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.

CSC Youth Crews Make Presentations at OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center

Two Lincoln County CSC youth crews have made it possible for two Oregon State University scientists to expand their research, get the results quicker and less expensively by doing field work for them as part of their summer jobs. The two crews were invited to make presentations of their work to Oregon State University scientists and other community members at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

“We welcome you as our partners in science research. You are crucial to the Marine Science Center’s mission of education and outreach,” said Maryanne Bozza, program manager at the Hatfield Center as she introduced the speakers.

Jack Chapman, crew leader of the shrimp crew, explained that historically crews were used mainly for labor. This year, his crew progressed to taking the collected shrimp into the lab and doing the science themselves. They worked with parasitized shrimp for Dr. John Chapman of OSU. They identified and collected the shrimp, took them into the lab, typed the shrimp as male or female, measured, and recorded the data and presented the polished product to the scientist.

Chelsea Stover, the salmon seining crew leader introduced her crew. They showed how they collected their samples of young salmon smolts for graduate student Jose Marrin Jarrin by spending time in the Pacific Ocean surf carrying out huge nets and pulling them back in. Marrin Jarrin is studying the role sandy beach surf zones play as habitat for young Chinook salmon. Once the net was on the beach, the crew, on hands and knees, examined the net foot by foot and collected the young salmon. Their work took them from Cape Blanco to the mouth of the Columbia River, counting, measuring, and recording.

The youths have the advantage of learning job skills and gaining experience in addition to earning money. Two of the crew members said the experience had changed the course of their lives. They are now focusing on marine biology and are planning to attend college in the fall.
CSC offers the summer work jobs training program for 6 to 8 weeks each summer to underserved and disadvantaged youth through funding from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corp.

Uninsured, Poor Oregonians Should Take a Chance with the Oregon Health Plan

Over the next week, uninsured Oregonians with few earnings who take a few minutes to register with the Oregon Health Plan (OHP) stand a good chance of obtaining free or low-cost health insurance.

The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), which administers OHP, will randomly draw 20,000 names from the registry on October 20. Those selected will then be invited to apply for health coverage under a program called “OHP Standard.”

It costs nothing and it takes only a few minutes to register and you can also add the name of someone you know who you think qualifies to the reservation list.

To register for the reservation list, visit the Department of Human Services website, www.oregon.gov/DHS/open or call toll-free 1-800-699-9075. At that number you can also find out if you qualify for other health insurance programs.

Information from Oregon Center for Public Policy News Release October 6, 2010. To read the complete press release visit http://www.ocpp.org/2010/nr20101005OHPLottery_fnl.pdf

Make A Difference Day Coat Drive

Make a difference by joining the LBvision Volunteer Center, RSVP and Community Services Consortium in a community coat drive culminating on Make A Difference Day on October 23.

The organizations are partnering with OSU sorority Alpha Chi Omega and local nonprofits to collect and distribute new and gently used winter coats. The coats will benefit homeless and low income persons in the two counties served.

Drop-off locations in Benton County include Community Services Consortium and Corvallis Senior Center. In Linn County, coats may be donated at Community Services Consortium, Albany Senior Center, Albany Public Library, and two Richards Cleaners locations.

Nonprofit partners receiving the coats will include Vina Moses and Old Mill Center in Corvallis. Albany Helping Hands Homeless Shelter, Christ Walk and Sweet Home Emergency Ministries are recipients in Linn County.

Richards Cleaners, located at 623 Lyons Street and 630 Hickory NW in Albany, will dry-clean the Linn County donated coats.

Act Now to Help a Neighboring Community Action Agency

You can help a neighboring community action agency trying to win $250,000 in the Pepsi Challenge ---but you’ve got to act now!

Yamhill County is trying to build a food warehouse. They have raised over $2 million and have about $800,000 to go. They have entered the Pepsi Challenge in the $250,000 category. That puts them in some pretty stiff competition, but, with the help of Newburg High School students, they have climbed from #51 to #26 spot in the last 10 days. The idea with the most email or text votes wins. Only the top 2 ideas pass into the finals on October 31st. If you want to help, we have to move them up 24 spots by the end of the month.

You can “vote” once a day from every email address you have, and you can also text once a day.
If you would like to help:

Log onto yamhillcap.org
Under the column entitled “Capital Campaign” click on the button that says “Vote for This Idea.”
That takes you to the Pepsi Challenge website and the YCAP voting page. (You’ll have to create a name and password the first time).
Then click on “In the Running for $250,000”. When your vote has tallied, you’ll hear the sound of a Pepsi can opening and you’ll get a “thank you” message.

You can also text your vote by texting 102615 to 73774 (or, on a BlackBerry, text to 73774 and in the message box type 102615. You will receive a thank you text confirming your vote right away.

And Community Services Consortium thanks you for helping out our neighboring CAP agency!

Energy Conservation Workshops for People with Low Incomes

Stephanie Bugni, from the Emergency Services Department Presents Energy Conservation Workshop

Sign up for an Energy Conservation Workshop and learn about what affects your energy bill, what are the top 5 highest energy users in your home. Learn all the small things you can do to make a difference on your energy bills.

For attending the workshop to help improve your home’s energy efficiency, you will receive:


a FREE weatherization kit valued at over $65!
A workbook with hundreds of energy saving tips!
you will be eligible for a free home energy audit

To sign up for a workshop:
Contact Stephanie Bugni, Energy Education Coordinatior at (541) 758-2639 or Email sbugni@communityservices.us

Energy Education Workshop Schedule
Albany
Workshops are held at Community Services Consortium, 250 Broadalbin SW, Suite 2A,
Friday, October 15th 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 27th 10:00 - Noon

Corvallis
Workshops are held at Community Services Consortium, 545 SW 2nd St. – Suite A (upstairs), Monday, October 11th, 10:00 a.m. –Noon
Monday, October 18th, 2:00 p.m. –Noon

Lebanon
Workshops are held at Community Services Consortium, 380 Market St.,
Wednesday, October 13th 2:00—4:00
Friday, October 29th, 10:00 –Noon

Newport
workshops are held at Community Services Consortium, 120 NE Avery St., (Hiland Castle room) Tuesday, October 19th 10:00–Noon
Tuesday, October 19th 1:00–3:00

*Energy Conservation Workshops are held monthly. If you are unable to attend a workshop in your area, please contact Stephanie Bugni at (541) 758-2639 or sbugni@communityservices.us for future workshop dates.

Lincoln City Land Trust Home Open House—Come Celebrate!

The first Lincoln Community Land Trust home to be sold in Lincoln County will be open for tours on Tuesday, September 21. Make plans to stop by the house at 2219 NE 28th St. in Lincoln City and learn about the trust, see the home, and meet other land trust fans. You won’t want to miss out on this opportunity.

A general presentation about the land trust will be held at 5:30PM followed by a ribbon cutting and cake at 6:00PM.

Lincoln City Mayor, Lori Hollingsworth and Lincoln County Commissioner and Board Chair, Bill Hall will present. Please park at the Lincoln City Community Center and enjoy a half mile walk to the home. Parking at the home is limited and we do not want to disturb the neighbors.
Lincoln Community Land Trust (LCLT ),
For further information, contact: Benjamin Baggett, (541)758-2761, bbaggett@communityservices.us

Mark your calendars and plan to be a part as the Lincoln County Land Trust makes land trust history with its first home. Invitations and an informational brochure are available on the land trust website. Please send your RSVP to Alison Robertson, alisonn@lincolncity.org.

The Magic Barrel

Friday, October 22, at 7:00 pm, in the Corvallis High School Theater

"The Magic Barrel: A Reading to Fight Hunger" features some of Oregon’s finest authors in a benefit for Linn-Benton Food Share. Linn Benton Food Share, a program of Community Services Consortium works to relieve hunger in the mid-Willamette Valley.

The line-up features several local writers with freshly published books--fiction writer Tracy Daugherty, (One Day the Wind Changed), and poets Jennifer Richter(Threshold) and Charles Goodrich (Going to Seed). Also reading are Oregon Book Award-winner Scott Nadelson (Saving Stanley: The Brickman Stories), Virginia Browne and Linda Hamner (Letters from Cleo and Tyrone), OSU historian Bill Robbins (Oregon, This Storied Land), OSU English instructor Wayne Harrison, and local poet Beth Russell. Bob Crum will serve as emcee, and Sideways Portal will provide live jazz.

Suggested donation is for $7 at the door, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. Now in its 17th year, The Magic Barrel is sponsored by the OSU Center for the Humanities, with support from OSU Printing and Mailing, the Spring Creek Project, and other area donors.

For more information, call Sarah Williams at 541-737-9560, or visit the Magic Barrel website: http://www.magicbarrel.org/

"Building Bridges" CSC's AmeriCorps* VISTA Program

The ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps*VISTA program at Community Services Consortium welcomed nine new members to eight project sites, listed below:

· Alix Stinnett at Central Linn School District (CLSD)
· Belinda Judelman at Lincoln Commission for Children and Families
· Jackie Stapleton at Linn County Mental Health (LCMH)
· Katherine Griffin at Ten Rivers Food Web
· Katie Neiert at Community Services Consortium
· Lola Jones at Lincoln Commission for Children and Families (LCCF)
· Maria McGrew at Benton County
· Michael Spinello at Mid-Willamette Valley YMCA
· Rachel Karasick at Corvallis Environmental Center (CEC)

In remembrance of 9/11, the team spent the day at Starker Arts Garden for Education (SAGE) where they worked with Corvallis Environmental Center staff, RSVP members, and community members to harvest 341 pounds of produce that went to Stone Soup, a Corvallis soup kitchen and to prepare some of the garden area for winter.

Linn Benton Food Share Offers More T-Shirt Colors

CSC staff member Kathleen Nickerson shows two of the new t-shirt
colors available.

CSC's Linn Benton Food Share program has a new colors to offer in their new line of t-shirts for sale. The short and long sleeved 100% cotton shirts come in a range of new rainbow selection. 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.

Ryan McCambridge Serves as Chair of the Oregon Food Bank Network

Ryan McCambridge, Linn Benton Food Share Coordinator, has been elected to serve as Chair of the Oregon Food Bank (OFB) Network. The network is made up of 20 regional agencies serving Oregon. CSC’s Linn Benton Food Share program is one of the network’s agencies. McCambridge comes to the position from two years of service to the network as the Vice Chair. He will serve as Chair for two years.

“During my tenure as Chair, I hope to encourage the network as a whole toward statewide solutions to food security problems while remaining focused on our respective local efforts,” said McCambridge. “We can accomplish a great deal as a network. For instance, the OFB network, working together at the state capitol, was able to increase state funding to increase capacity at food banks throughout the state. The General Food & Fund program has had a dramatic impact on providing food to Oregonians seeking emergency assistance.”
CSC’s Linn Benton Food Share distributes nearly 5 million pounds of food in Linn and Benton counties to its 75 member agencies which include emergency food pantries, soup kitchens, day care centers, and many other non-profits serving people with low and moderate incomes.