United Way's 15th Annual Day of Caring

United Way Campaign Cabinet Prepares for the Day of Caring

300 volunteers grabbed shovels, paint brushes, ladders and gardening shears to clean up various community buildings in the Rogue Valley for United Way's 15th annual Day of Caring.

The work sites and volunteer groups included:
• Ashland Supportive Housing, 1610 Clark Ave., Ashland, where volunteers from the Southern Oregon Society of CPAs and St. Mary's School stained a fence.

• Easter Seals, 809 W. McAndrews St., Medford, where Rogue Federal Credit Union volunteers provided landscaping work and painting.

• Head Start, 409 Fourth St., Phoenix, where John L. Scott Real Estate, Earth Angels and the United Way's Women's Leadership Council painted the exterior of the Head Start building.

• Living Opportunities, 808 Bennett St., Medford, where landscaping was done by US Bank and Providence Medford Medical Center volunteers.

• OnTrack, 1107 Stevens St., Medford, where volunteers from Providence Medford Medical Center and Wells Fargo built and stained fences.

• Siskiyou Challenge multi-sport relay in Ashland, a benefit for Rogue Valley Farm to School, where volunteers from the Medford Active 20/30 Club and Target were on the scene, monitoring intersections for runners, preparing food and providing first aid.

• Roots and Wings Child Development, 1801 E. Jackson St., Medford, where volunteers from After 5 Rotary and the Rogue Creamery did painting and landscaping work.

The Day of Caring, Jackson County's busiest volunteer day, coincides with the kickoff of the fall United Way fundraising drive. The organization hopes to collect $875,000.

For more information about volunteer opportunities and to make a donation contact the United Way at www.unitedwayofjacksoncounty.org

First Harvest provides Big Harvest for Jackson County

Tracy Goodrich tells us:

First Harvest, a project of Rotary District 5110, works to alleviate hunger by providing fresh food for families and individuals who are struggling. Food is acquired in two ways: 1. through volunteer driven community projects and 2. from corporate donors.

Community projects include a one acre production garden in Central Point that contributed 22,000 lbs of produce distributed to Jackson County Food pantries through ACCESS, Inc.in 2009. A smaller garden in Ashland contributed 3,200 lbs to the Ashland Emergency Food Bank serving Ashland and Talent in 2009. Rotary Clubs, many partners and even more volunteers work together to create a successful community. First Harvest Past President and Southern Oregon Regional Chair, Rotarian Carol Wythe, is emphatic when she states: "Without the help of the community we could not do projects like this."

The projects are incredible for building a sense of community and providing platforms for nutritional education. For example, the Job Council and Medford Opportunity High School have formed a unique partnership to teach at risk students by providing alternative education opportunities. This year, under the leadership of Kate Giles, the Internship Specialist and Crew Leader, students are being provided with a hands-on, practical learning opportunity by working in the First Harvest garden. First Harvest is also partnering with Experience Works and Job Council programs in the administrative environment to help increase FH's productivity while helping participant's become employable. Yet another way to address hunger in Jackson County.

The majority of our food contributions are from corporate partners such as growers, corporate wholesalers, retailers, and processors. It is food that will never make it onto the commercial market for several reasons. First Harvest works to salvage the viable produce from disposal and acts as a broker to connect the food with transporters and the food banks and pantries who serve families and individuals in need.

For more information http://firstharvestd5110.org,
email: admin@firstharvestd5110.org
and phone: (541)973-5431