Article Provided Courtesy of The Times, Brownsville OR – Written By Don Ware
The Board of the Central Linn Community Foundation approved seven grants offers to Central Linn organizations during April. Applications had been accepted through January 1 to March 31. Two were not accepted by the Board.
The grants totaled $6,500 this year. A special evening event will be held on May 31 at the Brownsville Community Room in City Hall to say thank you to the community for supporting the Central Linn Community Foundation and to feature the 2017 grant recipients and their service programs. The grants are as follows:
Calapooia Food Alliance: A grant for $500 was approved for the flooring of the gazebo in the Community Garden off Washington Street that was built by the members from a CLCF grant in 2016. The CFA is involved in encouraging the local community to produce and consume healthy local produce.
Central Linn Gleaners: The Gleaners were awarded $1,000 to offset transportation costs of members who go on weekly store and warehouse food pick-ups, delivery to homebound members, fruit/ vegetable/wood gleans and to help with the utility cost at Grace Bible Community Church in Halsey. The Central Linn Gleaners provides food for those in need, including, but not limited to low income seniors, disabled, and families with children, as well as homebound citizens.
Calapooia Watershed Council: The $900 grant is the cover the costs of 20 Central Linn students to engage in hands-on planting at the Thompson Mills prairie restoration project and to attend the local history presentation on Arbor Day in the fall. Their projects bring together youth, community members, volunteers, stewardship, history education, and acknowledgement of the Calapooia Watershed’s indigenous people.
Sharing Hands was awarded $1,500 for food purchases for from Linn Benton Food Share. 300 households will benefit with recipients ranging from infants to seniors. Sharing Hands is a local recipient organization of the Oregon Food Bank to distribute food to low income families, with the goal of reducing food insecurity and hunger in Central Linn. Sharing Hands provides several important services to the community including the thrift shop on Bishop Way, a preschool education program, a Parents and Pals social group, and more.
The Pioneer Picnic Association was awarded $600 to provide brighter and more stable lighting in the Picture Gallery located at the corner of Park Avenue and Main Street. They will replace the current fluorescent lights with retrofit LED light kits. This organization has served the local community for years with the annual Pioneer Picnic on the third weekend in June, as well as maintaining the historic Picture Gallery.
Talk It Up Tuesday, a program at the Central Linn High School managed by the Central Linn Youth Safety Organization, was awarded $1,000 to serve between 400 and 500 12 and 13 year old students and their parents. This 10 year old program provides information for students on issues they face including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, E cigarettes, bullying, energy drinks, meth, inhalants, cyberbullying, goal setting and more. Students take classes, write papers on these issues and then share with their parents. It encourages the parents and students to talk over the issues. It is designed to help students make informed decisions.
Meals on Wheels was awarded $1000 to help cover the cost of providing food to seniors at the South Linn Meals site in Brownsville. Some seniors come to the meal site at the Brownsville Christian Church, but deliveries are made to many seniors in the Central Linn communities of Halsey, Shedd and Brownsville, and also in Harrisburg. This program is under the direction of the Oregon Cascade West Council of Governments.