Healthy Kids Window Display at Footwise

Jeannie Ramsey, CSC Healthy Kids Coordinator, and Maria Powell, CSC Intern, collaborated on a window display to promote the Healthy Kids program in Corvallis.

The Display, designed by Maria, will be in the Footwise shoe store window on the corner of Monroe and Third streets in Corvallis until the mid-February.

Healthy Kids provides healthcare coverage for Oregon residents up to their 19th birthday. For more information on the program, contact Jeannie at 541-928-6335 ex. 335, or jramsey@communityservices.us

Trevor Thibert, 9 years old has a history of donating to Food Share

Trevor Thibert last year at age 8 when he donated $404.32 to Food Share from his earnings at the farmer's market and a match from his grandfather.

Trevor Thibert, aged 9, donated to Linn Benton Food Share for the third year in a row. He played his fiddle with his grandfather at the Corvallis Farmer’s Market this summer to raise money for Linn Benton Food Share. Last year he raised around $202 at the market which his grandfather matched for a $404 donation. Three years ago he asked his friends to bring a donation of canned food for Food Share to his birthday party instead of presents.

This year Trevor reached his goal of earning $250 (plus 66 cents) at the Corvallis Saturday Farmer’s market and talked his father’s boss into matching his donation with a check for $250.66. Trevor and his brother, Brayden and their parents brought their donation of $501.32 to Linn Benton Food Share this month.

Linn Benton Food Share salutes you, Trevor. The money will go to buy nutritious food for people in Linn and Benton counties who need the food this winter.

Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run Volunteers

Throughout late October and early November, CSC YouthBuild AmeriCorps students volunteered over 15 hours to help the Lebanon Community Foundation (LCF) prepare for the first-ever Cheadle Challenge Adventure Run that occurred on November 12, 2011. The event was held at Lebanon Community Park near Cheadle Lake and funds raised will benefit the LCF, as well as the Oregon Military Support Network. Over 300 runners participated in Cheadle Challenge, including eight YouthBuild students who were given complementary registrations by the LCF as a gracious thank you for students’ efforts. Such efforts included trimming blackberry bushes and removing brush to clear several trails along the course of the Adventure Run. In addition, students assisted with creating obstacles and even built an 8-foot tall wall which runners had to climb over during the first mile of the 3.6-mile race!

AmeriCorps*VISTA Team Spends the Day Learning About Homelessness in Benton County and Giving Back

CSC’s Building BridgesAmeriCorps-*Vista Leader, Katherine Finch, right, gives the fridge a thorough washing, while Melissa Poole, left, VISTA member at ChristWalk Supportive Transitional Housing in Lebanon helps organize the cabinets.

Last month, on November 16th, the ‘Building Bridges’ VISTA team gathered together for an educational, entertaining and service-filled team day.

The group started their day at Community Outreach Inc.(COI), a local agency that provides services and assistance to the homeless and poor individuals in the mid-Valley area. They toured the facility and learned about its services and resources from Volunteer Coordinator, Gerry Perrone.

They moved on to COI’s Supportive Permanent Housing Program, located in Benton Plaza. They assisted Case Manager and Coordinator, Angie Dahlke, clean, organize and decorate the community room for the holiday season. The team was joined by residents of the housing units for a hot apple cider social, accompanied with holiday-themed games and goodies made by the programs women’s group.

After a dinner at Downward Dog restaurant, that was graciously partially donated by the restaurants’ owner, Cloud Davidson, the members headed to the Oregon State Campus to attend the OSU Center for Civic Engagement’s faces of Homelessness Panel Discussion. Representatives from Jackson Street Youth Shelter, COI, OSU’s Human Services Resource Center and community members shared their personal and work-related experiences with the issues of hunger and homelessness. Commissioner Jay Dixon provided attendees with an update to the progress on “Benton County’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.”

The day was considered to be a huge success by all, and the team parted knowing a little more about homelessness and poverty in Benton County. They felt positive about being able to give back through their volunteer project.

CSC Open House

Martha Lyon, Executive Director and Sharon Barricks from Citizens Bank at Greeter meeting at CSC.

Albany Greater Area Chamber of Commerce held their Greeters meeting at Community Services Consortium at 250 Broadalbin, Albany on the second floor of Two Rivers Market. The Greeters meeting paved the way for CSC’s Open House held from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00.

Sharon Barricks from Citizens Bank won a prize for guessing the increase of emergency food box requests July through September over the same period last year. The correct answer was 15%.

Executive director Martha Lyon hosted the event and talked about CSC’s services to low-income families in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties.

The consortium is one of 18 community action networks statewide. It offers programs in energy, housing, education and nutrition. The Albany regional office is on the second floor of Two Rivers Market.

For more information about Community Services Consortium, call 541-928-6335 or email albany@communityservices.us.

Ruby Tuesday’s Community GiveBack Program

Community Services Consortium's Linn-Benton RSVP is partnering with Ruby Tuesday to raise funds to support our programs, including SHIBA, Senior Peer Counseling and Tax-Aide.

Dates: November 8 & December 13
Where: RubyTuesday, 1895 NW 9th St., Corvallis

To help us and enjoy a great meal, just mention to your server that you are dining to support the RSVP program. We will receive 20% of each “non-specials” purchase for the entire day on the 2nd Tuesday of November and December.

Please join us for Second Tuesday @ RubyTuesday!

A Time for Parents Class presented in Spanish

A free workshop series taught entirely in Spanish will be presented Fridays starting Nov. 11 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Albany.

“A Time for Parents,” a series based on Guiding Good Choices, is a research-based curriculum for parents of pre-teens and teens.

Classes will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 11 and 18 and Dec. 2, 9 and 16.
Topics include how to strengthen family bonds, setting family policies, teaching children skills to make healthy choices and keeping kids involved in the family.

To register or for more information, call 541-979-2487.

Fifth Annual Newport Project Homeless Connect

This year’s Fifth Annual Newport Project Homeless Connect was hosted by the Church of the Nazarene on October 6th, 2011. The successful community events lead organizer was Elise Jordan, CSC's ‘Building Bridges’ AmeriCorps VISTA member, with the Lincoln Commission on Children and Families.

Over 100 volunteers and 45 community agency partners pooled together their valuable time, energy and resources to provide 185 homeless individuals in Lincoln County many needed services. Incoming people seeking assistance were greeted with a friendly face and escorted to the intake table where volunteers helped them map out a plan for their afternoon. Event hosts escorted the service seekers throughout the event and joined them for a warm community meal, which had accompanying tunes from local musicians.

Homeless individuals who attended the Homeless Connect received services from Bike Newport who repaired bicycles and wheelchairs, volunteer dentists with their dental teams that provided over $20,000 worth of extractions and emergency dental care, and the hair cut team which provided 51 haircuts. Other services available included: free flu shots to all, resources and referrals for legal services, assistance in processing birth certificates for obtaining identification, housing and job support, onsite medical and vision screenings, as well as numerous other agencies that provided clothing, toiletries, sleeping bags, veterinary services for pets and much more.

HandsOn Linn-Benton Coat Drive

Make a difference by joining HandsOn Linn-Benton, RSVP and Community Services Consortium in a community coat drive culminating on Veteran’s Day, November 11. The organizations are partnering with 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, Good Samaritan Episcopal School, and First Congregational Church. 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 donate their services and will dry-clean the Linn County donated coats.

For more information or to see how you can volunteer in your community, visit http://www.handsonlinnbenton.org/.

AAUW to hear about homeless problem

The American Association of University Women will have a meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, at Two Rivers Market, 250 Broadalbin St. S.W., Albany.

Terry Knoll, Community Service Consortium’s emergency services director and member of HEART’s Adult Services Team, will be the speaker. She will present information about the scope of the homeless problem in our area and how the Adult Services Team brings agencies and organizations together to work with individuals and families who are homeless.

The public is invited to attend and refreshments will be served.
Following the program the monthly branch meeting will be held.

For more information, contact Theresa Johnson at 541-967-9516.

CSC’s Foreclosure Intervention Counseling Program

The following stories are just a few examples of the ways Foreclosure Intervention Counseling Program has assisted people in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. Jon Polansky, CSC Foreclosure Counselor says solutions to problems are often buried in confusion, unable to be interpreted by the home owner, and missed by the lender. Foreclosure Intervention is a program of Community Housing Services Department of Community Services Consortium.

A small detail
A 58 year old Linn county man had depleted his 401k and was afraid to contact his mortgage loan servicer of ten years. CSC’s foreclosure counselor, Jon Polansky encouraged him to come into the office and together, they called the loan servicer. The collection department had no solution since he had no income. They called customer service and asked some probing questions and found that he had paid his loan twice a month for ten years and it pushed the paid through date to the summer of the following year.

The right contact
An elderly woman in Lincoln County was three months behind in paying her mortgage; she had no savings but qualified and applied for a reverse equity mortgage which would take over her mortgage payments and allow her to stay in the home she had for 32 years. A credit card judgment in the amount of $3,500 appeared after the loan closing papers were prepared. The law firm representing the credit card company wanted to be paid before the loan closed. The loan would have provided the elderly woman with $5,000 and the money she lacked to pay the judgment. The law firm refused her request to wait until the loan closed. After looking for help, she was referred to CSC’s Foreclosure Intervention Counseling program and contacted Jon Polansky. Polansky found the law firm on the internet, called one of the firm’s partners on her behalf and the issue was resolved in her favor within three business days.

Misinformation
Polansky obtained a loan modification for a young woman who had recovered her income after a divorce. She had been rejected on her solo attempt for a home loan modification after the bank received an erroneous report that the house was vacant.

For more information about the Foreclosure Intervention Counseling Program, call (541) 928-6335 ext. 315 / toll free 1-866-245-1780 or E-mail jpolansky@communityservices.us.

CSC Receives Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the 19th consecutive year

The CSC Finance Department with the the Award of Financial Reporting Achievement. (Left to right) Kellie Oxford, Debbie Clearwater, Denice Stout, Cherry Condron and Debbie Jackson, Director of Finance.

Community Services Consortium (CSC) received The Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment. This is the 18th consecutive year CSC has received the CAFR.

An Award of Financial Reporting Achievement has been presented to Deborah C. Jackson, Finance Director of CSC and Don Lindly, CSC Governing Board Chair for having had the primary responsibility for preparing the award-winning CAFR.
The CAFR has been judged by an impartial panel to meet the high standards of the program including demonstrating a constructive “spirit of full disclosure” to clearly communicate its financial story and motivate potential users and user groups to read the CAFR.

The GFOA is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 17,500 government finance professionals with offices in Chicago, IL, and Washington, D.C.

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is the state-designated Community Action Agency serving Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties. CSC provides a wide range of services to low and moderate income individuals and families. CSC helps with employment, job training skills, food, housing, weatherization, housing rehabilitation, education and volunteer opportunities. For more information, or to support CSC and its many programs, please contact CSC’s administrative office at (541) 752-1010 or visit www.communityservices.us.