” campaign is supporting two central elements of the transformative project: the college’s health care training programs and the community child care center.

“This COCC expansion grows opportunities in the care sectors to build community well-being,” said Amy Tykeson, managing trustee of the Tykeson Family Foundation. “Starting in January, more people in Jefferson County can gain critical skills and credentials close to home."

In all, the new 24,000-square-foot facility will house three standalone training programs: nursing, nursing assistant and medical assisting. Additionally, the expanded early childhood education program at the Madras campus is integrating some of its training into the new on-site, 100-capacity child care facility, being managed by The Children's Learning Center of Madras.

The update to the Madras campus, which originally opened in 2011, is a response to Jefferson County’s needs related to early childhood education and health care workforce gaps, along with a major shortage of child care options in the region. Construction began in June 2024.

COCC is holding a community ribbon-cutting event on Thursday, April 30, at 4 p.m.

“The Tykeson Family Foundation is bringing incredible impact to this campus and community, and we’re extremely grateful,” said Zak Boone, COCC’s chief advancement officer and executive director of the COCC Foundation. “It’s a monumental day for our ‘Growing Together’ campaign to receive this generous grant near the end of our public fundraising efforts. And it’s a soon-to-be monumental day to be opening these new doors to residents of Jefferson County!”

The Madras campus expansion is being funded through a combination of federal and state support, private philanthropy, grants and general college funds.

For more information, contact Zak Boone, COCC’s chief advancement officer and executive director of the COCC Foundation, at zboone@cocc.edu or 541-383-7212.