VAVA: Strengthening our Community in Response to Crime

Mediation Works' Director of Restorative Justice Programs Cara Walsh asks:

Are you interested in participating in a collaborative and inclusive justice process? Would you like to respond to harm in your community in a way that builds understanding, encourages accountability, and provides an opportunity for healing?

The Victim Assistance, Youth Accountability (VAYA) program is a locally-based, community response to crime that focuses on addressing and repairing the harm done to people and relationships.

VAYA is rooted in the principles of restorative justice - which recognizes that crime creates harm, and that in order to right that harm, it is our common responsibility to work toward addressing the needs of the victims, offenders, and the community. This innovative program is based on the values of respect, interconnectedness, responsibility, accountability, empowerment, listening, dialogue, curiosity, empowerment, and healing.

VAYA acts to address the individual needs of victims, encourages and expects youth to be accountable for their actions, and helps youth connect with a community support system that will reduce recidivism, encourage personal responsibility, and integrate them into the community as positive, contributing citizens. In partnership with the Juvenile Division of Jackson County Community Justice, Mediation Works executes VAYA once a month, year round, through the delivery of a 6 day curriculum for youth offenders, structured support, and when appropriate, a dialogue between the youth and their victims.

For more information contact Cara Walsh at 541-770-2468 x305, caraw@mediation-works.org.

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

Locavores THRIVE with the Eat Local Challenge 2010

Take Thrive's 2010 Eat Local Challenge September 10 - 19! Sign the pledge on the Thrive website to become a Locavore and enjoy the delicious bounty of locally-grown food in the Rogue Valley.

Your Eat Local Challenge choices include:

Locavore Supreme- All foods that you consume during the week will be grown, raised or produced within 200 miles (you even agree to give up coffee, chocolate and non-local spices)

Locavore- All foods that you consume during the week will be grown, raised or produced within 200 miles (but you’ll still want your coffee, chocolate and non-local spices)

Taster- All foods that you consume during one meal per day throughout the week will be grown, raised or produced within 200 miles

Sampler- All foods that you consume during two meals throughout the week will be grown, raised or produced within 200 miles

All Participants will receive the following:
• Comprehensive Local Food Directory
• Weekly Local Food Menu Plan
• Local Food Recipes
• Eat Local Week Calendar of Events
• 2010-11 Rogue Flavor Guide
• You will be entered in a Drawing for a Rogue Flavor local food basket


To take the Pledge visit http://www.buylocalrogue.org/

September is BIKE COMMUTE CHALLENGE Month

The BTA's 2010 Bike Commute Challenge begins this Wednesday! Are you ready to join the competition of thousands of individuals and workplaces competing to see who can bike to work the most? While the challenge is run out of fellow Oregon city Portland, there are some groups from Ashland and Medford who compete locally. Join them!

How it works:
1) Anyone interested in taking the Challenge looks to see if their workplace is already registered. If it isn't, they register themselves and their workplace team at the same time. They become the Team Captain, by default.

2) Their coworkers register and join that workplace team.

3) Everyone logs their bike trips during the month of September.

4) At the end of the month, the BTA tallies the bike trips and ranks all workplaces in size categories by the percentage of commutes achieved by bike.

5) On October 7th, the BTA announces the winning companies in each category at a big After Party.

Check out the Bike Commute Challenge website for commuter tips, links to bike maps, information about bikes and transit, and to sign up!

http://bikecommutechallenge.com/join/

Change the Channel to Raider TV this Fall

The student government at ASSOU tells us:

ASSOU's new television network -- headed by Executive Director Hayden Perkins and Vice President Curtis Bartlett -- is on schedule to be released on September 27th of this year. The project is the result of a cooperative student/community effort to bring easy-access news and entertainment to SOU students. It will include video content provided by students, as well as campus-, state-, nation-, and world-wide news, weather, and sports. The network will be available through our local cable TV system and will be publicly displayed in the Stevenson Union and Cascade Dining areas.

This new project is intended to provide not only governmental transparency, but also publicity to those clubs and organizations working to make SOU an even better place to be. Through our new network, student groups will be able to communicate their messages more easily and strengthen our campus community.

Please contact assoucommunications@sou.edu for more information.

Counseling from the Heart in Phoenix

The heartfelt people at Phoenix Counseling share their story:

There are counselors in a little house on Route 99 at the south end of Phoenix who save people’s lives. And they do it affordably, with a program of counseling from the heart.

With love, compassion, and encouragement, the experienced staff at the non-profit Phoenix Counseling Center treats the whole person using a wide range of holistic treatment modalities that strive to make a positive difference in the lives of their clients.

Their cozy home setting serves the community with a variety of counseling, support, and addiction recovery programs for women, men, and families, plus they also offer youth mentoring programs, programs in the schools, and programs in support of the Hispanic community.

To learn more, to volunteer or to get assistance for your self or for someone that you care about, call 541-535-4133, or go to: http://www.phoenixcounseling.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