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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2019)
community february21 2019 Intercultural Society of Vernonia New public charity focusing on organizing community events By Scott Laird The newly formed Intercultural Society of Vernonia is filling a needed gap in the community, after the closing of the struggling Chamber of Commerce. While the new organization doesn’t di- rectly benefit local businesses as part of their mission, they are working to pro- mote Vernonia as a friendly and interest- ing place for visitors while organizing fun and family friendly events for local citizens. As a way of introducing them- selves to the community the Intercultur- al Society, a volunteer based group, is hosting a new event next month, a Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball on March 2, that will serve as a fundraiser to help support their other activities. According to Intercultural Soci- ety President Nicole Larke, the Vernonia Chamber of Commerce was struggling to find funding and provide the ben- efits their members expected. Without adequate resources, like staff and over- head funds, the Chamber was unable to sustain their general activities that in- cluded answering phone calls, manag- ing their website, updating memberships and their list of current businesses, and stocking brochures at their office at City Hall. Slowly they had shifted from being a support service for local business, and focused more on promoting tourism and events already taking place. “We had to find a way to sup- port all the events we were sponsoring in a new way,” said Larke. “We had been working from funds the Chamber received from hosting two different Cy- cle Oregon events in the past. When we started losing our overhead we really lost our capacity to promote businesses. We decided that we needed to found a chari- table non-profit so we could apply for grant money and so donations would be tax deductible.” Based on that decision, the Chamber was closed down and the Inter- cultural Society of Vernonia was found- ed, which is now officially a 501(c)(3) entity. Acting as an umbrella organiza- tion for numerous events in the commu- nity, the Intercultural Society will assist in managing and promoting events, and also provide financial support. “The businesses here in town that were members of the Chamber are now actively able to participate by spon- soring or donating to these events and festivals,” says Intercultural Society Vice Marie Krahn Massage Therapy President Stacey Pelster. “We’ve really been encouraged by the way businesses have chosen to get involved.” Currently the Intercultural Soci- ety sponsors the Easter Egg Hunt and the Halloween Sidewalk Parade. They also organize The Great American Bash con- cert and parade on July 4 th , (in collabora- tion with the Vernonia Rural Fire Protec- tion District who sponsors the fireworks display) and The Spirit of Christmas in Vernonia festival. “With Christmas in Vernonia be- ing as successful as they have been the last couple of years, I would really like to see that flow over into our other events in some way,” said Larke. “I think we saw it this year with the Halloween Parade, where we had almost double our previous attendance. If things like that can happen with the Great American Bash, we could really get some people flowing into town to enjoy it, and that benefits everyone.” The Mardi Gras Masquerade on March 2 is a dinner and ball fundraiser that will feature a no-host bar, live mu- sic, and a catered dinner at Cedar Ridge. Because of business sponsorships the Intercultural Society has been able to reduce the cost of tickets to $35. “The idea behind the Mardi Gras ball is to give us a way to raise funds so we can have a match when we apply for grants,” ex- plained Larke. “If it’s successful it can also supplement the other events we do.” They say they plan to hold an annual so- cial event like this, maybe at different times of the year; they are currently talk- ing about holding it on New Year’s Eve next year. Tickets for this year’s event are available at Vernonia True Value or at VernoniaSociety.org. In addition, the Intercultural So- community is looking to get involved. Pelster says there is also a need for help with subcommittees that work specifical- ly on events they oversee, like the Ugly Sweater Run, which is held on the same day as The Spirit of Christmas. “We can always use more hands with different events for people that are interested or have a passion for a specific thing,” says Pelster. “Our ultimate goal is to make all these events as cost effective for the community as possible, if not free,” says Larke. “Being a 501(c)(3) non profit will allow people to donate and get the tax write off,” adds Pelster, “but at the same time their donations will help to make these events more inclusive for families, community members, and local business- es.” For more information go to vernoniaso- ciety.org. 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Larke and Pelster say if the an- nual fundraising ball can be successful, they hope to build and grow some of their other events by adding more activities to their schedules, assist other groups do- ing events, and maybe add new annual events. “It’s sort of a give and take with the different groups since we’re such a small community,” says Pelster. The Intercultural Society is run by a Board of Directors. In addition to Larke and Pelster, the Board includes Shawn Gibson, Dean Pearl, Kim Byrem, Jeana Gump, and Tiffany MacTaggart. 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