March 2015 • FREE
March Is Foster Child Month
Event graphic by Jerry Easter and Ann Bose, Art World.
At any given time, over 250 children are in Foster care homes in Linn County alone. As part of the National PTA’s Every Child In Focus campaign, The Greater Albany Council PTA is partnering with the Linn County Foster Parents Association to sponsor PJ’s and Pillows throughout the entire month of March. Every Child In Focus, which launched in September, 2013, was created by the National PTA, in order to strengthen family engagement in schools by celebrating the achievements and reporting the disparities within diverse populations, while sharing resources and advocacy tools to help school communities understand and address the unique needs of every child. Each month, a particular group is highlighted. March is the month of the Foster child. The entire Linn County community is asked to support this project by donating new pajamas and sleepwear (sizes adult XL down to infant) and standard bed pillows. Also needed are personal care items, from diapers for the little ones, to full-size products such as body washes, shampoos and deodorants, shaving supplies and teen skin care items for teenagers and young adults. Local volunteer quilters will be creating pillowcases and “care kit” bags for the children to keep. Collection bins will be located during March at Bi-Mart and Wal-Mart locations in Albany, Lebanon and Sweet Home. Donation receipts will be available at these sites for individuals who would like to take an IRA charitable tax credit on their 2015 taxes. Both the Greater Albany Council PTA and the Linn County Foster Parents Association are 501(c)(3) associations. Both organizations hope that this project will bring in to a clearer focus the ongoing needs of Foster Children and continue to support the families that provide this essential service. Additional information about PJ’s and Pillows can be obtained from ptaalbany@gmail.com.
The crowd starts to fill the Linn County Fair and Expo Center for the annual awards banquet.
Photo by Matteson Photography
Awards Night!
by Rick Rogers A huge crowd made up of mid-valley, non-profit participants in the Points for Profit program, as well as representatives of many of the participating businesses, filled the Linn county Fair and Expo Center for the annual awards dinner on the night of January 27. Awards certificates totaling thousands of dollars were handed out to the non-profit organizations that saved receipts from businesses in the program, as well as attending Points for Profit sponsored events and monthly dinners. Points for Profit brings local businesses and non-profits together to keep dollars spent locally building the mid-valley economy. People shopping at the participating business and services keep their receipts and turn them in to their favorite non-profits in the program. Those receipts translate in points for each dollar spent. Those receipts, along with participation points and other factors determine the amounts awarded during the annual January dinner. In 2014, the Points for Profit program kept over 6.7 million dollars in the local economy. All of the non-profits turning in receipts and
Photo by Matteson Photography
A silent auction is a part of the excitment of the awards night.
attending program functions receive some amount of monetary return. This years top three awards, based on points, were: St. Edwards Youth $2,000, LinnBenton Women For Agriculture $3,000 and Teen Challenge $5,000. Awards were also presented to local participating businesses who were voted for by program participants. Winners were: Coy’s Cheesecakes for Home Based Business of the Year, Elmer’s Restaurant of Albany for Small Business of the Year, Rife’s Home Furnishings for Medium Business of the year and Bi-Mart for Large Business of the Year. Five individuals were also recognized for their many volunteer hours spent helping with the program. They are: Kelly Lancer, Michelle Wilkinson, Debbie Grenz and Kenny and Lorraine Harvuot. From the staff at InSpirit Marketing and High Points, congratulations to all. We are well on our way to another great Points for Profit year. Editors note: To find out more about the Points for Profit program please see the center section in this issue of High Points.
Photo by Matteson Photography
Its hard to resist the desert auction during awards night.