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Other articles in Part 5
Current poverty trends likely
to continue
Tina Eoff's Second Chance Renters
Program
Program explores policy options
New programs take aim at poverty
Related links
Economic
Well-Being and Poverty Profiles for Oregon Counties
Federal tax return
information |
What you can do to help
story by Theresa Novak
One of the first that comes to mind when we're asked to help
the poor is to donate money. Donations help pay for such things
as food, clothing, furniture and emergency housing. They also
help pay for warehouses, trucks, forklifts, and drivers to distribute
goods to relief agencies around the state.
Non-money donations, such as food and clothing, provide resources
that relief agencies redistribute to the needy.
You don't need to contribute money to take meaningful action
against poverty. Your time, talents and opinions also are valuable
and needed.
Volunteering your time and skills helps relief agencies do
more with less. Food banks can accept food that would otherwise
be thrown away. You can help agencies conduct events that bring
donations of money, food, clothing, furniture and appliances.
Volunteers enable poverty agencies cut down their costs for
professional services-ranging from legal and medical advice to
photography and graphic design. As a volunteer, you not only
get the satisfaction that comes with helping others, you also
learn first hand about poverty and its causes.
Or, you can be an advocate for the poor by getting involved
in activities that help legislators and government administrators
fashion policies and programs to address poverty issues.
Here are some suggestions for things you can do to help address
the causes and consequences of poverty in your community.
- Oregon Food Bank Volunteer Action Center, 2540 N.E. Riverside
Way, Portland. Help sort and repackage donated food. Without
volunteer help, the Food Bank must turn away large food donations.
Contact Ammi Ludwick, 503-282-0555, extension 258.
- Linn-Benton Food Share, 545 SW 2nd St., Corvallis. Food Share
can distribute up to 15 pounds of food for each dollar donated.
Opportunities available to box donated food, glean crops, or
hold food drives and fund raisers. Contact Colleen Merickel,
541-758-2645.
- Southwest Oregon Community Action Committee, 2110 Newmark,
Coos Bay, is looking for financial and other help to build a
food warehouse serving 13 food banks in Coos and Curry counties.
Contact Robert More, 541-888-7022.
- Saint Vincent de Paul, various cities. Pack food boxes; make
lunches; take telephone requests for food, housing, rental and
utility assistance, transportation, medical prescriptions, furniture,
appliances and clothing. Volunteers can join groups making home
visits to determine what people need, or serve on boards addressing
poverty issues. In Eugene, contact Rebecca Larson, 541-687-5820,
ext. 121. In Portland, call 503-235-7837 or visit the Web site
at rogue.northwest.com/~svdp. To volunteer in other Oregon cities,
look up Saint Vincent de Paul in the telephone book.
- Oregon Center on Public Policy, P.O. Box 7, Silverton, OR
97381-0007. Help working families get money back from taxes.
The Center has free publications describing federal and Oregon
earned income tax credits and the Oregon Working Family Child
Care Credit. Write to the address above, e-mail at eicwfc@ocpp.org,
or call 503-873-1201. Available on the Web at www.ocpp.org/tc/.
- Volunteer in the schools. Help a child stay in school, teach
a youngster to read, be a "lunch buddy" to a child
who needs a role model, or be a mentor for a high school student.
To start, call the school where you'd like to volunteer. Ask
the principal's secretary about volunteer programs and how to
get more information.
- Oregon Safenet, 1-800-723-3638. If you don't know whom to
call about volunteer opportunities in your community, Oregon
Safenet can put you in touch with your local information and
referral service. Hours: 8 a.m. to 7:45 p.m., Monday through
Thursday; 8 a.m. to 5:45 p.m., Friday.
- Pacific Northwest Public Policy Institute. Learn how to engage
people in deliberations on public issues by attending the Institute's
training session August 10-12 at Reed College in Portland. Contact
Neal Naigus, Portland Community College, 503-977-4656. This is
related to activities of the National Issues Forum (see article,
page 21).
- Community Action Directors of Oregon, 2475 Center Street
NE, Salem, OR 97303. From January to May 2000, 17 community action
agencies around the state will sponsor Dialogue on Poverty 2000,
community discussions about public policy issues and their impact
on low-income and working poor Oregonians. Contact Nomi Pearce,
503-316-3915.
Here are other sources of information about poverty:
- The OSU Extension Service has produced 4-page "Economic
Well-Being and Poverty" profiles for each Oregon county.
They include economic statistics, barriers to employment, and
maps showing how well-being varies across the county. On the
Web at http://eesc.orst.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/. Choose "Community
development and government."
- The Community Action Directors of Oregon website at www.open.org/cado
has links to key state and national websites about poverty. A
good place to start if you're interested in exploring poverty
issues in depth.
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