CSC Head Start of Lincoln County Now Enrolling

CSC Head Start, a no-cost preschool serving Lincoln County, is now enrolling for the 2010-2011 program year at their sites in Lincoln City, Toledo, and Newport. Children must be 3 or 4 years old by September 1, 2010. Applications with enrollment information are available at each site or by calling 541-996-3028.

Head Start sites:
• Lincoln City: 2130 SE Lee Street Lincoln City, OR
• Newport: 253 NE 1st Street Newport, OR
• Toledo 845 NW A Street, Toledo, OR

Summer Status No Slow-Down for CSC Head Start

CSC Head Start (CSCHS) continues to be busy, even though the Program is on summer status.

Donations
We are pleased to have received donations from:
$4,800 from Spirit Mountain for classroom related expenses
$700.00 unrestricted funds from the Eagles of Newport

With the budget cuts that CSCHS is experiencing from the state, the generosity of the community becomes more and more important. WE are very grateful to our supporters!

Public Outreach
Head Start Director Suzanne Miller has been on two local radio interviews and will be invited back to Newport KCUP radio in September and possibly before for further interviews and specialized focus on Head Start. We are looking into public presentations as well as possible public television for continued public relations.

Our “Friends of Head Start” group has met regularly and although small in size are committed. To celebrate the National Week of the Young Child in April, our Friends helped set up a children’s art show titled “Head Start Art” throughout Lincoln County which was covered by newspapers in Newport and Lincoln city. We currently have good media relationships and will continue to maintain these relationships.

Graduation
Graduation occurred at each Site on Wednesday, May 12. Over 400 family and community members attended programwide to participate in the festivities as 92 children moved on to Kindergarten and 67 children commenced into their second year of Head Start.
For the upcoming Program year, Lincoln City is expecting 33 returning children; Newport is expecting 27 returning children; and Toledo has 7 children who will return.

Enrollment
We are actively enrolling families throughout the County. We have had a major reduction in state grants this year and will have to reduce the number of children served by six. This is very sad news particularly in light of the underserved population throughout Lincoln County. Nonetheless, we are nearing our capacity numbers and will, of course, waitlist families.

In order to remain fiscally responsible, CSCHS’s Director, Suzanne Miller, announced that the current transportation system provided by CSCHS would have to be cancelled, which resulted in employee reductions.

It is important to remember that Head Start is the cornerstone of early education in our nation. So many people do not know all the services that Head Start offers that serve the child and families beyond school education and include health, nutrition, emotional well being, family involvement, as well as a host of other services offered through CSCHS by monthly family visits and continual outreach. Many families have utilized our services for job training, new home purchasing and other vital services.

Please check out the website for more information on CSC's Lincoln County Head Start Program.

Community Services Consortium Creates Summer Jobs

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is pleased to announce its Workforce & Education Department has received 11 grants of $32,000 each in funding for summer Youth Employment Crews from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (OYCC) and the Oregon Youth Employment Initiative (OYEI) for a total of $352,000.

At risk youths in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties will have an opportunity to earn up to $2,000, gain work experience, team building and leadership skills as well as an opportunity to recover school credits.

YouthBuild Mentorship Program

CSC’s YouthBuild AmeriCorps program recently hired Katie Stubblefield as the program’s Mentorship Coordinator. Katie is actively recruiting community volunteers to mentor YouthBuild participants in job and career related activities.

The program is now looking for volunteer mentors.

Mentoring: Small Steps – Huge Rewards

What’s in it for you as a Mentor?· Shape the future by empowering youth today. Receive exceptional training and support.

What’s in it for the youth?
· An individual who is there to support them without judgment
· A friend who has their interests at heart

Orientation: 6:00 PM Tuesday, August 3rd
Community Services Consortium, 380 Market Street, Lebanon
Contact: Katie Stubblefield at (541) 451.1071 or kstubblefield@communityservices.us.

CSC is Hiring!

Healthy Kids Coordinator ( Benton County ) - closes July 16

Director of Development & Community Relations - closes July 26

Project Instructor 1 – Youth House Garden - Position open until filled

CSC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All Employment Applications must be sent to the Corvallis office address, 545 SW 2nd St, Suite A,Corvallis, OR 97333. If you have questions about the job application process, please call (541) 752-1010 or email the human resources department at hr@communityservices.us.

Please check out the Jobs website for job descriptions and application materials (in Word and .pdf formats).

Getting Things Done for CSC's Communities!

The following is a breakdown of the value VISTA members bring to the communities CSC serves:*

Number of Volunteers Recruited: 1692 community volunteers
Number of Service Hours Performed by Volunteers Recruited: 18,703 hours
Total $ Amount of Resources Generated: $1,607,218 (cash & non-cash).

For more information on CSC's Building Bridges program, please contact Tifani Erpelding at 541-752-1010.

_____________________________
*Data from July 14, 2006 to December 30, 2009.

Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing Program Makes a Difference

As part of the federal stimulus funding opportunities provided with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), CSC's Emergency Services staff helped 160 households find housing or remain in their homes in the last fiscal year, which equates to 500 individuals.

Following is a brief rundown of how each office — and CSC as a whole -- utilized the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Rehousing funds.

Homeless Prevention
Albany Regional Office: 30 Households served/ $25,626 spent
Lebanon Regional Office: 34 Households served/ $26,662 spent
Corvallis Regional Office: 28 Households served/ $23,303 spent
Newport Regional Office: 18 Households served/ $17,791 spent

TOTAL homeless prevention: 110 Households served/$93,382 spent

Rapid Re-Housing
Albany Regional Office: 13 Households served/ $11,321 spent
Lebanon Regional Office: 20 Households served/ $16,820 spent
Corvallis Regional Office: 16 Households served/ $14,258 spent
Newport Regional Office: 4 Households served/ $4,744 spent

TOTAL rapid rehousing: 50 Households/ $47,143 funds spent

TOTAL FUNDS SPENT: $140,525 (Dec. 1, 2009 thru June 21, 2010).

For more information on other CSC stimulus/ARRA projects - or CSC programs and services generally - please go to CSC's website.

Volunteer Conference in NYC

Beth Fox, Director of Linn-Benton RSVP, a program of Community Services Consortium, recently returned from the 2010 National Conference on Volunteering and Service in New York City.

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) and the Points of Light Institute hosted the conference, supported by corporate sponsorships. Each conference workshop offered opportunities to network with colleagues in volunteer management from across the nation, with a few attendees from around the world, including the Deputy Minister of Sports and Youth Activities from the country of Liberia.

One of the network opportunities was held in Chinatown. This immersion session focused on the literacy work of four local nonprofits supported by AmeriCorps members. A second opportunity to network sponsored by Target was called “Party With a Purpose”, where one evening 2,000 attendees gave their time to build enough food boxes to provide 150,000 meals.

Dr. Erwin Tan, the new director of Senior Corps was introduced to Beth's group. He shared that his wife is from Corvallis! Amy Dailey, the Oregon CNCS Director, invited him to Oregon to see the best and brightest Senior Corps projects the country has to offer and specifically to see the impact the program has in Benton County.

Congratulations to the 81 CSC graduates

Community Services Consortium (CSC) graduated 81 students this year in Linn, Benton, and Lincoln counties. The students graduated with either a high school diploma or a GED. The graduates came from CSC’s 3 alternative schools, in Corvallis, Albany or Lebanon, CSC’s charter school, Career Tech, in Lincoln City and from CSC’s partner, Angell Jobs Corp campus in Yachats.

Following are excerpts from remarks made by Clay Martin, Director of the CSC Workforce & Education program while addressing the class of 2010 in Corvallis. Martin spoke at several CSC graduations this June.

“Events like graduation that mark a significant achievement and a significant transition in life are special – a significant achievement for each of you.

“Many people talk about the value of a high school diploma in terms of real dollars. According to the US Census Bureau a high school graduate was expected to earn $1,216,000 over a 40 year career. That is $300,000 more than a person who did not graduate from high school. A college degree will add another $250,000-a higher degree even more. So, don’t ever stop learning. It almost always pays in real dollars over the course of your career.

“But, I think the value of a high school diploma is more than the real dollars. It demonstrates that you can stick with something difficult and challenging and persevere until it is complete. It is what most people call a good work ethic.

“Thank you to the teachers and staff who helped you. Thank you especially to the families who supported you. And congratulations class of 2010!”

More appliances now eligible for rebates

If you’ve got an appliance that leaks energy, the state’s newly expanded rebate program can help.

The program, which started in January to replace low-efficiency furnaces and heat pumps, now includes water heaters, refrigerators, dishwashers and clothes washers. The funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The program is open only to homeowners whose annual household income is 60 percent or less of the statewide median. Rebates will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. And new appliances must be Energy Star, which certifies superior energy efficiency. Vouchers can be redeemed for up to 70 percent of the price, to a specified maximum. Old appliances must be legally recycled to receive a rebate.

For details or to apply:
Online: http://go.usa.gov/OTx
Call Oregon Housing and Community Services: 1-800-453-5511 (option 2, selection 4)
E-mail: appliancerebate@hcs.state.or.us

Source: The Oregonian 7/9/2010

For information about energy assistance or weatherization, call Community Services Consortium at (541) 752-1010.

AC*VISTA Off-Site Training Day

Editor's Note: this story is a compilation of stories written by AC*VISTA Leader Jeannie Ramsey and AC*VISTA member Megan Tolley and originally published in CSC's 'Building Bridges' AmeriCorps*VISTA newsletter.

From Jeannie:
On Wednesday, April 21, I joined ten 'Building Bridges' VISTA members and Tifani Erpelding, Project Coordinator, at the OSU Challenge Course for a day of team-building exercises. I had not even been in Oregon for a week and I was going to be climbing a telephone pole! It was only my third day in the new Leader position, so I was a little nervous about meeting everyone, especially during something I thought would require so much athletic ability.


One of the challenge exercises involved ten of us being blindfolded and coached by the two remaining VISTAs. Our task was to place a rope around a small can and move it to another location about 15 feet away. The two coaches had to describe the tools to us, and guide our steps to the goal. “Being blindfolded in order to move the bucket was difficult for me because I work best when I am able to see what needs to be done and what tools are available,” stated Tifani Erpelding. That information will be helpful for me as I work with Tifani through my service year.

Another exercise required all of us to move across three platforms, using three pieces of 2x4 wood of different lengths, none of which were long enough to fit between the platforms. Neither people nor wood were allowed to touch the ground. The team would be successful when all members were standing on the last platform, which measured less than three feet square. Clear communication and excellent balancing skills contributed to successful completion of this challenge.

The most challenging exercise was climbing and belaying. Each person was outfitted with helmets and climbing harnesses so they could climb a telephone pole to belay down to waiting team members. Constant communication between climber and primary belay person, and careful watching of the primary belay person by other team members brings the climber down safely. Fear of heights did not stop anyone from attempting this exercise.

From Megan:
I didn't realize how scared I was until my feet left the ground. My hands didn't want to move as I climbed up the pole. I felt paralyzed. My heart started racing and my mouth went dry. I wanted to get down and quit. After watching everyone else gracefully cross the line and finish, it didn't seem to be like such a big deal. But now it was my turn. I had a team of 5 belaying me; with encouraging glances and persuading chants I couldn‟t bare the chance that I would be the one person who couldn't complete the challenge. I like to finish what I started, so especially now with everyone watching, I just had to do it.

As I stared at the other side, an easy task turned into new perspective on becoming focused to overcoming this challenge. Stepping away from the comfort of safety and onto the line, I expected to fall, but I didn't. I took a deep breath and one baby step at a time I finally made it to the other side. Needless to say I was relieved to get back on solid ground, but more importantly I was proud of myself for letting go and moving forward to attain my end goal.

‘Building Bridges’VISTA Members 2009-2010:

Linn County
Miao Zhao
Albany InReach Services

Hilary McAlister
CSC-Santiam Wilderness Academy

Melissa Clark
Linn County Sheriff‟s Department

Benton County
Rachel Karasick
CSC-Youth Garden Project

April Pritchard
CDDC-Project Action

Megan Czerny
CSC-Fund Development

Megan Tolley
Corvallis Environmental Center

Lincoln County
Kaija Daniel
Lincoln Commission on Children & Families

Linn & Benton Counties
Jenn Crist
Jackson Street Youth Shelter

Matt Walker
Linn Benton Housing Authority

Please check out the website for more information on CSC's Building Bridges AmeriCorps*VISTA program.

Linn Benton Food Share Has New T-Shirts For Sale

Mike Gibson, Director of Linn Benton Food Share displays the new t-shirts.

CSC's Linn Benton Food Share program has a new line of
t-shirts for sale. The short and long sleeved 100% cotton shirts come in a range of new colors. You can choose from a large food share logo or small pocket sized logo. The t-shirts are priced at $8 for short sleeved and $12 for long sleeved.

The shirts are available at Linn Benton Food Share office located at 545 SW 2nd Street in Corvallis. All proceeds go to the Linn Benton Food Share program to help achieve its goals.

Food Share’s goal this year is to distribute 5 million pounds of food to its 74 member agencies this year—an increase of nearly 200,000 pounds. Food Share can achieve this by expanding their Fresh Alliance pickups to new supermarkets, by purchasing more bulk products such as rice, beans, and cereal, and by taking steps to increase our storage and repackaging areas so they can accept large donations and accommodate the many volunteers who bag up this food into family-size packages.