THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020
THE CHRONICLE — 13
COTTAGE GROVE GRANTS
Here’s how
to help
feed kids
Foundation distributes more than $11,000+
T he Cot t age G rove
Community Foundation
(CGCF) announced its Grant
Award Recipients for 2020
and that 12 nonprofi t orga-
nizations were selected as
community grant recipients
for a total of $11,186 and two
unsolicited grants for $4,500.
T he Cot t age G rove
Community Foundation
will celebrate with these
nonprofi t organizations at a
Community Grant Awards
ceremony on Tuesday, March
17 from noon to 1 p.m. in
the Shepherd Room of the
Community Center. The
public is invited to attend.
T he Cot t age G rove
Community Foundation is
a public nonprofi t organiza-
tion to help improve the qual-
ity of life for residents of the
City of Cottage Grove and
surrounding communities.
The Foundation is a resource
for citizens, private compa-
nies, and other foundations
to make charitable gifts and
bequests that will provide
fi nancial support to educa-
tional, medical, cultural,
social, and civic organiza-
tions serving our community.
• Lincoln Middle School
Physical Education — Bars
& Bumpers, $1,000. Donor:
Veatch Endowment Fund.
• Lincoln Middle School —
Lincoln Middle School Fresh
Produce for Food Class, $1,000.
Donor: Green Earth Advised
Fund.
• Ophelia’s Place — Lincoln
Middle School Partnership to
Empower Youth, $1,000. Donor:
Carlton Woodard Advised Fund.
• SquareOne Villages —
Cottage Villages: Tiny Home
affordable housing project in
Cottage Grove, $1,000. Donor:
C o m m u n it y F o u n d a t i o n
Permanent Endowment Fund.
• Bohemia Mining Days,
Inc. — Sidewalk Cable Safety
Ramps, $526. Donor: Carlton
Woodard Advised Fund.
• Singing Creek Education
Center — Modern Pioneer
Lunch Kits Project, $1,000.
Donor: Community Foundation
Permanent Endowment Fund.
• Looking Glass Community
Services — Cottage Grove
Ru ra l P rogra m Building
Purchase & Renovation, $1,000.
Donors: Community Foundation
Permanent Endowment Fund
($500), Harrison/Fuller Advised
Expendable Fund ($63), Believe
In Angels Advised Subfund
($437).
• Community Sharing —
Community Sharing Freezer
Project, $1,000. Donor: Carlton
Woodard Advised Fund.
• Opal Center for Arts &
Education — Creative Chaos
Theater Camp, $660. Donor:
Green Earth Advised Fund.
• St. Vincent de Paul Society
of Lane County — Finding
Paths to Prosperity, $1,000.
Donor: Green Earth Advised
Fund.
• CASA of Lane County
— Rural Outreach Serving the
Need, $1,000. Donor: Harrison/
Fuller Advised Expendable
Fund.
• Family Relief Nursery —
Therapeutic Classroom Update,
$1,000. Donor: Community
Foundation Per manent
Endowment Fund.
• Friends of the Cottage
Grove Library — Unsolicited
grant, $500. Donor: Frank &
Pamela Simpson Advised Fund.
• First Presbyterian Church
— Earth & Social Justice Fund,
$4,000. Donor: Women’s and
Children’s Fund.
COTTAGE GROVE ROTARY
The March 5 Rotary luncheon featured Four-Way
Speech Contest participants. From left: Joe Raade,
student Oden Armstrong, who was runner-up for
his essay on political division, student Michael
Dickerson, who earned fi rst place for an essay on
proverty, and club president Christina Lund.
BY GINI DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
Area students often volunteer at the Creswell Food Pantry.
Food Pantry well-stocked, prepared
to help feed needy during pandemic
BY GINI DAVIS
THE CHRONICLE
CRESWELL – As the community strives
to absorb and adapt to the waves of infor-
mation, precautions and mandates coming
from medical, scientifi c, public health and
governmental offi cials regarding the spread
of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and how best
to keep their families safe, it’s reassuring
to know that local nonprofi t organizations
are still working to support those in need
– including those impacted by a temporary
loss of income as schools and businesses are
impacted by the crisis.
Creswell Food Pantry continues to distrib-
ute food to individuals and families meeting
gross monthly or annual income guidelines
(see graphic, this page) every Thursday from
12:30 to 3 p.m., and is working hard to protect
its customers and volunteers from viral trans-
mission while meeting this vital community
need.
“We understand that our customers will
continue to need food throughout this
Coronavirus global outbreak,” said Pantry
manager, Susan Blachnik, adding that the
Pantry is currently serving an average of 65
families per week, up from 40 one year ago.
The Pantry has implemented the follow-
ing steps to protect customers and volunteers:
1) Pantry staff is temporarily reduced from
16 to nine, to run most effi ciently and limit
crowding.
2) Customers will remain outside and are
asked to mingle in groups of three or fewer.
No chairs or lines.
3) Check-in will be outside, in order of
arrival. Judy (the Pantry’s check-in volunteer)
is doing all the writing.
4) Early arrival is discouraged. The Pantry
will not begin checking people in earlier than
11:45 a.m., as time is needed to put deliveries
away and stock for the day.
5) Once checked in, waiting in cars until
12:30 p.m. is requested.
6) The Pantry will use only their own boxes
or bags – no totes or boxes from homes.
7) Cart-moving volunteers will sanitize
carts after each use; they will use hand gel
and replace their gloves between customers.
8) Boxes will be prepacked, keeping in
mind that most customers prefer minimal
dried beans, since they are offered so often.
9) Pantry staff and volunteers always follow
food-handling guidelines when working with
fresh produce (good handwashing per guide-
lines and wearing gloves when handling
produce).
10) If a customer is sick, the Pantry asks
that they send someone in their place to pick
up their food.
Despite the current and expected increase
in customers, “We have an adequate food
supply overall, though we are low on canned
foods,” Blachnik said.
She noted that due to Coronavirus concerns
and the mandated two-week school closure,
Creswell Middle School cancelled their
March food drive.
“Families are needing to keep their homes
stocked and cannot donate,” Blachnik said.
Therefore, “We ask that the community
continue to support our food program by
donating canned foods at the local food barrel
locations – Farmlands Market, Creswell
Bi-Mart, and Creswell Library.”
Donations can be mailed to Community
Food for Creswell, PO Box 351, Creswell OR
97426.
Updates regarding Pantry services and
needs will be posted on the Creswell Food
Pantry Facebook page. For more information,
call Food for Lane County at 541-343-2822,
or Creswell Food Pantry manager Susan
Blachnik at 541-246-9117.
CR E SW E LL — W hen
Creswell School District shut-
tered its doors a week ahead of
spring break to help slow the
spread of Coronavirus, one of
the biggest and most immediate
concerns was how to continue
getting nutritious food to chil-
dren whose families depended
on receiving free or reduced-
price meals every school day.
Community organizations
have stepped up to help:
Creswell Food 4 Kids
Creswell Food 4 Kids will
continue delivering weekly food
bags to kids in their program
during the closure (including
spring break) and “as long as we
possibly can,” said director Lisa
Ross, adding, “We have added a
few extra items to the food bags
to try and help with the extended
school closures.”
Home deliveries or pick-ups at
The Hub, 95 Front St., are sched-
uled for 5:30-6 p.m. on consec-
utive Fridays, March 20 and 27.
Ross assured families that
“volunteers who pack and
deliver the food bags are strictly
following our policies of wash-
ing hands, not handling fresh
food with bare hands – we wear
gloves – and sanitizing our
tables and workspace,” she said.
“Our delivery volunteers are
the same every week and they
care very much for the families
they deliver to and will not take
a chance of exposing them to
anything.”
Naturally, when the public has
a higher need, so do the organiza-
tions striving to fi ll it, and Food 4
Kids needs donations. Packaged
food can be dropped off Monday
through Friday, from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m., at their location at The
Hub, or at Creswell Wellness
Center, 24 W. Oregon Ave.
CreswellFood4KidsProgram@
gmail.com.
Food for Lane County
In participating districts,
to-go lunches will be free to
all kids under 18 and offered
to adults at $3 per meal, from
11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday, March 16-20.
Creswell First!
It welcomes requests for
fi nancial assistance from orga-
nizations that are delivering
local services to deal with this
health crisis. Any organization
can go to the Creswell First!
website, creswellfirst.com, to
make contact.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 – out of the box!
CRESWELL – Kindergarten classes at Creslane Elementary were among the fi rst to cele-
brate Dr. Seuss Week, which started March 2.
Students in the classrooms of Debbie Larson, Shawna Bradley, Nastalia Raines and Clancey
Cheryl sampled the odd-looking but delicious “green eggs and ham” made famous by the
author in his book of the same name.
That activity, along with hat-making, reading other Dr. Seuss books, and more honored the
birthday of the beloved children’s author. It was also Read Across America Day.
You can get involved and make a difference. The Intergenerational Reading Cooperative
is a unique and groundbreaking program where volunteers help support elementary school
reading and writing efforts.
Email Laurie Swanson Gribskov at swansongribskov@comcast.net.
Left: Cheryl Clancey’s kindergarten class at Creslane Elementary School
celebrated Dr. Seuss Week in their Thing 1 and Thing 2 hats.
HEIDI WILSON/SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE