Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis

Service Above Self in Corvallis, Oregon

Club News

Relevant Rotary Programs

Our Program Committee does an excellent job of scheduling interesting, relevant speakers to talk to our members at our Friday meetings. This month we have had a couple of timely discussions about the local impact of national issues. On June 5th, we were privileged to hear the voice of  Ricky Carson. Corvallis native Ricky Carson is a born & raised black Oregonian studying mass media and communications abroad at the University of West London. He shared his lived experience of racism in Corvallis and his insights about concrete steps we can take to improve our schools, our police and community at large.

On June 12th, we had the honor of hearing from Benton County District Attorney (and RCGC Member) John Haroldson speaking on the topic: The Power of Knowledge – Understanding Systems as a Precursor to Reform. He talked about local law enforcement initiatives in the current climate. John is the first Latino elected to serve as District Attorney in the State of Oregon, and has served as a criminal prosecutor since 1988.

Want to join Rotary? Ask us about our great line up of weekly speakers. Let us know if you would like to be a guest and check us out 

Sending Note Cards to our Local Senior Centers

For the past two months, our Rotary Club has been sending cheerful note cards (several hundred), puzzles, books, and virtual hugs to the senior citizens at local Senior Centers. Our members are really enjoying connecting with this group (a few already have established pen pals) so we have decided to add this activity as part of our ongoing Community Service projects.

Corvallis Housing First Receives Support From Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis

The Rotary clubs of Benton County recently received some special disaster relief funds from Rotary International, $400 per club. The guidelines were that the money had to serve the homeless or homebound and 80% of the grant funds were to go towards the purchase of food and 20% towards the purchase of hygiene items. Our club raised an additional $625, at a recent Friday Zoom meeting, to add to the $400 grant money, for a total of $1025 to provide service for those in need. We chose Corvallis Housing First.

Corvallis Housing First provides housing and services for individuals experiencing homelessnes in our Corvallis Community. They work with partners in the community to ensure people get what they need to live their best life. Donors are vital to ensuring services are provided.


      

Thanks to Jim Swinyard and Andrea Myhre for taking the lead on this service project. Jim purchased food items for the SORT (Street Outreach and Response Team) as well as items for Safe Place. The Street Outreach and Response Team visit homeless people who are camping to provide them with food, water, socks and other supplies for survival. SORT tries to be proactive in addressing some of the concerns around camping. Each week, the SORT street outreach team brings hot coffee, small food items, water, and hygiene supplies to people on the street. The purpose of SORT is to promote harm reduction; to check on the health and wellbeing of those who are experiencing homelessness, as well as to share information about community resources and to form trusting relationships to help them improve their lives. SORT is a collaboration between several agencies and volunteer groups. The food items recieved through rotary will be distributed now and into the coming weeks.

Other funds raised by our club will go to helping support the Safe Place program, specifically through purchasing items for kitchen and shelter facilities. The Safe Place program is an emerging program of Unity Shelter, a newly-formed nonprofit dedicated to supporting the Cold Weather Men’s Shelter, Room at the Inn women’s shelter, and the Safe Place program. Safe Place includes transitional housing such as micro-shelters, managed tent camping, and car/RV camping at local religious organizations for those experiencing homelessness. These two services complete an important part of the services continuum for those experiencing homelessness in our community.

Some City Love for our 29th Street Adopted Park

 Kudos to Charlie Mitchell and all club members that have had a hand in the upkeep of the 29th Street Island Park. Following is a letter Charlie received from Corvallis Parks & Recreation;

  Dear Charlie,

Corvallis Parks & Recreation sends our warmest thanks to you, and Rotary of Greater Corvallis, for everything that you have accomplished at the 29th Street Island in 2019! The landscape & turf areas continue to benefit from your ongoing adoption care – and in an area that sees a good deal of traffic.

Volunteer commitment such as you have exemplified is critical for keeping our parks in a healthy and attractive condition for the public to enjoy and Corvallis Parks & Recreation is thankful for everything that you have done. We hope you are all staying healthy and look forward to continued partnership for service in the community.

Thank you!

Stephen McGettigan

Corvallis Parks & Recreation

RCGC Covid-19 Task Force – People of Action!

This is what happens when motivated and engaged members of our club join together, share their vision, exchange ideas about solutions, and then take action to make it a reality!

Our Club’s Covid 19-Task Force, with Daniel Sidder at the helm, is definitely a great example of “People of Action!” Following is a list of actions taken in just the last 9 weeks.

  • Raised $1,300 and bought treats, games, and sanitizer for 8 senior facilities in Corvallis
  • Written hundreds of letters to local seniors (not sure exact number!)
  • Supported 48 local businesses by purchasing gift cards and encouraging club members to shop/eat at their establishments
  • Raised ~$600 to provide lunch or treats to the first responders & essential staff at the fire station, ER, and employment office
  • Volunteered 28 total hours at the SAGE Garden
  • Volunteered 10+ total hours at Furniture Share
  • Sewn hundreds of masks for community members
  • Matched the $400 from district to support local people experiencing homelessness
  • Started a food drive and have delivered 2 car loads of food to the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank
  • Called Rotarians we haven’t seen much of to see how they’re doing and to continue building fellowship

ROTARY ROCKS!!!

Volunteer Opportunities

Our RCGC COVID-19 Response Team has a weekly Zoom planning meeting every Tuesday from 4pm – 5pm. Do you have a new idea for club action or just want to get involved with planning our club’s active response? Join the planning team. Contact Daniel Sidder for Zoom details: daniel@bentonhabitat.org   

The following volunteer opportunities have come from these weekly meetings:

Wednesday, May 20th – Thank You at Oregon Employment Office
Meet at 11:00am at 4170 SW Research Way
Please bring a mask and posters if you have them
A photo will be taken in the parking lot closest to their south entrance double doors
Questions: contact Jill Schuster/Kristi Tanner-Miller 

Wednesday, May 20th – Help Support and Celebrate Junior Youth of the Year Candidates
Location: Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis – South side of building (by the outdoor basketball court in the Linus Pauling parking lot)
Arrive a little before 2pm – it will only last about 10 minutes
Being outside, with 6ft distancing, we can safely celebrate the kids (bring cowbells and horns and lots of energy and enthusiasm)
Questions: contact Helen Higgins 

Ongoing – Linn Benton Food Share
Linn Benton Food Share is in need of:

  1. Boxed Cereals
  2. Ready meals, i.e. canned soups, etc.
  3. Canned vegetables
  4. Flour: white, masa and gluten free
  5. Standardized food boxes, 10-14 inches tall by 10-14 inches wide to box up food for those in need.

Inge King has set up a collection box at the Washington Federal Bank office, 1111A NW 9th Street in Corvallis. It is open 24/7 in the ATM area, access after hours via your debit or credit card swiped through the lock. Please contact Inge if you have any questions: inge.king@wafd.com

Furniture Share Food Box Distribution Volunteer Shift
Each Tuesday in May, 9:30am – 12 pm. Contact Jill Schuster to sign up: jill@jillschuster.com

Furniture Share Donation Pick-Up and Delivery
Times vary based on your availability. Contact Jill Schuster to sign up: jill@jillschuster.com

Ongoing – SAGE Garden Volunteering
Wednesdays from 3pm – 5pm. Help get the crops in that will grow food for the Benton County Food Share this summer. To sign up each week contact Daniel Sidder: daniel@bentonhabitat.org

A BIG THANK YOU to our Club members for showing what “Service Above Self” is all about!