CSC Helps Couple to Achieve Their Goals and Independence

When they walked into Community Services Consortium’s (CSC) office two years ago, Ashley DeVries and Frank Aguilar had simple goals: a home to call their own for themselves and the baby they were expecting, stable employment, and reliable transportation.

Ashley was pregnant with Bobby and completing her senior year of high school at the Toledo alternative school, while working part-time at Mariner Square. Frank had graduated high school, was doing odd jobs for cash, and struggling to get his driver’s license so he could get a better job.

With no stable housing, they were shifting back and forth between Ashley’s grandma’s home and Frank’s dad’s trailer, with the added stress of securing rides to work and school and their “in-between” homes.

Ashley and Frank were excited to hear about CSC’s Youth Programs, which focus on helping participants complete their education while teaching them job-specific skills. They secured positions on the YouthBuild construction crew, where students gain construction skills and work experience by building, repairing or renovating houses for low-income families.

Ashley and Frank worked full-time for nine months on projects that taught them basic construction skills that they use today. Frank reported that they had “remodeled the bathroom at Dad’s house – we gutted the whole thing,” and Ashley used her mudding and painting skills on a repair project at work. 

“I loved the program,” Ashley said, “and if I could do it again, I would.” 

In addition to the construction crew, Frank successfully completed the 10-week Basic Welding course offered by CSC, which he says made him feel very successful.

“This was always my main thing, anything having to do with fusing metals. But when I took the course, it took a lot of effort to learn this skill. I realized that it wasn’t just fusing two pieces of metal; it was like an art, to bring two pieces that were never conjoined, to come together into one piece, and do it the same way every time and with your own unique style,” he shook his head, remembering.

“It took a lot of ‘mind strength’ you know: to show up early every day and work hard. And we weren’t getting paid, but we were getting paid in skills, not money.” Frank still has the goal of a permanent job as a welder.

Frank and Ashley were referred to CSC’s Housing & Emergency Assistance Department for help with their housing needs. They successfully completed the Tenant Assistance program, which helped them secure their first apartment and receive the guidance of a case manager to set goals. They both agree that the help this program gave them was invaluable.

Ashley commented, “It gave us a chance to get our first place and I was able to stay home with Bobby for his first eight months.” The structure of the program, especially the monitoring, “kept us on our toes, alert, and on top of everything,” said Frank, and helped them to stay on track with their goals.

They remarked specifically on the classes offered as part of the program—the energy class and the low-budget cooking class, which were very helpful. For Frank, being able to save to get his license back was a huge accomplishment. “Being in the program helped me pay off my fines and finally get my license,” Frank said, who now has his driver’s license and the freedom it brings.

Ashley and Frank recently moved to California, where they live close to Frank’s family. They have a house, and are expecting their second child. Frank is working and Ashley is a stay-at-home mom, which she loves. The young couple is truly a success due to their desire to improve their circumstances, their hard work, and the support of CSC’s skill-building programs that give young people tools for life!

To learn more about CSC’s programs and services visit us on the web at www.communityservices.us and like us on Facebook.

CSC Natural Resource Crews Featured in Newport News-Times Article

The Newport News-Times has featured the CSC Natural Resource Crews and their collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other organizations in an article published on May 1, 2013.

You can view the story by clicking here or on the Newport News-Times website by clicking here.

CSC Career Tech Charter High School to Expand to Newport

To see the News Lincoln County feature on this story, please click here. 

Career Tech Charter High School is excited to announce that the Lincoln County School District Board has unanimously approved renewal of its charter with Community Services Consortium, along with approval of a new satellite campus in Newport. The charter includes a 20-student increase to Career Tech, bringing its enrollment capacity from 60 to 80 students in three locations.

Career Tech is a public charter school that provides an educational alternative for youth who have had difficulty finding success in the traditional school environment or who are seeking an alternative approach. The school provides individualized instruction in small classes and the opportunity to develop positive relationships with teachers and adults in the community through hands-on work.

“We started exploring the possibility of opening a campus in Newport last year, because we felt that we could fill a need for educational alternatives in central Lincoln County,” says Sean Larsen, Career Tech principal and manager of youth programs for CSC’s Workforce and Education Department.

Career Tech serves 40 students at its original location in Lincoln City (in Lincoln Square on the 4th floor of the City Hall building); partners with Angell Job Corps in Yachats to serve another 20 students; and will now serve 20 students at the new satellite campus in development in Newport this fall.

The Newport satellite campus will utilize existing Career Tech curricula and will offer apprenticeship-like opportunities to students through CSC’s Natural Resource Crews, which will become a program of the school, and a construction program modeled after YouthBuild, a nation-wide job training and leadership development program. CSC has successfully operated a YouthBuild program in Linn County for 13 years.

 “Through these programs, students will have the opportunity to access job readiness and occupational skills training alongside their academic preparation, “says Larsen.

For more information about Career Tech Charter High School or Community Services Consortium, visit our websites at www.careertech.us or at www.communityservices.us. More CSC news may be found at our News Blog at http://communityservicesblog.blogspot.com or follow us on Facebook.

HEART to Heart Resource Fair on May 16

The Albany Homeless Enrichment and Rehabilitation Team (HEART) and Community Services Consortium will host the eighth annual HEART to Heart Resource Fair Thursday, May 16, 2013, for individuals and families in Linn County who are homeless or living in poverty. The event is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Boys & Girls’ Club of Albany, 1215 Hill Street SE.

Representatives of more than two dozen organizations will provide information and help with disability or Social Security benefits; identification; finding a job; health care; housing; help with rent or utility bills; alcohol and drug treatment; and special housing, medical, and employment programs for veterans.

Individuals who need dental care can see a dentist at the Club’s dental clinic for extractions and examinations, first-come, first-served, from 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Stylists from SuperCuts will give free haircuts, volunteers from SafeHaven Humane Society will have some pet supplies to give away, and a bicycle mechanic will be on hand to do quick tune-ups.

A limited number of reading glasses, sunglasses, daily living kits, shoes, new socks, items for children, and first-aid kits will be available. Love INC will provide lunch.

The Resource Fair began in June 2006 when the City of Albany cleared out a long-established homeless camp in Simpson Park. The HEART Board of Directors includes representatives of local health and human service agencies, homeless shelters and advocates, the City of Albany, faith-based organizations, and Albany businesses.

For more information about the event, contact Marilyn Smith, 541-917-7507 or marilyn.smith@cityofalbany.net.

Letter Carriers to Collect Food Donations

The annual National Association of Letter Carriers Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive will be Saturday, May 11. Linn Benton Food Share barrels will be placed in the Heritage Mall and Ray’s Food Place to collect food donations.

Letter carriers will deliver postcards and bags to Albany residents the week of May 11. Customers in turn are asked to fill the bags with non-perishable food and place them next to their mailboxes by the morning on May 11.

For more information, click here.

Community Services Consortium Puts Volunteers in Motion

On any given Wednesday at CSC’s Linn Benton Food Share warehouse in Tangent, you will arrive to a packed parking lot. Road-worn pickups overloaded with farm-fresh produce, boxed food and canned food creak through the gravel, squeezing into one of the few available parking spots. The trucks are greeted by gleaners with pallet movers, who shuttle the food into the warehouse.

Gleaners are volunteers who drive thousands of miles each year collecting food from farms and supermarkets that would otherwise be thrown away (they even collect pet food). In addition to the thousands of miles they put on their vehicles, they also put in thousands of hours of time repacking and distributing  food to the hungry.

Inside the warehouse, operations run like a well-oiled machine. Gleaners huddle and buzz around the various food processing stations. On this particular day, thousands of pounds of cauliflower are being repacked into family-sized portions.

In one area, the cauliflower is broken down into florets. In another area, it is scooped and bagged. In another area, the bags are sealed. The assembly line moves at a dizzying pace. Gleaners dart in and out of the work area, taking a quick break and saying hello to friends.

For Paul Swanson, this is old hat. Paul is a staple at the Wednesday repacks, not having missed one in nearly six years. He also volunteers on Mondays.

“I just like to help people and stay busy,” said the former timber worker, who has lived in Oregon for almost 80 years. 

A number of volunteer groups help with warehouse operations throughout the year. This week, children from Hoover Elementary School in Corvallis helped to repack vegetables. Members of Oregon State’s Greek community also stopped by to lend a hand as part of a day of service in conjunction with Iron Brawl, an annual Greek philanthropy event. They unloaded and cleaned out trucks, boxed food, and even mowed the lawn.

“We all just want to give back to families in the community, and enjoy working to fight against hunger,” said Roan McQuillen, a member of Sigma Kappa sorority.

According to Independent Sector, a nonprofit leadership and advocacy organization, that work has a value. An Oregon volunteer’s time is worth $19.33 per hour. For the 3,159 volunteers that invested 14,232 hours at LBFS last year, that equates to $275,104, the equivalent of  4.1 million pounds of food on the tables of Linn and Benton county families in need. And that’s not even counting the work of the gleaners.

“It’s great to see families volunteer together. We have volunteers who started coming out to the warehouse as children, and now they are bringing their own families. Regardless of the task, our volunteers dive in with enthusiasm. Food Share volunteers are very committed - we have volunteers who have never missed a Monthly Community Open House and we have volunteers who have worked with us every year during the Annual Postal Carriers’ Food Drive. Even though we have a very small staff, we can order bulk food with confidence because we know that an army of volunteers will be on hand to repackage it into family-sized portions,” said Susan James, CSC Gleaning and Volunteer Programs Coordinator. 

Just down the road in Corvallis, three CSC youth crews are putting in a day of service at the Corvallis Environmental Center’s Starker Arts Garden for Education. The  CSC YouthBuild, Natural Resource Youth Conservation, and Youth Garden crews came from Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties to put the jobs skills they have learned to use at the one-acre community garden.

The crews built additional shed space, constructed a roof for a chicken coop, harvested winter kale, mulched multiple beds, turned some imposing compost piles, dug up and replanted perennials, assembled and varnished garden plot signs, and mowed and weedwhacked the during a five-hour work party. 

Corvallis Environmental Center Garden Manager Deanna Lloyd stated “it would have taken us weeks to accomplish what the youth crews did in one day. SAGE and our community really benefited from all the hard work that the youth crews put in.”

Volunteers have also enabled CSC to host large fundraising events, such as the annual Barrel to Keg Relay. The race spans from Philomath to Newport, and last year 115 volunteers, including the Lincoln County Emergency Radio Operators and  Newport Police Volunteers, helped to keep things in motion, doing everything from acting as course marshals to setting up and breaking down the course to keeping the relay and traffic exchanges safe and clear for runners.

In the spirit of National Volunteer Week, we give these dedicated volunteers a hearty and much-deserved thank you for everything that they do to help us fight poverty and change lives in our community!

Linn Benton Food Share hosts a Community Monthly Open House on the last Thursday of each month that is open to walk-in volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering with CSC, or have a group that is interested in volunteering at the Open House or at any other time, please contact Susan James at sjames@communityservices.us.

Youth Natural Resource Crews Featured in Newport News-Times Article

CSC's Youth Natural Resource Crews were featured in a March 27 article published by the Newport News-Times. The article outlined some of the crew's community service projects, where they learn both about both conservation science as well as practical job skills while continuing their educations.

The article can be accessed here: http://communityservices.us/files/Youth_Natural_Resource_Crews.pdf

Garden Gnome Run Less Than Two Weeks Away!

In just a couple of short weeks, Garden Gnome Run participants will be pounding the pavement to benefit the CSC Youth House Gardens!

The 1K Run/Walk, 5K Run/Walk and 10K Run is coming up on Sunday, May 5. The flat, paved course starts at the corner of SW 2nd St. and SW Western Blvd., and follows the bike path in Southwest Corvallis through Avery and Starker Arts parks.

All ages are welcome. Registration fees for the 1K Run/Walk are $20.00, and the 5k Run/Walk and 10k Run are $30.00. Use promotion code ggr2013 to receive $5 off online registration.

All entrants receive a tomato plant for their garden and a short-sleeve shirt (tech shirt for adult sizes and cotton t-shirt for youth sizes).

All proceeds go towards the CSC Youth House Gardens program. Every season, four to ten youth who are enrolled in our federal workforce program are responsible for caring for 40 raised beds, without the use of herbicides or pesticides. Our mission is to encourage learning, entrepreneurship and work readiness in Benton County youth and to grow and locally-distribute responsibly-raised produce.For registration, sponsorship, and other information about the Garden Gnome Run, visit http://www.gardengnomerun.com.

For more information about the CSC Youth Garden, visit http://communityservices.us/education/youth-garden/ or check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/CSCYouthGarden.

CSC Youth Crews Receive Conservation Grant

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is the recipient of a $10,000 Oregon State Marine Board grant through the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps to provide improvements to motorized boating facilities throughout Lincoln County.  The work will be done by CSC’s Summer Natural Resource Crews, and the project will begin in July 2013 and last approximately one month.

“The funding provides a wonderful opportunity for youth in the community to develop job skills through a paid summer work experience,” said Sean Larsen, CSC Youth and Education Manager. “The youth also get to see the positive impact of their work by improving recreational boating facilities in their own communities.”

The summer project will also include four hours of boating safety/educational training for crew members, as well as a one-day “Adopt-A-River” cleanup project in the area.

“Our partners at the ports of Alsea, Newport, and Toledo, as well as Lincoln County Parks & Recreation, have been great supporters of our Natural Resource Crews program,” says CSC Project Coordinator Virginia Tardaewether.  “They have made it possible for our crews to gain important work skills. With this project, the crews will be removing invasive plants, debris, and trash around boat launches and parking areas; painting restrooms; and repairing existing docks.”

Community Services Consortium has provided summer conservation work since 2003 for youth in Lincoln County, aged 14-21, who lack positive connections to their communities and exhibit barriers to employment and/or successful school completion. 

The Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (OYCC) Summer Conservation Corps was established by the Oregon Legislature in 1987 to provide a program to increase educational, training and employment opportunities for youth.  Their focus is in improving employability, increasing social skills and personal development, and appreciation of the environment. OYCC has funded CSC’s Summer Natural Resource Crews since their inception in 2003.

Established in 1959, the Oregon State Marine Board is Oregon’s recreational boating agency, dedicated to safety, education and access in an enhanced environment.  The Board also provides grants to develop and maintain accessible boating facilities.    

Correction to "LBFS Gleaner in the News" Blog Post

Linn Benton Food Share employee/driver Morrie Orth was misidentified as a gleaner in the Monday, March 18 "LBFS Gleaner in the News" blog post. We apologize for the mistake.

Local Businesses Step Up to Make Food Drive a Success

Trudy Powell (on behalf of the OSU Zoology and Biology departments) sent the following letter to the Corvallis Gazette-Times "Good Words" section regarding a food drive for Linn Benton Food Share:

Local businesses stepped up to make food drive a success

The Oregon State University Department of Zoology and the biology program are very grateful to the businesses that provided items for our February silent auction and houseplant sale fundraisers for the Governor’s State Employee Food Drive, which benefited Linn Benton Food Share.

Each year, Oregon State helps to feed the hungry in Linn and Benton counties through a variety of ways, including the annual Food Drive.

We want to thank American Dream Pizza, Bella Vino Gift Baskets, Browsers’ Bookstore, Clodfelter’s Public House, Creative Crafts and Frame Shop, Cyrano’s, Dream Dinners, Great Harvest Bread, Harrison House Bed & Breakfast, Local Boyz Hawaiian Café, Schmidt’s Garden Center, Soft Star Shoes, Squirrels Tavern, Staples and Tyee Wine Cellars for generously and enthusiastically partnering with us to raise money for those in need.

Trudy Powell for OSU Zoology and Biology

Many thanks to the generous businesses that made the food drive a success!

You can view the letter at the Corvallis Gazette-Times web site here.

CSC Youth Crews Prepare SAGE Garden for Spring

Community Service Consortium’s youth crews teamed up to celebrate AmeriCorps Week on Thursday, March 14th by completing a number of projects at the Corvallis SAGE (Starker Arts Garden for Education) garden, in cooperation with the Corvallis Environmental Center.

The YouthBuild, Natural Resource Crew, and Youth Garden crews built additional shed space, constructed a roof for a chicken coop, harvested winter kale, mulched multiple beds, turned some imposing compost piles, dug up and replanted perennials, assembled and varnished garden plot signs, and mowed and weedwhacked the one-acre community garden during the five-hour work party.

Corvallis Environmental Center Garden Manager Deanna Lloyd expressed her appreciation to the crews, stating that “it would have taken us weeks to accomplish what you all have done in one day. SAGE and our community really benefits from all the hard work you put in.”

While the day included a tremendous amount of work, there was still time for teachable moments. Natural Resource Crew member Aiden got a lesson from Lloyd in edible weeds, mustard and chard, and even got to take home some samples.

The youth crews all are part of the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps network, and enroll approximately 35 members between the ages of 16-24 throughout Linn, Benton, and Lincoln counties. Though each program has a different focus, all programs include opportunities for completing high school, building work-readiness skills and preparing for employment and college.

CSC YouthBuild AmeriCorps is based out of Linn County, and is a pre-apprenticeship program designed to help students earn their high school diplomas or GEDs, and gain occupational skills and work experience by building, repairing or renovating houses for low-income families.

Natural Resource Crews, based out of Lincoln County, provide youth with extensive science and environmental education through projects focused on natural resource conservation and habitat restoration. The crews complete conservation projects in natural areas throughout Lincoln County, partnering with organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State Parks, US Forest Service and local watershed councils.

The CSC Youth Garden crew, based out of Benton County, is responsible for caring for the CSC Youth Garden at the corner of 2nd and Western in Corvallis. The youth tend over 40 raised beds without the use of herbicides or pesticides. The sustainably raised produce is sold at the Corvallis Farmers’ Market throughout the year at their market booth.

The CSC Youth Crews look forward to working with the Corvallis Environmental Center on other projects, as well as other community-building activities throughout the year. 

For more information on Community Service Consortium’s Youth Programs, visit http://communityservices.us/education/detail/category/youth-programs/.

Community Services Consortium (CSC) is a state-designated Community Action Agency serving Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties with housing, nutrition, economic stability, and educational assistance programs since 1980. To support our Youth Programs or any of CSC’s poverty-fighting programs and services, visit our website at www.communityservices.us. Donations may be made through our website or mailed to our main office: Community Services Consortium, 245 Broadalbin Street, Suite 2A, Albany, OR 97321.