RSVP volunteers spend Martin Luther King Day helping seniors

In honor of Martin Luther King Day, volunteer Griffin Nickerson is stuffing bags with a safety kit and information about the SASSI program. He joins six other volunteers including his mother, Kathleen Nickerson, RSVP Program Coordinator, to help Community Services Consortium’s RSVP program distribute the information to seniors. They left packets with seniors in two 55+ mobile-home communities, one in Albany and one in Corvallis.

SASSI helps independent seniors maintain safe and secure homes. The program is made up of local volunteers and law enforcement personnel who offer free home security and fire safety inspections and education to Benton and Linn County residents 55 years of age and older.

Free or low cost services provided by SASSI:
• Home and fire safety inspections
• Security hardware installation
• Visible address numbers
• Personal safety education
• Identify additional home hazards
• Emergency services
• Fire escape plans
• Resource information and referrals
• Engraving valuables

Call RSVP at (541) 753-9197 or (541) 812-0849 to schedule an inspection or for more information.

Prescription Help for Seniors Through SHIBA

Did you know there are people on Medicare who are going without their medications in order to buy food and pay their rent? Did you know there are over 800 Medicare recipients in Linn County who are eligible for help with their prescription costs who are not taking advantage of that assistance? Did you know changes in the law for 2010 may help more people qualify for help?

The Linn County Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance (SHIBA) volunteers can assist those on Medicare apply for help through the Social Security Administration’s Limited Income Subsidy (LIS) program. An individual’s income must be less than $1,354 monthly ($16, 245 annual) with less than $12,510 in resources to qualify. For a married couple living together, income must be less than $1,822 monthly ($21,855 annual) and resources less than $25,010.

To see if you or someone you know qualifies for extra help with prescription costs, contact CSC's RSVP/SHIBA office at 541-812-0849 for an appointment with a SHIBA volunteer.

At this time, the program is only available in Linn County.

Request for Proposals - 2010-2011 CSC ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps*VISTA Program

AmeriCorps*VISTA was created to help organizations build capacity to help alleviate poverty in communities. Full-time volunteers work with host sites for one year completing projects ranging from volunteer management, resource development, marketing/outreach, new program development, and much more. Please check out the RFP and additional information about the CSC ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps*VISTA Program.

Applications are due on or before March 11, 2010 by 5:00 pm. Early submissions are appreciated.

As an FYI, in the first three years of ‘Building Bridges’, VISTA members have:
• Raised more than $1.5 million in financial resources for their host sites
• Recruited 820 community volunteers who have served more than 16,000 hours
• Created 200+ community collaborations and partnerships
• Developed new programs to support family literacy, end homelessness, provide health and nutrition education, create mentoring opportunities and much, much more.
Also, if you could please spend a few minutes of your time and help us distribute this information to other non-profits across Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, we would much appreciate it! Faith-based organizations, schools, cities or counties are all eligible to host a member and become part of the program.

Please contact Tifani, Building Bridges Program Coordinator, at 541-758-2641 for more information.

Empty Bowls Throw-A-Thon

Steve Aulerich and Laurie Childers, from the Willamette Ceramics Guild share a joke as they throw pots for Empty Bowls.

Willamette Ceramics Guild threw a Throw-a-thon in January at the Benton Center Ceramics Lab. The Throw-a-thon is a party to make ceramic bowls for the Empty Bowls project, a grassroots effort to raise money and awareness to end hunger and food insecurity. Dawn Jones of The Willamette Ceramics Guild joins with Keith Moses from Crescent Valley High School to gather members of the guild and community potters to get together at least twice a year to throw clay for soup bowls for Empty Bowls. The throw-a-thons take place either at Crescent Valley or the Benton Center Ceramics lab. Both schools donate glazing and firing facilities for the project. While some bowl sales go to other agencies, the money from the sale of the bowls through Sunny Side-Up Restaurant goes to Linn Benton Food Share. Linn Benton Food Share has received money from Empty Bowls projects for more than twenty years.

Volunteers Provide Free Assistance with Income Taxes

The AARP Tax-Aide program has trained and certified volunteers who will prepare and file your federal income tax return with the IRS, free of charge. The volunteers are available to help taxpayers of all ages between February 1 and April 15, 2010. All of the tax returns are prepared on computers and are e-filed free.

The volunteers are working out of eight locations across Benton and Linn counties, and four of the eight locations are available by appointment only. Two are walk-in locations, including the newest site, the Main Albany Library. As a new location, it hasn’t been discovered yet, and volunteers are waiting to help the early birds that get their taxes done in February.

Bring these items when you visit an AARP Tax-Aide site:
• Social Security cards or other official documentation for yourself and all dependents;
• Copy of last year’s income tax returns;
• W-2 forms from each employer;
• Unemployment compensation statements;
• 1099 forms
• All forms indicating federal income tax paid;
• Child care provider information (name, employer ID, Social Security number);
• Summary of receipts or checks for deductible items if itemizing;

In 2008, more than 50 Tax-Aide volunteers filed more than 3,600 federal and state tax returns, with an earned income credit value of $800,722 within Benton and Linn Counties. The AARP Tax-Aide is locally sponsored by CSC's own RSVP and its partner locations.

Don't Forget the Earned Income Tax Credit

Every penny counts in today’s economy, yet many working people are overlooking an important tax credit that could put up to $5,600 or more in their pockets. The Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC, can be the needed financial boost for working people hit by hard economic times.

Many people will qualify for EITC for the first time this year because their income declined, their marital status changed or they added children to their families. Families with three or more children get an extra boost with a larger credit this year.

But, IRS estimates that up to one in four eligible taxpayers could miss out because they don't check it out. Eligible taxpayers can get their EITC only if they file federal income tax returns – even if they are not otherwise required to file – and specifically claim the credit.

Anyone with income under $48,000 from wages, self-employment or farming in 2009, should see if they qualify. Area residents can find more information on the IRS website, keyword: EITC. IRS’s online EITC Assistant can help determine their eligibility and compute the amount of their credit.

Taxpayers also can get no-cost help computing their EITC and preparing their returns. Residents can locate a volunteer assistance site by calling (enter which number your community uses for local services -- 211 or 311) or calling the IRS at 1-800-906-9887. Free help is also available at the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center located at (enter the location and days/hour of assistance of your local IRS office)

Head Start Impact Study

NATIONAL HEAD START ASSOCIATION REMAINS COMMITTED TO IMPROVEMENT IN LIGHT OF NEW STUDY
Long-Term Studies Continue to Reach Same Conclusion: Head Start Works

WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Head Start Association stands ready to partner with the Obama Administration and others as they announce plans to strengthen Head Start and Early Head Start programs following new research. The research conclusions are a mixed bag. This study demonstrates that Head Start programs are of good or better quality and finds favorable cognitive, socio-emotional, and health impacts for children who attended Head Start and positive impacts on parenting practices. Yet the study indicates that many of the early gains made in Head Start prior to kindergarten might be lost at the end of first grade.

NHSA, which is dedicated to meeting the needs of Head Start children and their families, will work to reconcile this new research with previous landmark studies that demonstrate the significant educational and health gains experienced by low-income children served by Head Start. Those long-term studies found that Head Start has decreased criminal activity, child mortality rates, high school drop out rates, the need for special education, the need for children to repeat grades later on in school and increased child achievement test scores, high school graduation rates, and immunization rates.

Head Start has a 45-year history of continuous improvement. This study was conducted from 2002 to 2006. Two years ago, Head Start reauthorization included many significant improvements to the program which are currently in the process of implementation.

"We look forward to working with others to use this and other studies to further improve Head Start for the benefit of children, their families and the future of all Americans," said NHSA executive director Yasmina Vinci.

"We will work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' upcoming research advisory committee so we all can learn from this study and others that encompass the program's impact on hundreds of thousands of lives," she said.

CSC's Head Start program is located in Lincoln County only and serves 160 children and families in its Toledo, Newport, and Lincoln City centers.

Free Film January 25th

Free Film Showing: It Was a Wonderful Life.
Homeless Women in America
• Award-Winning documentary examines the plight of America’s hidden population of homeless women through the personal accounts of six individuals. Narrated by Jodie Foster.
• Free Popcorn
• Optional Donation taken for the Corvallis Women’s Shelter
• Free, Open to all.


Monday, January 25, 2010
6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
at the St. Mary’s Parish – Upper Social Hall
501 NW 25th St. (across from Chintimini Park)
Corvallis, OR

Sponsored in partnership with St. Mary’s Committee on Human Dignity and Solidarity, AmeriCorps OCAC, and Community Housing Services, a program of Community Services Consortium.
Organized by Amy Crevola, AmeriCorps OCAC member at Community Housing Services, who will facilitate a post-film discussion.

Contact: Amy Crevola
(866) 745-1780
acrevola@communityservices.us

“Heart & Sole”

Saturday, Feb 13th

“Heart & Sole”
Footwise Shoe Store will donate 30% of the entire day’s profits to Linn Benton Food Share

So, go buy some shoes!

Footwise is located at:
301 SW Madison Ave
Corvallis, OR 97333

Celebrate “DUTCH LOVE”

Sunday, February 14th

Celebrate “DUTCH LOVE”

Bring 3 cans of food to the Dutch Bros locations listed below and receive any beverage of your choice for $1.00



2001 NW Monroe Ave, Corvallis
1855 SE 3rd St, Corvallis
425 Harrison Blvd, Corvallis

1895 Pacific Blvd SW, Albany
1125 9th street, Albany
2840 Santiam Hwy SE, Albany

1491 S Main St, Lebanon

540 Main St, Sweet Home

All donations benefit Linn Benton Food Share and our local agency network.

County names homelessness committee

Gazette-Times Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009
The Benton County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to appoint a new advisory committee to focus on implementation of its Ten Year Plan to Address Issues Surrounding Housing and Homelessness.
The committee's focus will be to set priorities for the initiatives included in the plan and to identify resources to implement those initiatives.
The selected group of participants represents several different organizations throughout Benton County, indicative of the collaborative total community effort underway to identify and address issues surrounding housing and homelessness in Benton County.

Commissioner Jay Dixon and Julie Manning, of Samaritan Health Services, who both have been involved throughout the process to create and implement the Benton County 10-year plan, will be co-chairing the group. The committee also includes the following members: Jennifer Lief, Benton County Health Department; Rich Donovan, Community Outreach, Inc.; Ann Craig, Jackson Street Youth Shelter; James Hackett, Linn-Benton Housing Authority; Gail Newman, Benton County Sheriff's Office; Barbara Ross, Homeless Shelter Coalition; Kent Weiss, city of Corvallis; Jim Moorefield, Willamette-Neighborhood Housing; Martha Lyon, Community Services Consortium; Jennifer Moore, United Way of Benton and Lincoln Counties and Kristin Osborne, Corvallis community member.

The committee will be working to carry out implementation plans relative to the Benton County Ten Year Plan to Address Issues Surrounding Housing and Homelessness, which was adopted recently by the Benton County Board of Commissioners. Benton County worked with Community Services Consortium and members of several other Benton County organizations to draft the plan.

We’re Helping Our Neighbors,But We Can’t Do It With Out You!

This email “news blast” about CSC is intended to reach people who need help, and people who can give help.

During this recession, I think many people have been surprised to find themselves in the first category. They have never before required assistance from CSC, but now they find themselves in need. If there is a positive effect from this recession, it may be that we have all gained an increased awareness of how easily disaster can befall any of us. Even more, we appreciate living in a community that supports us in times of need. Thank you for helping us help our neighbors!
Over the course of the last year, CSC departments and programs have met increases in requests for help that range from nearly 13% in our food programs (Linn-Benton Food Share) to 48% in our Emergency Services department (which helps with emergency housing and utility assistance). We helped serve an additional 17,000 people through emergency food boxes this year. And we were bombarded with so many requests for housing help that although we provided 10,954 nights of emergency shelter and 15,232 nights of transitional housing for our neighbors; we were unable to serve 4,175 households (9,602 individuals).

We grew our youth employment program over 600% this summer, but we had to cap it at 320 new jobs. We could have served hundreds more. We expected to provide work experience and to stimulate the local economy, but many of our participants told us that these paychecks kept their families afloat this summer. Businesses and agencies thanked us for helping them make it through a tough year. In communities throughout the three counties, residents told us that our young workers gave them hope, in addition to a fresh coat of paint, a newly cleared bike path, and assistance on projects they thought would have to wait.

We bought, and are rehabbing, 18 units of supported housing in Lincoln County. Once the rehab work is complete, applications will be available and accepted for potential residents. We will weatherize between 300 and 400 homes for low-income residents, but over 10,000 additional homes are eligible for, and in need of our help in our 3 counties.

This newsletter is packed with stories of people who needed assistance and got it through CSC.

Thank you again, for helping to make that possible. For more information on our programs and services, please check out our website at: www.communityservices.us.

If you need help, CSC is the place to get started. If you are looking for an opportunity to offer help, we hope you consider starting that at CSC, as well. We promise to give you a good return on your investment. Over 90 cents of every dollar donated goes to program services. More importantly, every dollar you donate allows us to claim as much as $11 in matching state, federal and grant funds. That’s value!

Thank you – and may you each enjoy a safe and fulfilling holiday season.

Martha Lyon, ED