Sally Yee's blog

We are in Cottage Grove today, a community of about 10,000 residents, meeting in the City’s fabulous library. The building also houses the Chamber of Commerce, a therapy pool, the Senior Center and a Business Resource Center. 
Attendees represented a range of services

This afternoon at the C. Giles Hunt Memorial Library in Sutherlin, seven folks from Elkton, Oakland, and Roseburg asked me some great questions about Meyer Memorial Trust’s grant application and decision making process. We talked about how local support for a project is really important.

I said good-bye to Lane County last night. This evening I am in Drain, a community of about 1,100 people, situated midway between Eugene and Roseburg in Douglas County.

Program Officer Sally Yee reports on her meetings with representative from nonprofit organizations and other community members in Springfield and Oakridge this week. Check back for reports from other towns in Lane and Douglas counties.

We will be visiting five communities in southern Lane and northern Douglas Counties June 7-10, 2011, to provide advice about seeking grants from MMT and to collect information about the needs of nonprofits and communities there.

Today, I am traveling with Jill Fuglister, MMT's newest Program Officer, heading to The Gateway of Mt Hood - Sandy, OR.  Jill and I are hoping my little sedan doesn't get stuck in one of the snow berms created from the plowing of yesterday's snowstorm.

We will be visiting five communities in eastern Multnomah, Clackamas and Marion counties March 1-4 to provide advice about seeking grants from MMT and to collect information about the needs of nonprofits and communities there.

Maupin is the last stop on our Central Columbia Gorge TWST of Wasco and Sherman Counties.  About an hour drive south of The Dalles, located along both sides of the Deschutes River on Highway 197, this community of 490 residents strong has reinvented itself over the last few years.

While the county may not have a large number of residents compared to urban areas, residents must cover vast distances and rely on a core group of dedicated leaders to keep services and nonprofits running.  But it’s worth the effort.  When asked to share some of the things they loved about living in Harney County, one participant wrote:

“The glitter of frozen air on frozen sunny January afternoons, and the smell of air on a blistering August sage landscape.  We live in Paradise!”

Over 20 folks came representing nonprofits in Florence, Bandon, Mapleton, Westlake, and Charleston. There were three broad themes in our discussion – hardships brought about by the recession, protecting the environment, and programs for youth and families.