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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2017)
16 Spring 2017 Applegater NONPROFIT NEWS AND UPDATES — ACCESS Food Share Gardens — Imagine every town in Jackson County growing enough fresh vegetables to help feed the hungry in its community. That’s the hope and mission behind the ACCESS Food Share Gardens. Since 2010 these highly productive, volunteer- run gardens have been providing thousands of pounds of fresh organic produce to ACCESS emergency food pantries. Do you love to garden? Want to learn? Come volunteer in a Food Share Garden! Near the Applegate Valley, there is a garden at the Oregon State University Extension on Hanley Road, Central Point. ACCESS is also planning on collaborating with the school garden at the Ruch Community School this year. No gardening experience or green thumb is required. The Food Share Garden’s on-site garden managers will teach you. Come to de-stress, connect to others, and serve your community. Volunteers are encouraged to take vegetables home for their own consumption because all of us can benefit from eating more veggies—especially those that are sustainably grown. To volunteer or obtain for more information, contact Kim Barnes at 541-779-6691 x309 or freshaccess@ accesshelps.org. — Applegate Community Church — Greetings, Applegate community, from your neighbors at Applegate Community Church (ACC). Over the holidays, we reached out to our hungry and hurting community with 20-plus boxes of food, which is probably double the usual amount of our annual food drive. Applegate School and the Lions Club helped with this endeavor, along with many generous donations from our church members who keep our food pantry (Joseph’s Storehouse) stocked so we can help people whom God brings our way. Former President Reagan once proposed, “If every church and synagogue in the US would adopt ten poor families beneath the poverty level…we could eliminate all government welfare in this country.” Whether his proposal was sufficient or not, this dilemma of neediness is of growing concern. We are a small congregation with limited resources. Hopefully, by God’s grace and His empowering Holy Spirit, we here at ACC will be a faithful lighthouse on the hill in the center of Applegate, pointing souls to Christ and filling stomachs with food, all in the name of Jesus Christ! May our humble influence cause the community to be a better place to live. “He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many a curse” (Proverbs 28:27). Parker Reardon, D.Min. parkerreardon@gmail.com Pastor, Applegate Community Church — Pacifica — Funds still needed for new Caterpillar! Pacifica’s beloved nature-science program, the Caterpillar, needs a new trailer. The current 20-year-old unit has decayed to the point that it is no longer roadworthy. Without a new trailer, this program can’t continue. The Caterpillar’s school visits have enriched the lives of many children in local schools for 16 years. The various educational programs offered are the equivalent of a field trip going to schools, which is more economical than busing whole classes from schools. This great program depends on public support to continue serving the children in Josephine and Jackson counties. We’re grateful to community members who have already contributed. Your much-appreciated donation is tax-deductible—Pacifica is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Mail your check to Pacifica, Caterpillar Program, PO Box 1, Williams, OR 97544. Donations also can be made through PayPal on Pacifica’s website at pacificagarden.org. For more information, call 541-846-1100. Thank you from the staff and Board of Directors at Pacifica! Pacifica’s Cedar Center Improved! Thanks to grants from the Four Way Community Foundation, the Carpenter Foundation, and the Oregon Community Foundation, Pacifica’s Cedar Center community building has new, efficient ductless heat pumps (see photo below). These new units replace barely functioning heaters dating from 1978. In addition, the oak flooring has received a durable new finish. All of this means a more comfortable and bright space for community events. For more information, call 541-846-1100 or email info@pacificagarden.org. — Applegate ACCESS Food Pantry — Located at the back of Ruch School at 156 Upper Applegate Road, the Applegate ACCESS Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 9:30 to 11 am. There are no sign-ins after 11 am. The pantry is closed on the last Monday of every month and whenever Ruch School is not in session. Please remember to say thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers. We have a great group of people who help our operations run smoothly. I would not be able to do this without them, especially lately when I am not able to make it down there myself. For more information, contact pantry manager Charlotte Knott at 541- 899-8381. — Applegate Valley Garden Club — During the holidays, the Applegate Valley Garden Club (AVGC) contributed to the ACCESS Senior Shoebox Program, which has been bringing holiday cheer to seniors in the Rogue Valley for over two decades. This program serves low-income seniors, persons recovering from health issues, and those with disabilities by delivering beautifully wrapped shoeboxes full of small, thoughtfully chosen gifts. AVGC member and project chair Janis Mohr-Tipton contacted Nicki Bell, ACCESS coordinator for the shoebox program, and found that the program had not yet extended to the Applegate Valley. Following Nicki’s suggestion that we could distribute in our own communities, club members collected an abundance of recommended items and created 31 shoeboxes. Among the categories of ACCESS-recommended items were dental care, toiletry, personal care, first-aid supplies, stationery, books, and nonperishable food items. The shoeboxes were distributed to deserving seniors and adult participants at the December Applegate Food Pantry. The club also created three family boxes with appropriate items for each family member and delivered those to Ruch School for their holiday help program. With the extra items, Janis created ten gift bags for homeless teens who came into the Maslow Project for help over the holidays. The club is very happy that our own communities in the Applegate Valley were served in the ACCESS Shoebox Program for the first time. The members hope to continue this service. If you or your organization would like to contribute or join us in creating an even bigger program next year, contact AVGC leader Gaye Anderson at 541-899-5952 or Janis Mohr-Tipton, Shoebox project coordinator, at 541- 846-7501 or janismohrtipton48@ frontier.com. ACCESS volunteers distributed more than 1,400 shoeboxes in the Rogue Valley in 2015 and more than 1,700 shoeboxes in 2016. For more information on this or other ACCESS programs, contact Nicki Bell at 541-774-4324 or visit their website at accesshelps.org. — Williams Grange — Current activities at Williams Grange include: • Mondays: Yoga with Abby from 9:15 - 10:45 am; Yoga with Kendra from 5:30 - 6:45 pm • Tuesdays: Zumba with Wensdae from 9 - 10 am • We d n e s d a y s : Yo g a w i t h T h e Community Yoga Collective from 9 - 10:15 am; Yoga with Cassidy from 5:30 - 7 pm • Thursdays: Zumba with Wensdae from 9 - 10 am; Aikido for Kids with Sense Michelle from 2:30 - 5:30 pm; Williams World Music Choir with Harmony Haynie (through May 4) from 6 - 8 pm • Fridays: Yoga with Cassidy from 9 - 10:30 am • Saturdays: African Drumming with Skijah from 3 - 4:30 pm • Sundays: Pancake Breakfast and Bluegrass Jam (second Sunday of each month) from 8 am - 1 pm; Ecstatic Dance (first, third, and fifth Sundays) from 11 am - 1 pm For more information or to reserve a date, contact Cassidy Geppert at williamsgrangerentals@gmail.com or 707-391-6964. 20100 Williams Highway, Williams, Oregon. Nonprofit organizations in the Applegate Valley are welcome to submit news and event information to the Applegater. Email gater@applegater.org.
