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WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2022
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A9
CHARITIES
Continued from Page A1
source of donations, but then the
employees who lost their jobs
needed our help.”
Shearer’s Foods lost its facility in
Hermiston in an explosion and fi re
on Feb. 22, putting 231 people out
of work.
Infl ation and the infl ux of migrant
workers from the easing of corona-
virus restraints increased demand
as well, Gomolski continued, and
homelessness jumped up to about
200 per month from 30 to 40.
“In 2021, our average num-
ber of households served was 428,
with 1,397 people,” he said. Recent
(March 2022) stats were 850 house-
holds and 3,002 individuals.
The food bank also relies on 26
to 37 volunteers on average, he said,
working about 160 hours per month.
Abercrombie with the Irrigon
Emergency Assistance Center cited
increased numbers of homeless
people passing through her service
area.
“They stay a few days or a week
or two,” she said. “We make sure
that they have easily prepared food.”
And there has been a “pretty
big uptick” in emergency aid, she
added.
“Rent has gone up. Donations
from big corporations have fallen.
We still get help from local busi-
nesses and the state,” she said. “I
also write grants.”
But less federal aid has caused
more families to return to the center.
“All the pantries have seen large
increases in demand,” Patton added.
“We have made up more food boxes
than ever. Last month was a record
166 food boxes. Our boxes don’t
have random contents. They contain
the ingredients for a meal.”
The U. S. Department of Agri-
culture raising the amount of food
aid for which people are eligible
has helped, she said, and explained
about 80% of the Neighborhood
Center of South Morrow Coun-
ty’s food comes from the Oregon
Food Bank, via Community Action
TEAM
Continued from Page A1
his fi rst year in robotics, he
said, and he liked meeting
other students from diff erent
countries. He also said he
was impressed with a jump-
ing robot in the contest.
Rafael Garcia-Sanchez,
freshman, said the trip was
quite an experience.
“I got to meet a lot of peo-
ple from diff erent states, eat
at Chick-fi l-A, eat some Chi-
nese food, and I want to go
back,” he said.
Seeing him come off the
bus, his mother, Maria D.
Sanchez, rushed over to him
and gave him a big hug.
“My boy is home,” she
said.
There were other family
members at the arrival Tess
White, who went on the trip
with the team, is the mother of
Heidi Sipe, Umatilla School
District superintendent, who
was on the trip, too. White
said the competition was
“incredible” and the Umatilla
kids were “amazing.”
Seeing the great size of
the event, and the skill of the
competitors, she described
herself as overwhelmed. She
said that everyone there rep-
resents the top 1% of all stu-
dents who are doing this sort
of work. For Umatilla to be
part of that select group, then,
Hermiston Herald, Flle
Lois Cram, right, stocks shelves at Agape House in Hermiston on April 15, 2020, for the organization’s backpack program. Now as the pandemic
wanes two years later, Agape House and other local charities report an increasing number of clients, a decline in donations, increases in pricing
and supply shortages.
aid and help people fi nd the support
they need.”
Working with partners, outreach
essential
Kathy Aney/Hermiston Herald
A homeless man pushes a grocery cart full of his possessions across Dorion
Avenue in Pendleton on April 5, 2022. Local charities are reporting a
struggle to meet the demands for needs as the pandemic subsides.
Program of East Central Oregon,
and 20% from local donations and
sources.
“We buy from local groceries, so
was “just wonderful,” she
said.
Heidi Sipe, who was
standing at the bus with her
mother and the departing stu-
dents, agreed. She said Confi -
dential was part of something
special, and the team mem-
bers did “really well.”
“The best thing was that
they were surrounded by so
many excellent people and
teams,” she said. “They got
a real experience, they got
to see the strengths of those
teams, and they learned what
they can do next time.”
Key takeaways from the
coach
Kyle Sipe, robotics
coach, agrees with others in
saying Confi dential could
return to Houston next year.
For that to happen, though,
he stated it must once again
qualify for the contest. He
said the team must learn
from its mistakes and work
to be even more competitive.
Team members spoke
with diff erent teams to see
how they were organized,
according to the coach. Con-
fi dential plans to follow the
examples set by other teams,
revisiting their organiza-
tional structure, separating
members of diff erent skills
and assigning them to diff er-
ent parts of each build.
“There is so much learn-
ing,” he said.
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that monetary donations stay local.
We are a concierge of services,”
Patton said. “Besides our pantry and
thrift store, we provide emergency
Gomolski cited partnerships,
such as with Jose Garcia’s New
Horizons for outreach to farm
workers. County coronavirus relief
funds also helped Agape House get
an enclosed trailer to deliver food
to migrant workers in the fi eld on
Fridays.
“The workers’ hours and our
open schedule mean that they can’t
come to Agape House, so we reach
out,” he said. “Now it’s planting
season, so the number of migrant
workers’ families has grown from
120 to 300.”
Agape House also runs a back-
pack’ program for youths, Gomol-
ski said, that covers 270 students
per week in Hermiston, Echo,
Stanfi eld and Irrigon. The pro-
gram’s cost has ballooned from
$4,000 to $9,000.
“Amazon donated to this pro-
gram,” he said. “We’re grateful for
every partner.”
Gomolski said Agape House
also has partnered with the Amer-
ican Legion in outreach programs
for needy veterans. Seniors on
fi xed incomes now benefi t as well.
“Infl ation makes it harder to
serve people, while increasing
their needs,” he concluded. “Pea-
nut butter costs $3 per container.
Even little boxes of raisins are hard
to fi nd. It might sound trivial, but
it’s a real problem.”
Patton said some clients strug-
gle with asking for help, so out-
reach is crucial to these eff orts.
“Asking for help feels like beg-
ging to them,” she said. “So we
have to reach out, let them know
what’s available and that we under-
stand that almost everyone needs
help sometime, especially in tough
economic times like these.”
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