COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
| MAY 21, 2020
|
3A
Local agencies re-purpose technology for collaborative COVID-19 response
Text alert system and network of partners provide immediate support to Lane County nonprofits
Whether to provide
sleeping bags to shelters,
clothing to families, or con-
nect food banks with more
volunteers, a new network
of partners and a repur-
posed technology tool are
filling urgent needs around
Lane County — in a matter
of seconds.
This newly formed net-
work is the Lane Emer-
gency Response Network
(LERN) — a joint effort of
15th Night partners, COAD
(Community
Organiza-
tions Active in Disaster)
members, Lane County,
PacificSource Community
Solutions, Trillium Com-
munity Health Plans and
United Way of Lane Coun-
ty — joined together to
respond to the needs of
the community during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
LERN utilizes a text-
based alert system so
nonprofit “advocates” can
submit urgent requests to
a wide network of “pro-
viders’’ around the county.
Nonprofits can request vol-
unteers, as well as in-kind
donations on behalf of spe-
cific clients, or on behalf
of their organization as a
whole.
Upon receiving the text
alert, providers represent-
ing a variety of public, pri-
vate, and social sectors can
instantly respond if they
can fulfill the need.
So far, LERN’s text alert
system has filled over 60
requests, including cloth
masks for shelters, house-
hold items for families in
transitional housing, and
sleeping bags for an emer-
gency respite shelter. To-
day, Burley is delivering
a bike trailer to a family
needing transportation op-
tions, a connection made
through LERN.
This new network was
formed in mid-March
when, anticipating the high
volume of needs that would
arise from the COVID-19
pandemic, members of
COAD started to centralize
a wide, well-resourced net-
work of providers, ready
to respond to the needs of
nonprofits and their cli-
ents.
15th Night stepped for-
ward with technology to
automate and streamline
the process. By adapting
15th Night’s text-alert tech-
nology, LERN was able to
connect those in local non-
profits and the individuals
whom they serve — with
the people and organiza-
tions that could fill their
in-kind needs.
LERN also has a “com-
munity responder” role for
individual volunteers inter-
ested in helping out. Com-
munity responders receive
alerts for specific volun-
teer needs — for instance,
delivery of a prescription
or food box — which are
then filled based on which
community responder is
able to meet the need most
efficiently.
“As we adjust to our
new daily lives and to a
new normal, ways to vol-
unteer are adjusting, too,”
said Alexis Amavisca, Vol-
unteer Engagement Co-
ordinator at United Way
of Lane County. “Being a
Community
Responder
gives volunteers the chance
to help local agencies and
individuals in need simply
via text message. Recent-
ly, an organization sent an
alert requesting 50 fabric
masks needed to open a
new temporary emergen-
cy youth shelter. The alert
was sent to Community
Responders and within 20
minutes, three Commu-
nity Responders replied,
including Eric Richard-
son of Eugene/Springfield
NAACP, indicating they
could donate more than
enough masks to open the
youth shelter.”
While LERN is set up
to connect social service
providers and clients, addi-
tional new resource inven-
tories are emerging to meet
the needs of the commu-
nity. A new resource map
created by United Way of
Lane County outlines the
other systems, including
the Lane County Mutu-
al Aid Network — which
focuses on neighbors
helping neighbors — and
LaneKids, a resource guide
for families with children.
Agencies interested in
participating in LERN as
an advocate or provider
can contact Megan Shultz
at Megan@mshconsulting-
nw.com.
Individuals wanting to
sign up as Community
Responders can do so at
www.unitedwaylane.org/
covid19ran.
Healing Matrix, Taubert Foundation award more than $65,000 to local nonprofit programs
A number of local
non-profits and commu-
nity-oriented
programs
recently received financial
awards from the Taubert
Foundation and Healing
Matrix, which have worked
together for almost a de-
cade to promote activities
and partnerships that im-
prove all aspects of health
for community members.
Infusions of cash during
these challenging times
will help programs that
are struggling with too few
resources and too many
needs.
The grants cumulatively
totaled over $65,000.
The award recipients,
along with the amount
awarded and a brief de-
scription of the intended
use of the funds, includes:
• Bohemia Food Hub
($11,500) — Support the
BFH’s efforts to broaden
opportunities for rural food
entrepreneurship among
underserved groups by pro-
viding low-risk exploration
of food business ideas.
The funds will help a
physical makeover of part
of the Bohemia Food Hub
(S. 10th St) to develop three
storefronts that will serve as
a restaurant pilot area, host
pop-up food events, and
host teaching demonstra-
tions.
• Coast Fork Willamette
Watershed Council ($4000)
— Support ongoing na-
ture-based experiential en-
vironmental learning for
middle-school students, in-
cluding monthly hands-on
lessons and capstone stew-
ardship projects.
• Cottage Village Coali-
tion ($10,000) — Support
ongoing development of
Cottage Village, Oregon’s
first rural tiny-house vil-
lage.
•
McKinney-Vento
($20,000) — Provide $75
emergency grocery gift
cards to each of the more
than 250 houseless students
in the South Lane School
District.
• Senior Center foot care
($1,000) — Provide Regis-
tered Nurses with the sup-
plies and equipment need
to provide foot-care ser-
vices for seniors at the Cot-
tage Grove Senior Center.
• Soil/FoodWeb consul-
tant ($3,850) — Funding
a community member to
complete a Soil Food Web
course in regenerative ag-
riculture; after this two-
year program is complet-
ed, the trainee will share
the knowledge with others
throughout the community
via info booths at the Farm-
ers Market, presentations
(e.g., at Science Pub), and
visits to local schools.
• Soup’s On ($5,000) —
Replace old refrigerator and
freezers, and provide ad-
ditional storage, to enable
Soup’s On to continue to
provide a free community
dinner every Sunday night
at the Community Center
in Cottage Grove.
• South Valley Farmers
Market ($7,000) — Enable
the market’s continuing
service. (Thursdays, 4 to 7
p.m. at Seventh and Main
streets.)
Cottage Grove Historical Society offering education grant through June 30
In honor of one of its
founders, Marcia E. Allen,
the Cottage Grove Histor-
ical Society is offering a
grant of up to $200 to edu-
cators in the Cottage Grove
area and/or the South Lane
School District attendance
area who choose to use
some aspect of Cottage
Grove-area history in their
classroom.
The grant is open to
teachers of kindergarten
through 12th grade in both
public or private schools.
Grant applications are
due on June 30 and the
funds will be awarded for
the 2020-21 school year.
Any subject matter is el-
igible.
Some examples would be
photographing or drawing
historic sites for an art class,
learning about local pio-
neers for an Oregon Trail
unit, or having students
explore the history of their
school.
For more information
about the grant, private
message the Cottage Grove,
OR. Historical Society
Facebook page, or email
them at cghistoricalsoc@
gmail.com.
The grant application can
be found at https://cghisto-
ry.org/index.php/ed-grant.
Note, the application says
that the deadline is at the
end of May, but it has been
extended until the end of
June.
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