vernonia’s
voice
community
july
2008
07
Vernonia Cares Receives Grant Vernonia Pioneer Museum This
Summer
From Fred Meyer
Vernonia Cares Food Bank announced it has received a community grant total-
ing $7,000 from The Fred Meyer Fund for groceries and support services. Cares’
mission continues to be provision of emergency groceries for Vernonia’s low income
and flood recovery clients.
The Food Bank, located at 627 Adams Avenue in Vernonia, OR, assists over
350 people a month. These clients reside in more than 130 households. One third
of Cares’ clients are children or senior citizens. “We are so grateful for this gen-
erous grant from The Fred Meyer Fund, especially at this time,” states Director
Sandy Welch. “Cares client load increased by 33% since the December 2007 flood.
With increasing food prices and utility expenses, this grant will keep this valuable
resource (the food bank) available to those who need it. By providing emergency
groceries, clients may spend a little more of their money with flood recovery materi-
als or on their increasing utility services,” concludes Sandy.
Vernonia Cares Food Bank, a nonprofit organization, has been in operation
since 1985 in the Vernonia community. The building which houses the food bank
(The American Legion Post 119 building) sustained major damage during the flood
in December 2007. There was 53” of water in the building which destroyed all food,
freezers, records, and office equipment. Through donations and a lot of hard work,
much of that has been restored, but the replacements continue. Due to the increased
client base, more food is required, too.
“The Fred Meyer Fund and its Advisory Committee Members were particularly
impressed by the successful track record of Vernonia Cares Food Bank and its pro-
grams,” said Glynda Brockhoff, philanthropy coordinator for Fred Meyer stores and
The Fred Meyer Fund. “We hope this community grant will help Cares Food Bank
continue the important work it is doing to enhance the welfare of the community.
We are proud to be a part of the Vernonia community and are committed to helping
where we can.
The community grants are funded by donations from Fred Meyer Associates and
customer donations in the Make Change Count coin boxes at all check stands. The
dollars collected through associate donations and coin boxes are combined and al-
located by the Advisory Committees as community grants in the four western states
where Fred Meyer operates.
The Fred Meyer Fund assists nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping chil-
dren and reducing hunger in communities served by 129 Fred Meyer stores in Alas-
ka, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In 2007, The Fred Meyer Fund awarded $1.7
million in grants.
Wauna Federal Credit Union is
your local lending resource and
is working in cooperation with
Columbia County Flood Relief.
Your credit union can provide
lending options for expenses
related to:
Home Repair
Home Elevation
with our full line of mortgage
products, bridge loans, personal
lines of credit and title loans.
Wauna Federal Credit Union is
a participant in the Home Start
program, a grant program to
assist with down payments.
Call Heidi or Brian at your local
branch today!
Vernonia Branch
1010 Bridge Street
1.800.773.3236
503.429.8031
www.waunafcu.org
Summer hours are now in place at the Vernonia Pioneer Museum. They are open
from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from June through
mid-September (Quilt Fair Weekend). They welcome visitors during those hours;
special tours can also be arranged by calling the Museum at 503.429.3713. As al-
ways, they would love to have more volunteers to help as hosts during open hours.
If you can spare just three hours per month, they’ll be pleased to have you on their
roster of museum hosts. You don’t need to be an expert in local history; the main
duty of a museum host is to open the building and greet guests. And if it’s a quiet
day, you can just relax and enjoy the artifacts at leisure, read a book or catch up on
your correspondence!
The Vernonia Pioneer Museum Association Board thanks WOEC and Bill Sword for
removing the tree facing the Museum parking lot. It had been dropping good sized
branches, had a fungus growing out of places on the trunk and had grown above the
power lines. With limited funds available from the city and county, these volunteers
helped remove it safely and keep museum patrons safe. The Vernonia Garden Club
kindly offered to help replace this tree with some new ornamentals.
St. Helens Offers Free Shuttle
to Sand Island
The City of St. Helens will be offering a free boat shuttle to Sand Island this
summer through August 31st. The shuttle will leave the city dock below Co-
lumbia View Park every hour on the hour starting at 4:00 PM and running
through 9:00 PM on Thursdays and Fridays, from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM on
Saturdays, and from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. on Sundays. The shuttle returns
from Sand Island on the half hour. The last shuttle leaves one half hour after
the last shuttle to the island.
Sand Island is equipped with picnic tables, fire pit grills, benches, and com-
posting toilets. Tent camping is available. Bring your own water as there is
no water available.
For more information contact the City of St. Helens at 503-397-6272.
Yoga Fundraiser to Assist
Vernonia Cares
A special yoga training session entitled Kula Seva is being hosted by the Aletheia
Holistic Teaching Institute on July 9, 2008, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM at the Grand
Ballroom of Portland State University. A donation of $35 is being requested; all
proceeds go to benefit the Vernonia Cares Food Bank.
Instructor Andrew McAuley (LMT, RYT) was so moved by the need of the Vernonia
community after the flood of 2007 that he has come from the Washington D.C. area
to generously donate his time and experience so that as much as possible may go
directly to Vernonia Cares to provide for families in need. Andrew has recently re-
ceived his 500 hour certification in Prana Flow through Samudra: Global School of
Living Yoga.
The event is set up so that you may come at any time with no concern of disruption.
So if you work this day, come when you can! If you are unable to attend but are still
interested in making a donation, please note “Kula Seva” on the memo line of your
personal check.
The Sanskrit word Kula translates as “community” and Seva as “string”. Seva refers
to how we are all connected in the thread of existence. Currently seva is known as a
practice of selfless service, finding its roots in Bhakti Yoga.
You can pre-register for the class at: www.aletheia-hti.com
CCMH Moves Back Into Office
Columbia Community Mental Health (CCMH) has moved back into its old loca-
tion at 610 Bridge Street in Vernonia. The local branch of the clinic had relocated
while repairs from flood damage were made to its office.
Mental health counseling is available in Vernonia on Mondays. Chemical De-
pendency counseling is available on Thursdays. CCMH offers a wide range of
services at its St. Helens main campus including addiction and dependency treat-
ment, dual diagnosis treatment, psychiatric rehabilitation, developmental disabili-
ties services, and community outreach, prevention and education services. Trans-
portation may be available for those needing intensive services through Columbia
County Rider. To schedule counseling services, call 800-294-5211. There is also
twenty-four hour emergency counseling available at that same number.