Lincoln Community Land Trust Open House

(Left to right) Clay Martin, Director of CSC Workforce & Education, Tom Hatley, Director of CSC Community Housing Services, Martha Lyon, Executive Director of Community Services Consortium (CSC), Bill Hall, Commissioner of Lincoln County and Benjamin Baggett, Director of The Lincoln Community Land Trust.

The Lincoln Community Land Trust (LCLT) held Open House and tours of its first land trust home. The Open House was well attended with more than 60 people including neighbors and interested homeowners. Benjamin Baggett, Director of the LCLT gave a presentation of the history of land trusts in the US and details about how Lincoln County helped make affordable housing available to residents.

In attendance were the community leaders, citizens and agencies from across the county who began the process of addressing the problem of affordable housing and making the Lincoln Community Land Trust a reality.

Any resident or family of Lincoln County, working in Lincoln County, who is interested in seeking affordable homeownership opportunities with a land trust home may apply. Applications will be reviewed for income eligibility. For those who want additional information on the purchase process or the LCLT home at 2219 NE 28th St. in Lincoln City can contact Beth Larsen

(541) 758-2759 blarsen@communityservices.us or Benjamin Baggett,

(541)758-2761, bbaggett@communityservices.us for details about qualification.

The Thiebert Brothers Donate to Food Share

Trevor and Brayden with their mother, Jen Thibert.

Eight year old Trevor Thibert played a fiddle at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market this summer and his five-year-old brother, Brayden joined in with a song or two. Together, the boys have raised $202.66 to donate to Linn Benton Food Share, a program of Community Services Consortium (CSC). Their grandfather matched their donation for a total of $405.32.

Trevor already has a history of giving, last year he celebrated his birthday by inviting his friends to bring canned and packaged food to his birthday party instead of presents. He then donated his birthday present of 245 and 1/2 pounds of food to Linn Benton Food Share.

Linn Benton Food Share was honored to receive the donation from the boys. It will help supply nutritious food to people in Linn and Benton counties who need food.

CSC Receives $5,000 Grant for Foreclosure Counseling and Education

Community Housing Services (CHS) a program of Community Services Consortium (CSC) received a $5,000 grant from Wells Fargo Foundation on behalf of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to provide foreclosure counseling and education to residents of Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties.

The grant will allow CHS staff to offer free one-on-one foreclosure intervention counseling and education for residents at risk of foreclosure or in the process of being foreclosed.

“It is expensive to offer a foreclosure intervention program which is both local and serves a three county area,” said Jon Polansky, CHS Housing Resources Coordinator. “This grant helps Community Housing Services to provide housing counseling that is approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) at no cost to homeowners experiencing financial problems.”

In addition to foreclosure counseling, Community Housing Services offers weatherization, home rehabilitation loans and home buying and financial fitness classes to low and moderate income persons and families.

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is the state-designated Community Action Agency serving Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. CSC provides a wide range of services to low and moderate income individuals and families. CSC helps with housing, employment, job training skills, food, weatherization, housing rehabilitation, education and volunteer opportunities. For more information, or to support CSC and its many programs, please contact the CSC administrative office at (541) 752-1010 or visit www.communityservices.us.

CSC Pre-apprentiship Program with Corvallis School District

CSC’s Weatherization Training Center hosts Corvallis School District high school students in a pre-apprenticeship program designed to connect classroom education with hands-on occupational exploration. Seven students from two of the area high schools are learning about weatherization and building science while participating in a service learning project that included replacing windows for a retired couple. The students attend class at the Weatherization Training Center once a week for five weeks. Upon completion, students will understand what it takes to be a weatherization professional including worksite safety. This program is designed to help teens think about their future career options and provide a tangible connection between classroom education and real world application of science and math.

Community Services Consortium Receives Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting

Community Services Consortium (CSC) received The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment. This is the 18th consecutive year CSC has received the CAFR.

Deborah C. Jackson, Finance Director of CSC and William C. Tucker, CSC Governing Board Chair received the individual Award of Financial Reporting Achievement for having had the primary responsibility for preparing the award-winning CAFR.

The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.
The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is the state-designated Community Action Agency serving Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. CSC provides a wide range of services to low and moderate income individuals and families. CSC helps with employment, job training skills, food, housing, weatherization, housing rehabilitation, education and volunteer opportunities. For more information, or to support CSC and its many programs, please contact CSC’s administrative office at (541) 752-1010 or visit www.communityservices.us.

The Woodshare Program

Multiple gleaning groups from CSC’s Linn Benton Food Share program share a wood glean donated by Benton Habitat for Humanity. Seen from left to right: front row: Sean Briggs & Betty Briggs from Harrisburg Harvesters; Jerry Rice from Central Valley ; Pat Danton from Alsea Valley Gleaners; Jeff Kerchaw from Central Valley Gleaners ; Middle: Don Harris from Alsea Valley Gleaners Back: Joe Danton from Alsea Valley Gleaners.Wood Share, a program of the Linn Benton Food Share Gleaners.

Linn Benton Food Share Gleaning Groups spent many weeks gathering wood donated by Benton County Habitat for Humanity, the City of Corvallis, Corvallis Parks and Recreation, Benton County, private citizens from Linn and Benton counties as well as several local tree removal services. Gleaners share wood in the same way they share food with their low income members, 50 percent will go to adoptees, elderly and disabled gleaning members. Woodshare was helped through CSBG ARRA money used to coordinate the Program.

“We are fortunate to have partners like Benton County Habitat for Humanity and all the other agencies donating wood,” said Susan James, Gleaning and Volunteer Coordinator for Linn Benton Food share, a program of Community Services Consortium. “Our Wood Share gleaners have been very busy this year.”

Director of Development and Community Relations Named at CSC

Heidi Henry, an economic development and marketing consultant has been named Director of Development & Community Relations at Community Services Consortium (CSC), a community action agency covering Linn, Benton, and Lincoln counties.

She has helped over 70 Oregon communities with projects such as community center development, leadership training, and project implementation for economic development. Her background in business marketing and economic development includes work as a chamber director and a downtown revitalization director. She has worked as a trainer and facilitator with state-wide agencies coordinating and facilitating strategic plans, organizational assessments, economic development action plans, and fundraising strategies.

Before coming to CSC, Henry consulted on a number of projects, including: Business Assistance Team Training, Main Street Program, Philomath, Oregon; Benton Habitat Funding Development and Business Sponsorship Committee Training and Planning; ABC House Strategic Planning, Albany, OR; Lebanon Emergency Services Homeless shelter planning; Conference Presenter, Financial Stewardship Conference, Corvallis Oregon; Event Planning and Management Training, Board Planning, Samaritan House, Newport, Oregon.

Henry is Past President of the Board of Directors for Financial Stewardship Resources, Inc, a non-profit devoted to financial management skill-building and governance excellence for non-profits nation-wide. She has a Master’s degree in Ethics and Organizational Communication, and is both a certified facilitator and certified by National Main Street, Washington D.C. She is co-owner with her daughter of a small retail store in downtown Corvallis.