AmeriCorps*VISTA

Lola Jones, AmeriCorps VISTA member serving at the Lincoln Commission for Children and Families, is organizing a Project Homeless Connect to be held on May 19, 2011 at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church at 1226 SW 13th Street Lincoln City in Lincoln City. If you would like to help with the event, a volunteer application can be found here:

Cesar Chavez Day of Service and Learning

Garfield Elementary third-graders display their work honoring Ceasar Chavez . The mural is on display at American Dream Pizza in downtown Corvallis.

HandsOn Linn-Benton received a mini grant to celebrate Cesar Chavez Day, 2011. A mural depicting the life and accomplishments of Chavez was created by Garfield elementary students with the assistance of HandsOn Linn-Benton and partners RSVP, American Dream Pizza, and Corvallis High School. The mural is on public display at American Dream’s downtown Corvallis location.

Volunteers spent time educating the students about Chavez, Corvallis High School students created two original pieces of artwork, then mentored 65 third graders to re-create their artwork onto a 30–piece pizza box mural. Students, parents, teachers and other community members celebrated the unveiling of the mural and enjoyed pizza and soda at American Dream on Cesar Chavez Day, March 31st.

The mural will remain on display at American Dream during the entire month of April, educating the community and bringing awareness to the work of Cesar Chavez. A second mural is on display at Garfield Elementary School. The high school students created note cards, using their original artwork, and are selling them for $0.50 each to raise money for art programs at their school.

“No Place to Call Home”

Save the Date for “No Place to Call Home”
May 16, 2011 7:00 p.m.
First Congregational Church
4515 SW West Hills Road, Corvallis

A program about the lives of Corvallis persons who live on our streets, in our woods and under our bridges. Many are afflicted with chronic medical problems, addiction disorders, or mental illness. Some are just ordinary folks who lost their jobs and can’t find work in this economic environment.

The program is about their struggle to survive and our community’s efforts to reach out to these homeless persons. The event is free, but the audience will be invited to contribute to help the Corvallis Homeless Shelter Coalition move more people into safe and stable housing.

We are celebrating the success of the Corvallis Homeless Shelter Coalition in establishing Partners Place, which will be opening later this summer to provide a permanent place to live for some of Corvallis ‘ most vulnerable homeless persons.

To reserve a seat for the program, call(541)752-3605

OSU Food Drive

Mike Gibson, Director of Linn Benton Food Share (left) and OSU President Ed Ray (right) team up to present awards to OSU Departments and students who competed to raise money and food for Linn Benton Food Share. A representative of the S.I.F.E. (Student In Free Enterprise) receives two awards.

Oregon State University broke all records with 540,000 pounds of food collected in 2011

Linn Benton Food Share Director, Mike Gibson presented awards to OSU Departments and Student Groups who competed to collect food and raise money. Each year during February the University community plans a wide variety of food and fund-raising activities to help the hungry. This effort is in conjunction with the Governor's State Employees Food Drive. The resources gathered by county Extension offices, Experiment Stations, Cascades Campus and Centers associated with OSU go to their local food banks. Proceeds from the OSU Corvallis campus benefit the non-profit agencies served by Linn-Benton Food Share. These agencies include local food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, day care centers, shelter homes, and gleaning groups in Linn and Benton counties. Linn Benton Food Share is a department of Community Services Consortium. Food Share has a mission that Everybody Eats.

First Annual Bite of Benton

Bite of Benton has been moved to a fall date! Stay tuned for the date announcement!

Come celebrate Benton County’s culinary delights at the 2011 Bite of Benton!

Local restaurants, wineries, breweries, and food producers will be showcased in this premiere event that will be a gourmet’s delight. In addition to exploring the multitude of booths offering “bites and tastes” of locally created delicacies, attendees will enjoy local entertainment.

Don’t miss your opportunity to savor the tantalizing flavors of the Willamette Valley and enjoy delicious foods, regional wines and beers, music, demonstrations and more. Tickets, sponsorships, and booth reservations are now available.

Join us in the fall at the Benton County Fairgrounds for the Bite of Benton and celebrate fabulous foods, wines, and brews of Benton County!

A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Community Services Consortium's Linn-Benton Food Share program.

2011 Barrel To Keg Relay Race

2011 Barrel To Keg Relay

Presented by Harris Bridge Vineyard and Rogue Ales

Benefiting Community Services Consortium
"Helping People. Changing Lives" and "Race Against Poverty."

Date: Saturday, July 23, 2011

Location: Philomath to Newport, Oregon.

Check-In/Start: Harris Bridge Vineyard (22937 Harris Road), Philomath, Oregon, 97370.

Finish: Rogue Brewery, Newport, Oregon.

Start Times: 7:00 am (Wave A), 7:30 am (Wave B), 8:00 am (Wave C), 8:30 am (Wave D), 9:00 am (Wave E)

Wave Assignments: Starting waves will be assigned based on estimated 10K times of team members - these times must be submitted with a team's entry. Team captains will be notified of wave assignments by July 1, 2011.

Course: 69 miles. Click here for a COURSE MAP. Maps will be available on April 2nd.

Legs/Teams: 12 legs, teams can be comprised of 2, 4 or 6 members. A Relay Leg Chart will be available soon.

Awards Ceremony: The awards ceremony will be at the Rogue Brewery in Newport at 5:00 pm.

Team Divisions: Open, High School, Masters, Women, Corporate, Running Clubs

Entry Fees: $45 per person (includes t-shirt) through April 30, 2011, $50 per person from May 1, 2011, through July 15, 2011. All teams are also responsible for providing one volunteer to assist on race day.

Entry Note: Participating teams need to be aware that this is a running (and non-walking) event, with a 12 hour time limit to complete the course.

Registration:For more information and to register

Runners who would like to be matched with a team, please contact Mark Barrett at 503-821-9577.

For more information, contact mbarretts@aol.com or dteem@communityservices.us, or call 503-821-9577.

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

Linn Benton Food Share receives grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation

(Photo Left) Steve Davey, Bank of America Market Executive and Corvallis Bank of America manager, Amy Kelsey-Johnson present a check to Mike Gibson, Director of Linn Benton Food Share. (Photo Right) Corvallis Bank of America volunters repackage dried beans at the Linn Benton Food Share warehouse.

"The Bank of America Charitable Foundation is pleased to support the important work of Linn Benton Food Share in feeding families,” said Steve Davey, Bank of America Consumer Market Executive for Greater Oregon. “We are committed to the work you do in our local communities and we are happy to participate in helping you this evening.”

Davey joined Corvallis Banking Center Manager Amy Kelsey-Johnson at the Linn Benton Food Share warehouse to present a check for $42,000 to Linn Benton Food Share on behalf of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation. The check was presented to Mike Gibson, Director of Linn Benton Food Share on Monday, February 28.

“The quality of our service depends on the support we get from the community. And that is why this $42,000 grant from Bank of America is so important to our ability to keep shelves stocked with food at our local food pantries and soup kitchens,” said Gibson.

Fifteen Bank of America employees from the Corvallis branch and family members joined the check presentation ceremony and stayed to volunteer to repack food after the event.

The grant funds will support general operating expenses to distribute food to individuals and families in need in Corvallis and surrounding rural areas. They will also help pay for purchasing staple goods for member agencies serving low income people and paying for fuel costs for picking and transporting food to the agencies such as soup kitchens and shelters.

“Thank you Bank of America for providing funding to help Linn Benton Food Share in its mission of reaching out to all sections of our community,” said Corvallis Mayor, Julie Manning. Mayor Manning was joined by Benton County Commissioner, Annabelle Jaramillo and CSC Executive Director, Martha Lyon in thanking Bank of America and volunteers at the warehouse.

CSC Announces Training and Development and New Hire

Training & Development

Jeni Wells-Whitney, (photo right) a Housing Finance Specialist at Community Services Consortium (CSC) in the Community Housing Services Program, received her Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) License number (no. 339039) in December, 2010.
MLO licensure complies with the SAFE Act designed to enhance consumer protection and reduce fraud through the setting of minimum standards for the licensing and registration of state-licensed mortgage loan originators. The SAFE Act requires Mortgage Loan Originators to complete pre-licensure education courses, pass two qualified written exams covering federal and state law, and take annual continuing education courses.
Wells-Whitney has worked in the Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program at CSC for the past 16 years.

New Hire:
Community Services Consortium (CSC) welcomes Sandi Brantner (photo left) as a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) certified Foreclosure Counselor in the Community Housing Services Program. Brantner joins Jon Polansky and Beth Larsen, Housing Resource Coordinators in assisting people with foreclosure counseling, mortgage mitigation, financial budgeting and first-time home buyer counseling.
Brantner has a background in banking and lending. She has worked in Linn and Benton counties as a mortgage loan officer/processor for the past 19 years.