TWST Blog

Florence, Lane County, Or

This morning’s meeting was held at the Suislaw Public Library in Florence hosted by the Library’s Director, Steve Skidmore.

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. Here are some highlights: The number of working poor and those who find themselves unemployed has risen sharply. For the parents who have jobs better access to affordable childcare is an issue. The number of food insecure seems to increase daily and homelessness has increased significantly as well. There was general agreement that these coastal communities are tied to the health and resilience of the marine ecosystem of the ocean. Fishing (both commercial and sport), wave energy, tourism impact these ecosystems. There is natural tension between commercial fishermen and environmentalists and work has been done to engage both in conversation. Some folks feel that their large retired population willingly supports important projects for the library, the senior center, and the arts, but getting support for programs serving youth has been challenging. I was so wrapped up in our conversation that I forgot to take a picture of the meeting. So instead, I thought you would enjoy a couple of photos from the Children’s Library.

This is Gayle Waiss, Assistant Director of the Children’s Library.

She is waving a kitchen utensil because she is serving up “Green Eggs and Ham” in honor of Dr Suess’ birthday. The children helped make the Suessian treat and here they are feasting like “Sam I Am”.

Their parents tell me that today’s activities were not out of the ordinary and families make a point to visit almost daily. I have one last thing from Florence to share, the beautiful Siuslaw River Bridge taken from the north shore in “Old Town”.

Newport , Lincoln County, Or

I arrive in Newport looking for the newly opened Oregon Coast Community College facility as of last September. It is a splendid building bustling with activity.

We met in the Community Room, where there was plenty of space for the 50 who showed up from Newport, Waldport, Yachats, Seal Rock, Depoe Bay, and Toledo. The issues identified by this group echoed what we heard in Newport. High unemployment and fewer living wage jobs increase those who are food insecure. And, the lack of affordable housing has caused homelessness to rise. With adolescent substance abuse on the rise, the need for positive youth development programs grow. Agencies are also pressed to provide the increasingly diverse population with bi-lingual services. Despite all these, this community is resilient and is rising to the challenge. Communication with each other, collaboration, and mutual support help to get them by. Many groups are working on economic development projects, including a nonprofit that promotes buying local food and products. This group asked great questions and kept me on my toes. They asked: Does Meyer Memorial Trust support partnerships, collaborations, or mergers? The short answer is yes, if they make sense and appropriate attention is paid to planning and monitoring the partnership. If the effort results in improving the quality of the programming, and maybe even increases service to more people. And, of equal importance, is if the effort helps each “partner” reach its organizational goals. Where do our trustees live? They wanted to know whether the trustees understood what it is like living in rural communities. I assured these folks that our board members make a point to travel throughout the state and take time to visit communities. They see TWST as a valuable tool to help staff and trustees learn more about these communities. How does a countywide program rate against a group serving a smaller audience? MMT definitely looks at the impact of a grant, how many are served, but that is not our only lens. Some nonprofits serve a smaller, very vulnerable or fragile population so they may serve less people. Or, often it is wise to pilot a project with a smaller audience first before taking it to scale. Sometimes an organization doesn’t have the internal capacity to serve more people. They had me going for the full two hours and them some. The group photo would have been a great picture to share, but here again, I was too engrossed in our conversation. I did manage to get a picture of Dave Davis, a consultant, and Debra Jones from Innovative Concepts of Lincoln County Central Oregon Coast. It was 45 minutes after our meeting ended and they were still talking coordinating service to low-income families for ESL (English as a Second Language), work experience, job training, and after-school and summer youth programming.

Tomorrow I’ll be in Lincoln City with Program Officer, Eric Jones.

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