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East Oregonian
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Giving: Make volunteering part of your family’s tradition
food supplies, Thursday for
sweaters and coats, and Fri-
day for school supplies.
Items can be dropped off
at the main entrance of Good
Shepherd Medical Center,
the lobby of the Good Shep-
herd Medical Group Clinic
or the lobby of the Medical
Plaza.
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this long-standing tradition,”
said BMCC President Dennis
Bailey-Fougnier. “We have
volunteers who have made
it a part of their own family
holiday traditions to help out
at the dinner. I also credit our
student leaders, both past and
present, who had the idea to
have this community dinner,
and then have continued it for
49 years now.”
To volunteer or make a
contribution, contact Aus-
tin Shick at ashick@bluecc.
edu. Toys for Santa can be
dropped off at the Student
Life center in Morrow Hall
through Dec. 13.
“It Takes A Village”
Outreach Food Pantry
(and thrift store)
What is it: This nonprofit
organization helps families
each month through its food
pantry, thrift store and annual
holiday bazaar. The group’s
mission is to provide food to
those in need. The thrift store
(located at 440 S.W. Emi-
grant Ave.) started 10 or 15
years ago as a way to pay the
rent and stop relying so heav-
ily on grants. The store sells
gently used clothing, house-
hold wares and small quilts
sewn by volunteer quilters.
How to help: The pantry
can use volunteers, monetary
donations and gifts of non-
perishable food items.
Drop
by
or
call
541-276-2878.
Neighbor 2 Neighbor
What is it: A nonprofit
organization, Neighbor 2
Neighbor offers several ser-
vices to those lacking hous-
ing. The Pendleton Warming
Station provides overnight
shelter in freezing conditions
during the winter months.
The Day Center offers a
place to stay warm for several
hours in the morning during
extreme cold weather and a
cooling station during swel-
tering summer afternoons.
Located at 715 S.E. Court
Ave., it’s also open peri-
odically for showers in the
afternoon. Veda’s Breakfast,
which is on a temporary hia-
tus, serves a Sunday morning
meal.
How to help: Staffed with
volunteers, typical shifts are
3-8 hours. Volunteers must
be at least 18, pass a back-
ground check and attend vol-
unteer training.
Also, donations are always
welcome. Financial contri-
butions can be made online
or by mailing a check to the
facility. Also, the organiza-
tion keeps a current list of
needs on its website. Sleeping
bags and winter accessories,
such as gloves, long under-
wear and wool socks, are
among the current requests.
Simple food items and coffee
are also needed. Donations
can be taken to the facility
from 6:30-9 p.m. on evenings
the warming station is open.
For
more
informa-
tion, visit www.n2npend-
leton.org,
www.facebook.
com/n2nPendleton or call
765-791-8332.
Pendleton Animal
Welfare Shelter (PAWS)
What is it: Operated
Staff photo by Kathy Aney, File
John Lunny and his son, Drew, cut ham off the bone in preparation for last year’s BMCC free
Christmas Eve Dinner.
mostly by volunteers, PAWS/
Pioneer Humane Society is
dedicated to helping home-
less, lost, and at-risk animals
and pet owners. The non-
profit organization supports
community programs, such
as low cost spay/neuter and
low-income food assistance;
and are proactive with fos-
tering animals and facilitat-
ing pet adoptions. They also
operate the PAWSABILITY
Thrift Store, located at 203
S.E. Goodwin Ave.
How to help: Volunteers
are needed at the thrift store,
at the shelter (everything
from cleaning, walking dogs,
socializing with cats, doing
laundry), to foster animals
and provide transportation.
Also, new or gently used
items are needed for the thrift
store, as well as donated food
and supplies for the shelter.
And financial contributions
are tax-deductible.
For more information,
visit www.pendletonpaws.
org,
www.facebook.com/
PAWSPendleton or call
541-276-0181.
Domestic Violence
Services
What is it: For more than
40 years, Domestic Violence
Services has served vic-
tims of domestic abuse, sex-
ual assault and stalking. In
addition to shelters in Pend-
leton and Hermiston — and
additional advocacy cen-
ters in Boardman, Heppner
and Milton-Freewater — it
maintains a 24-hour crisis
line (800-833-1161), provides
safety planning, life skills
classes and other advocacy
activities.
How to help: The orga-
nization maintains a “Wish
List” on its website for cur-
rent needs, such as household
supplies, personal hygiene
products,
nonperishable
foods and towels and linens.
Financial donations are espe-
cially helpful, including cash,
checks and credit cards.
Also, volunteer opportuni-
ties include office tasks, yard
work, maintenance projects
and leading supply drives. In
addition, help is needed with
outreach, community events
and the crisis line. Free train-
ing is available.
For additional informa-
tion, contact 541-276-3322,
volunteer@dvs-or.org or visit
www.dvs-or.org.
Giving Tree & 12 Days
of Dining
What is it: Community
members can help wrap up
holiday joy for more than
400 children and youths in
the Pendleton area. In its
19th year, The Giving Tree is
filled with gift tags at Ham-
ley Western Store, 30 S.E.
Court Ave. Christmas wish
lists were submitted through
the Pendleton School Dis-
trict, the Oregon Department
of Human Services, Umatilla
County Human Services and
the Umatilla County Care
Program.
How to help: People are
encouraged to remove a tag
or two from the tree and
shop for requested items.
The Confederated Tribes of
the Umatilla Indian Reser-
vation and Wildhorse Resort
& Casino are offering addi-
tional incentives for partici-
pants. Customers will receive
a coupon for 10% off their
next purchase at Hamley’s.
In addition, those who are 21
and older can enter a drawing
for the “12 Days of Dining.”
The winner will receive gift
certificates, with a total value
of $500, at 12 food or dining
establishments owned by the
CTUIR/Wildhorse.
The unwrapped gifts need
to be returned to Hamley’s by
Saturday, Dec. 14. For more
information, contact Mel
Carter at mel.carter@uma-
tillacounty.net, 541-278-6330
or visit www.wildhorsere-
sort.com.
Christmas Express
What is it: One of the
community’s biggest giv-
ing endeavors is the Christ-
mas Express, which expects
to deliver about 500 boxes of
food and gifts to local fami-
lies this month. The annual
program, which will cele-
brate its 50th anniversary this
year, is run by the Hermiston
Police Department.
Ric Sherman, who helps
with Christmas Express each
year, said the police depart-
ment gets recommenda-
tions of people in need from
schools, service organiza-
tions, churches and social
service agencies. Recipients
range from families with
small children to senior citi-
zens living alone.
How to help: Commu-
nity members can help by
donating nonperishable food
items at Hermiston schools,
which collect thousands of
pounds of food each year.
They can also drop off toys
appropriate for children ages
11 and younger (no toy guns)
at Hermiston Police Depart-
ment or Hermiston City Hall,
or drop off cash donations at
the police department.
In Umatilla and Stan-
field, Sherman said people
can drop off toys and food
to Umatilla Rural Fire Pro-
tection District, the Stan-
field Moose Lodge or Banner
Bank in Stanfield.
The Hermiston Police
Department is also team-
ing up with Walmart’s trans-
portation department for
another toy drive, on Satur-
day and Sunday from noon
to 6 p.m. at the Hermiston
Walmart. Unwrapped toys
donated during that time will
be donated to children’s hos-
pitals in the region and the
Ronald McDonald House,
where families can stay
during a child’s treatment.
Good Shepherd 12
Days of Giving
What is it: Each year,
Good Shepherd Health Care
System’s 12 Days of Giv-
ing plays on a “12 Days of
Christmas” theme to collect
donations for different causes
before Christmas time.
How to help: As of Dec.
4, there are still three days
left to donate items to Good
Shepherd Health Care Sys-
tem’s 12 Days of Giving.
Each day presents a spe-
cial “12 Days of Christ-
mas” theme for donations.
Wednesday, Dec. 4, Good
Shepherd is asking for pet
What is it: People can
help brighten the holiday
season for area foster chil-
dren. The Department of
Human Services Child Wel-
fare program’s Hermiston
office launched “It Takes A
Village” to involve the com-
munity in providing for fos-
ter care kids in Umatilla and
Morrow counties.
How to help: There are
several ways to participate in
the program, including drop-
off locations:
• Coat drive: New coats,
hats and jackets of all sizes
(Harley Swain Subaru)
• Pajama drive: New paja-
mas in all sizes (Rogers Toy-
ota of Hermiston)
• Toy drive: New toys for
ages newborn to 12 (Walmart
DC & Lamb Weston)
• Gift cards: With a sug-
gested value of $25, donate
gift cards for foster teens
ages 13-18 for local stores
and restaurants, or online
shopping, such as Amazon
or Visa. (Rogers Toyota, Har-
ley Swain Subaru, New Hope
Community Church, Victory
Baptist Church, Columbia
Bank, Banner Bank, Uma-
tilla Morrow County Head
Start and the Hermiston DHS
office)
The donation deadline is
Monday, Dec. 9. For ques-
tions, call 541-314-7614 or
stop by the DHS office, 950
S.E. Columbia Drive, Suite
C, Hermiston.
Community
Fellowship Dinner
What is it: A free holi-
day dinner with all the trim-
mings. Open to anyone who
wants to attend, the Com-
munity Fellowship Dinner
has provided twice-yearly
holiday meals for more than
three decades. The Christ-
mas meal is Wednesday,
Dec. 25 from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. at Hermiston High
School.
How to help: The holi-
day meal ministry requires
upward of 150 volunteers.
Typically working one-hour
shifts, people are needed for
tasks, such as food prepara-
tion, packaging to-go meals,
setting up the venue, greet-
ing people, serving diners
and meal delivery.
In addition, financial con-
tributions are greatly appre-
ciated. They can be sent to
Community Fellowship Din-
ner, P.O. Box 1551, Hermis-
ton, OR 97838. Also, CFD
is now registered with the
Amazon Smile Foundation.
When logged into smile.
amazon.com, select “Com-
munity Fellowship Dinners
in Hermiston” and 0.5% of
eligible purchases will be
donated to the cause.
To volunteer or make a
donation, contact cfdhermis-
ton@gmail.com or 541-371-
9772. For more information,
search Facebook.
Eastern Oregon
Mission
What is it: The Eastern
Oregon Mission is a Herm-
iston-based nonprofit, which
runs two major programs
to provide support for those
in need in Umatilla County:
Agape House, which assists
people with food and other
necessities, and Martha’s
House, a family shelter.
How to help: Those inter-
ested in donating money
can contribute a one-time or
monthly donation to a pro-
gram of their choice at agape-
househermiston.org.
For
every $1 donated, the East-
ern Oregon Mission can pro-
vide $7 worth of service,
according to their website.
Eastern Oregon Mission also
has a partnership with Ama-
zon through AmazonSmile.
Select “Eastern Oregon Mis-
sion” while shopping on the
AmazonSmile website to
donate 0.5% of the purchase
price of eligible products to
Agape House.
The organization is also
always accepting shelf-stable
and frozen food donations,
cans and bottles for recy-
cling, clothes and furniture
as well. To donate, contact
541-567-8774.
Hermiston
Warming Station
What is it: The station,
located at 1075 S. Highway
395, provides a warm and
secure place to sleep for any-
one who needs it during the
cold winter months, no ques-
tions asked.
How to help: The sta-
tion is looking for essen-
tials, including cases of 16.9
ounce water bottles, clean-
ing supplies, hand warmers,
extra thick wool socks and
more. There is a donation
list posted on the Hermiston
Warming Station Facebook
page. The station is also look-
ing for stocking stuffers for
an annual Dec. 23 Christmas
celebration. Donation hours
are Tuesdays and Thursdays
from 4-6 p.m., Saturdays
from 3-5 p.m., and Sundays
from 12-2 p.m.
Fuzz Ball
Animal Rescue
What is it: A small ani-
mal rescue in the Hermis-
ton area. Fuzz Ball can assist
with adopting out, rehoming
and caring for stray pets.
How to help: Accord-
ing to their Facebook page,
Fuzz Ball Animal Rescue
currently has an anonymous
donor willing to match all
donations up to $1,000. Mon-
etary donations can be sent
through the rescue’s Pay-
pal account on the web-
site (www.fuzzballrescue.
com/donate.html) or by call-
ing Oregon Trail Veterinary
Clinic at 541-567-1138.
Fuzz Ball Rescue is cur-
rently seeking dry kit-
ten food, cat litter, dry dog
and puppy food as well as
dog toys. The rescue is also
looking for foster homes for
strays, including kittens and
puppies that need bottle-feed-
ing. To donate or volun-
teer, email fuzzballrescue@
gmail.com.
EOTEC: 22 of the 27 affected signed Help: Finding bell ringers is not easy
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County. The application only
asks for a vacation of the
portions of the right-of-way
that abut county properties,
which Waine said makes the
request a bit “chopped up”
but allowed him to get the
needed signatures.
“We’re essentially this
island of county within the
urban growth boundary,” he
said.
According to state stat-
ute, at least 60% of prop-
erty owners along the pro-
posed vacation would need
to sign the petition ask-
ing the county to vacate
the road. Waine said the
county originally said he
didn’t have enough signa-
tures, but he successfully
argued that each individ-
ual person on the property
deeds should be counted as
a property owner. He was
able to collect signatures
from 22 of the 27 affected
property owners.
Minnesota, Utah and
Maryland, and led the
country in “volunteering
and service” despite fall-
ing to 37th in “charitable
giving.” The WalletHub
study examined data from
“19 key indicators of chari-
table behavior” to rank the
states. Indicators included
metrics on volunteer hours
per capita, the share of
income donated and share
of sheltered homeless
among several others.
As the ringing of bells
and familiar red kettles
return to stores through-
out Umatilla County, the
Salvation Army Pendle-
ton Corps, which serves
Umatilla County, is hop-
ing to make the most of the
shorter holiday shopping
season.
Last year, the Salva-
tion Army raised just over
$50,000 in the county
during the Red Kettle
EO file photo
The proposal from Umatilla County is to widen Airport Road
to 66 feet to accommodate increased traffic flows. The proj-
ect could call for the relocation of utility poles and the re-
moval of trees from property along the road.
County council Doug
Olsen said the request would
be forwarded to the Board of
Commissioners, which will
decide what action, if any, to
take.
Waine said he appreciated
that Olsen, along with Matt
Kenny from the survey-
or’s office, have been help-
ful and fair to him during
the process despite ongoing
clashes he has had with the
county and city of Hermis-
ton regarding EOTEC. The
county even waived the $500
application fee.
“That was a gesture of
good faith, so we appreciate
that,” he said.
He said if the county
declines the request to vacate
the right-of-way, he plans to
pursue an appeal.
Campaign, however Hals-
tad is hoping to push that
number to $70,000 this
year — despite six fewer
days to do so.
“We want people to sup-
port us,” he said. “This is
the one time of the year we
are out looking for help.”
As of Wednesday after-
noon, the kettles in Uma-
tilla County had raised
approximately
$9,900
since Thanksgiving. The
money raised through the
campaign is used to fund
the Salvation Army’s
meal, family assistance
and youth programs as
well as case management
and counseling services.
Halstad said in order to
meet their goal, they are
seeking volunteers to aid
in bell ringing and shop-
pers to contribute to the
campaign throughout the
season. Halstad has been
involved with kettle cam-
paigns throughout the
Pacific Northwest for 23
years and said while shop-
pers are generous, it is
harder to find volunteers in
the region.
“For some reason we
seem to have a hard time
finding bell ringers in
Pendleton,” he said.
When volunteer staffing
allows, there are bell ring-
ers at Bi-Mart, Safeway
and Walmart locations in
both Pendleton and Herm-
iston for most of the day.
Halstad said they typically
have 15 to 20 volunteers
as well as service groups
that help to fill shifts at the
stores. However, they are
always seeking volunteers.
When the Salvation
Army is unable to find vol-
unteers they are forced to
use paid employees for bell
ringing, which cuts into
profits.
“Whenever someone is
willing to volunteer, we
take that and go to employ-
ees as a last resort,” Hals-
tad said.