Spring Food Drive

CSC's Linn Benton Food Share Annual Spring Food Drive in Corvallis is the week of April 4th – 9th. Girl Scouts and other youth groups will distribute bags throughout the week and collect filled bags on Saturday morning, April 9th.

Monetary donations are also greatly appreciated. Food Share can distribute up to 15 pounds of food for every tax-deductible dollar donated. If your bag was overlooked, please drop off your bag at Keller Williams Realty, 1121 NW 9th St. Corvallis.

(Photo) Young volunteers pick up food in their neighborhood for the Spring Food Drive.

CSC’s Mortgage Assistance Program Update

Community Services Consortium, the administrator of the Mortgage Payment Assistance Program (MPA) in Linn and Lincoln counties, is now in the process of working out details with OHSI, mortgage holders and homeowners. Homeowners are encouraged to continue making their payments if possible while this phase is in process.

The MPA is a foreclosure prevention program designed by Oregon Housing Community Services as part of the Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative. It helps homeowners in Oregon who are unemployed, underemployed, or have lost a significant amount of income due to the recession, stay in their homes while the breadwinner finds new work.

“We are pleased with our results, said John Cronkrite, Oregon Homeownership Stabilization Initiative Supervisor. “CSC has surpassed its goal in signing qualified applicants to the program. Many of the homeowners didn’t need the full amount of money available to them and it allowed us to extend the program to more people. In Linn County, our goal was to sign 194 people but actually we signed 235. In Lincoln County, a goal of 71 people was raised to 92.”

CSC wants those homeowners who are in foreclosure or at risk for foreclosure and were unable to qualify for the MPA program to know that a HUD certified foreclosure counselor is available at CSC to answer questions or help them through the process. Call Sandi Brantner at
(541) 758-2786.

Benton County Homeless Connect

Maria McGrew, far right, helps volunteers set up tent for pet area.

The First United Methodist Church in Corvallis was the scene of the Benton Homeless Connect on Friday, March 11, 2011. The outreach event was organized by Maria McGrew, a member of the ‘Building Bridges’ VISTA team.

Volunteers were at intake stations and host volunteers waited to guide the 65 people who came to connect with service providers in Benton County.

People seeking services had access to these: Students from OSU were available to give foot treatments and new socks. The Lions Club Medical Van was onsite for such things as vision and diabetes screening. A dental van sponsored by Samaritan Health Services and staffed by local dentists handled emergency dental situations. Representatives from numerous agencies were available to answer housing questions, address legal issues, help with photo identification, and much more.

Stone Soup provided soup and sandwich meals for the attendees.

Oregon Green Tech Certificate

Community Services Consortium (CSC), working with Linn Benton Community College, is coordinating its second class of students to pursue the 3-term community college program for the Oregon Green Tech Certificate. This certificate was developed to meet the evolving needs of businesses and industries across Oregon.

“Linn Benton Community College in cooperation with CSC is dedicated to preparing the workforce for green jobs,” said Sharee Cooper, Operations Manager for the CSC Workforce & Education program. “This program has substantial financial assistance for eligible students and we are pleased to be acting as the front door for students to enter such a cutting edge program. We have found taking a green approach is becoming more important in the Oregon job market,”

The Oregon Green Tech Certificate will provide students with a fundamental understanding of sustainability, efficiency, and basic green technologies that is useful in a wide array of business and industry settings.

WorkSource Oregon reports that Oregon has over 51,000 green jobs and that about 2/3 of all green jobs pay $15 or more per hour. They also report that about 1/3 of green jobs require some kind of special license or certificate. Those who complete the Oregon Green Tech Certificate will possess technical skills which are easily transferrable and adaptable.

For more information about the Oregon Green Tech Certificate or to apply, contact Sharee Cooper at (541) 752-1010 or Email to scooper@communityservices.us