Welcome to the Curry County issue! Moving forward, our publication will devote one issue to each of our five-counties: Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine. Our hope is to outline all the future and past projects for the year in the particular county in order to keep you informed of all the great things being done in each county. We are still keeping our service map on page 8-9 that shows what programs and services are running to make sure that no matter the issue, you will know what is going on in. This month’s lead story is about our work with food systems, namely the Wild Rivers Coast Farm Trail.

Originally, the Wild Rivers Coast Farm Trail was just a cooperative promotional effort by several participating farms and markets looking to bring more attention to their work. The effort was led by the Eat Fresh and Local Action Team with support from the Bandon Chamber of Commerce, Wild Rivers Coast Alliance, and NeighborWorks Umpqua. NeighborWorks Umpqua engages in food system because of its importance in strengthening local communities and economies. Supporting

Volume 2, Issue 4, July/August 2019

Don’t you want to support local growers and farms? The farm trail helps identify and celebrate those local businesses!

The Curry County Issue

Debora Lightcap Chair

Jake Winn Immediate Past Chair

Randy Mason Vice Chair & Treasurer

Betti ManfreSecretary

Scott Cooper

Leesa Cobb

Carolyn Johnson

Kyle Kennington

Dylan Moncus

Elin Miller

Lisa O’Connor

Nancy Southerland

A new Downtown Roseburg Street Faire is coming! Join us October 13 in the heart of downtown Roseburg.

We have new home repair opportunities coming to our service area. Make sure you stay up-to-date on these developments by visiting our website or our social media pages. You can find those accounts on the back page.

Visit nwumpqua.org/events to see what classes are available or visit nwumpqua.org/classes to sign up!

positive outcomes with our local farms and markets helps strengthen the local economy and housing markets, creating a stronger community. This project was just another way that NeighborWorks Umpqua could build community!

Thanks to additional support from organizations like the Oregon Coast Visitors Association, the cooperative promotional effort became more. It grew into the Wild Rivers Coast Food Trail! This new trail represents a collection of local businesses that produce, source, or cook local foods on the south coast. Looking to support more local businesses and taste local cuisine? Food Trails are the perfect wayfinding tool for such ventures.

This particular Food Trail has 40 participating businesses that fall under six different categories; Farms, Farm to Table, Seafood, Markets, Artisan Products and Craft Brews & Spirits. Each of those

businesses undeniably local and perfect for a day trip to the coast or for more adventurous jaunts up and down our legendary coast. Supporting local food is a way to support our communities, and better housing and health outcomes at all levels. When local businesses thrive, so do local communities.

To help with adventures and forays into the south coast area, these participating businesses and

farms have added another reason to return: a free passport program. You can pick up a passport from any of the businesses on the Food Trail. You can also acquire one of these from the visitor centers in

Gold Beach or Coos Bay. These booklets will help plan your trip through the area, allowing you to collect stamps from the businesses. When you visit any of the destinations listed in the booklet, you just need to let a staff member know you are a participating in the passport program or are a passport participant. While there is no purchase necessary to receive the stamp in your book, it is highly encouraged to support the local business in some way. With each stamp you creep towards a new prize.

While people in the same household can receive prizes if they collect stamps in their

own passports, you cannot combine passports to receive prizes. While you can’t mail in completed passports, they do allow prizes to be claimed via email. Simply photograph or scan the stamped pages and the “About You” page and then email it to wrcfoodtrail@gmail.com. Fill out the short survey and you’ll get your prize in the mail in about 2 weeks.

What can you win? A variety of different things including a durable metal magnet, market tote, and entered into a drawing for a weekend on the coast! Get stamping! For more information about the passport program, make sure to visit https://www.wrcfoodtrail.com/passport. The next time you come to the coast, we hope you will participate in this exciting new feature of our area.

In the first part of the year, we held Dockside Discussions and worked with MIT students to better the local fishing industry in Curry and Coos Counties. The Dockside Discussions were an opportunity for local fishermen and crews to learn and talk about opportunities for the South Coast fishing industry. We presented on Dream$avers, Selling to Schools, Seafood Throwdown Events, Business Assistance, and more! The

Dockside Discussions provided an excellent opportunity for the organization to interact with local fishermen.

Later in the year, our staff attended a presentation from the MIT students. The students visited the area to research and propose creative opportunities for improving livelihoods in the seafood sector. We had a great time listening to the student’s presentation in Boston this May. They had a lot of great suggestions for improving local community outcomes. If you are interested in seeing the report reach out to Daniella or Michelle by calling 541-673-4909 or email info@nwumqpua.org.

What have we done so far in Curry?

Dockside Discussions

While this year’s event was not in Curry County, we know the importance of such an event for Curry’s myriad and beautiful communities. This conference gives our legislatures and community organizations an unprecedented chance to come together to talk about the significant challenges facing our respective communities, all of Oregon, and the nation. It gives organizations, like NeighborWorks Umpqua, the chance to put ourselves in front of our representatives to advocate on behalf of our residents and community members. This year’s conference was a great success for our new advocacy department and we hope in the future that you will reach out to us with any concerns or hopes for your community. We will strive to courageously advocate for our community in front of your representatives. We can’t wait to go to next year’s caucus on behalf of Curry residents.

Oregon Coastal Caucus

Like what you have seen so far? The past projects and the future projects are just a select few of the projects and work we are doing in Curry County. Want to help or have a new project in housing, finance, or community for Curry County? Reach out to us and let’s see what we can do! Email info@nwumpqua.org and let’s get talking!

Across several of our departments, NeighborWorks Umpqua engages our older adult population. In our home rehab program, we offer services for aging in place modification funding and are implementing Universal Design practices in our development projects moving forward. This allows our older adults to stay in their homes as they age. We are also a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) authorized site and the majority of our customers are 50+ years old. We also offer foreclosure avoidance programs and reverse mortgagecounseling to our customers. While these services are great for engaging with our senior clients, we want to do even more. That is why we are excited to talk about our latest proposed project based in the work completed about two years ago by the Port Orford Main Street Program at the south end of town.

Volunteers put in benches and did beautification work that lent itself to the City of Port Orford being featured in the 2018 edition of the AARP magazine Where We Live – section "Provide Places for People to Sit". We would like to expand this work and do a similar project at the north entrance of the town. We currently own one of the properties in this area and are interested in doing our part to expand the beautification work started by the Port Orford Main Street Program. We will partner with other property owners located in that same area to create a welcoming entrance to the community. First, we will build 6-8 growing spaces for container gardens or flowers. Then, we will install two additional benches to encourage folks to walk the length of the town and still have places to rest.

The garden beds will be purchased as kits from Durable GreenBed. The kits are designed using an eco-friendly, recycled woodchip/concrete composite that will last for 25-years and can withstand the severe coastal climate. The two wooden benches will be bolted to two of the Durable GreenBeds.

Rebuilding Together volunteer crews will supply the labor to build the Durable GreenBeds, add soil and amendments, plant flowers and vegetables in the beds, and install the two benches. Volunteers will be coordinated by NeighborWorks Umpqua’s Volunteer Coordinator and a Rebuilding Together AmeriCorps participant. If approved for funding, this project will be a great boon for our community! Follow this project and others by following us on Facebook at fb.me/NeighborWorksUmpquaCoosCurry/.

Port Orford Main Street Program Project

What is next for Curry?

What are we doing and where?A look at our work in Southern Oregon.

Equal Housing Lender. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS# 255912.

Lane, Jackson, Josephine

Douglas

Coos

Curry

• Financial Coaching - Looking to be part of a financial service or to save for a home? Our Financial Coaches are the required first stop.

• Full-Service Lending - Looking to buy a home or learn more about the home buying process? Contact our Lending Department.

• DreamBuilders - We are on the hunt for our next group of DreamBuilders! Our current crop will begin building in Myrtle Creek and our next build site will be in Roseburg. This site has a veteran’s preference but is looking for all applicants. For more information visit nwumpqua.org/dreambuilders

• CDBG - 20 home repairs are being completed in Roseburg, Winston, and Myrtle Creek• Financial Coaching - Looking to be part of a financial service or to save for a home? Our Financial Coaches

are the required first stop. • Full-Service Lending - Looking to buy a home or learn more about the home buying process? Contact our

Lending Department.

• Financial Coaching - Looking to be part of a financial service or to save for a home? Our Financial Coaches are the required first stop.

• Full-Service Lending - Looking to buy a home or learn more about the home buying process? Contact our Lending Department.

• Financial Coaching - Looking to be part of a financial service or to save for a home? Our Financial Coaches are the required first stop.

• Full-Service Lending - Looking to buy a home or learn more about the home buying process? Contact our Lending Department.

Meet a Board Member from Coos and Curry!

Carolyn Johnson is an experienced leader and community development expert. She has worked in local government and housing for over 30 years. She has experience in processing land use and development applications and brings a high-level of expertise in the housing field. With a Master’s in Community/Regional Planning from the University of Nebraska and an Urban Studies Bachelor’s, Carolyn is a welcome addition to the Board of Directors. In addition to her professional experience and education, Carolyn volunteered on a previous Board with a NeighborWorks Organization in California. This familiarity with NeighborWorks Organizations, like NeighborWorks Umpqua, and her vast experience in the housing field made it an easy decision to add Carolyn to the Board of Directors. We are so thankful for Carolyn’s commitment to our organization and Southern Oregon!

Meet Carolyn Johnson!

I’m a seasoned hands-on community development manager offering my professional expertise and experience to a stable and visionary municipal agency.

Make your voice heardTake our communication survey online!

NeighborWorks Umpqua would like to invite you to take a quick communication evaluation survey. We want our community to take part in a survey about NeighborWorks Umpqua, namely how we are doing in communicating who we are and what we do. We hope you will participate, as every opinion matters!

How can you help?You don’t need to be a superhero to make a difference (but it helps). If you can donate a minute of time or a few dollars, you can make a difference in the lives of our fellow Oregonians. It doesn’t matter where you live, chances are there is a project near you that needs your help. Interested in volunteering? Ask our Volunteer Coordinator what projects are available. Looking to donate? Ask how your tax-deductible donation can help by emailing info@nwumpqua.org. Make sure to stay connected with our digital and physical newsletters. Commit to building a better Oregon with NeighborWorks® Umpqua by filling out the form and mailing it to:

NeighborWorks Umpqua605 SE Kane Street

Roseburg, OR 97470

NeighborWorks® Umpqua Commitment FormThank you so much for considering a contribution to NeighborWorks Umpqua! Any monetary donations are tax deductible and any volunteer time is immensely appreciated. Please fill out the following form and send it to our Roseburg office. We appreciate any support you can offer!

Name

Email

Address

City, State, Zip

Phone

I would like to talk with someone about volunteering with the organization.

I would like periodic updates sent to my email.

Yes, I want to support your work in Oregon! Enclosed is a check with my tax-deductible donation of:

I would like periodic updates sent to my address.

Prefer doing things digitally? Then you must visit our website! To donate, visit nwumpqua.org/donate; to volunteer, visit nwumpqua.org/volunteer; to sign up for our newsletter, visit nwumpqua.org/newsletterfor more information, email info@nwumpqua.org.

$50 $75 $100 Other:

Make all checks out to NeighborWorks® Umpqua.

Enjoyed this issue of The Works? Make sure to sign up to receive it throughout the year! Visit nwumpqua.org/newsletter and sign up!

To request removal from the NeighborWorks® Umpqua mailing list, email info@nwumpqua.org or call 541-673-4909

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605 SE Kane Street, Roseburg, OR 97470Main Office: 541-673-4909 | info@nwumpqua.orgwww.nwumpqua.org