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People on the Move

People on the Move

Jessica Vaughan - Executive Assistant/ Director of Development

What if you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from, let alone how you would provide a traditional holiday meal for your family?

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For more than 6,000 families last year, that was a stark reality, and this year the need will be even higher as inflation continues to impact food costs.

For these families, the holiday help that Second Harvest of the Greater Valley (SHGV) and their food pantry partners provide is much more than a holiday meal. It’s a chance at normalcy, proof they are not alone, and hope during a dark and difficult time. Thanksgiving at the food bank is a perfect depiction of the good that can be done when the community comes together to meet a specific need.

For more than 30 years, SHGV, in collaboration with local real estate offices, has hosted “Turkeys R Us,” a fundraiser geared at collecting and purchasing more than 6,000 turkeys that are distributed in the community.

This year with rising costs, less disposable income, and an impending turkey shortage, the concern is that SHGV will not be able to continue meeting needs of those families that rely on SHGV services during the holiday season. “Said, SHGV Director of Development and Communications, Jessica Vaughan, we have been incredibly fortunate over the past decade to have incredible corporate partners like Foster Farms, Walmart, and Raleys come alongside us and start the process of donations.

Our community then steps in and helps us close the gap. Our fear this year is that rising costs will make donations difficult to come by and lessen our buying power as we look to purchase the amounts we need.” CEO, Keenon Krick, explains that since March of this year, we have seen an increase of 40% more people accessing food bank services, which is on top of the 180% increase throughout the last two you years of the pandemic.

The need continues to rise as we head into the winter months, and these holiday meals will be necessary well beyond Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

Thanksgiving is a symbolic time for families to reflect on what they are grateful for; for many families, the help they receive during the holidays and beyond from our agency partners and programs is at the top of that list.

If you would like to help SHGV continue providing for our neighbors in need, please consider donating to our Turkeys R Us program at www.localfoodbank. org or by dropping off a fresh or frozen turkey at one of our many drives, make sure to follow us on social media for updated information.

For businesses that are looking to sponsor Turkeys R Us, please call Dalia Hernandez-Fernandez at 209490-5183.

58th Annual GOOD EGG BREAKFAST

Look forward to made-to-order omelets Modesto Junior College scholarships Annual Good Egg Award! OCTOBER 27, 2022 AT 7:00 A.M. EGGSACTLY

DoubleTree Hotel, Grand Ballroom 1150 9th Street Downtown Modesto $30 Pre-Sale Per Person | $35 at Door Per Person

SPEAKERS “EGGSTORDINARE”

Jim Houston Administrator & GAD Director

California Farm Bureau Federation

Presented By: Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, Pacific Egg & Poutlry Association California Poultry Federation, Modesto Chamber of Commerce

I would like to buy # tickets at $30 per person for the 58th Good Egg Breakfast. I would like to SPONSOR A TABLE OF TEN for $400.00 (sponsors will be recognized at the event). I would like to be a MJC Scholarship Sponsor (Amount).

Please send tickets to: Name(s) Address Phone Email Company City, State, Zip

Enclosed is my check for $

Return to:Stanislaus County Farm Bureau, 1201L Street, Modesto, CA 95354

Phone (209)522-7278 Fax (209)521-9938

This year, Sierra Vista Child & Family Services celebrated its 50th Anniversary serving the people in our community. Sierra Vista serves more than 16,000 children and families each year providing services throughout Stanislaus and Merced Counties. Sierra Vista has offered a range of services to support and strengthen the community. This commitment has established Sierra Vista as a leader in best practices in the fields of mental health and family support services. Integrating these programs into the community has created a sustainable availability of child and family services accessible and tailored to address a broad range of needs.

In 1972, Sierra Vista Child & Family Services was initially known as Therapeutic Homes Incorporated and began operating Residential Treatment facilities for children. H.I. “Tom” Sawyer visited a non-profit agency in the Bay Area and saw a group home that could provide the high level of care needed for children in Stanislaus County. To establish such a program in his community, Tom reached out to a friend in Southern California who was a child psychiatrist, and they developed Stanislaus County’s first Residential Treatment Program. In 1980 we expanded by adding our Non-Public School and Children’s Day Treatment Program for children with emotional or behavioral disorders who require daily therapeutic activities, including individual and group therapy. In 2020 Andrew Timbie was appointed Chief Executive Officer. “We were established in May of 1972 to serve children in our first group home, and 50 years later, we are still going strong in new and innovative ways. Sierra Vista is committed to listening, adapting, and collaborating with our community to help break the cycles of poverty that many of us have endured,” said Andrew Timbie, the CEO of Sierra Vista Child & Family Services.

As Sierra Vista celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022, we have grown into one of the largest non-profit agencies in Stanislaus and Merced counties. We are excited at how far we have come and the promising future ahead.

We are proud of the enormous positive impact our staff, donors, and the Board of Directors have had on the community and families we serve. We want to honor the people, quality programs and services that make a difference to the children, their families, and the entire community.

Andrew Timbie, CEO with Judy Kindle and Board of Supervisor Vito Chiesa.

Love Stanislaus County & Stanislaus County CSA Team Up to Serve

Bryan Justin Marks / Executive Director - Love Stanislaus County

Did you know that Stanislaus County is home to over 100,000 seniors, age 60 or above? Some seniors live an active and independent life while others need a little help to remain independent and active. For many years the Stanislaus County Community Services Agency (CSA) has been at the heart of providing services for seniors in our community. Love Stanislaus County is proud to announce that Stanislaus County CSA will be partnering with us to launch a new Serving Seniors Initiative as part of our Neighbors Program.

“The Community Services Agency is excited about this partnership,” stated Director Christine Huber. “This partnership will allow us to match the needs of our adult and elderly clients with support to reduce their isolation and meet their needs”. The Serving Seniors Initiative team will be working with Stanislaus County Adult Protectives Services (APS) and In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). They both serve older adults and persons with disabilities.

Love Stanislaus County is centered on a vision for a community that lifts each other up, values one another, and seeks to help where help is needed. Our Neighbors Program, where this initiative will be housed, is a boots on the ground program that works directly with community members to connect them with volunteer opportunities throughout the year as well connect community members to one another.

This initiative was inspired and will be modeled after the Love Stanislaus County Kids Program which serves foster youth. The program will receive referrals from CSA for seniors who may need some items fixed in their home or perhaps need some furniture items or other household needs. The Serving Seniors Initiative team will then reach out to the community to try to secure those needs.

Additionally, The Serving Seniors Initiative team will be putting together projects like connecting seniors to high school seniors for mentoring and learning technology. The initiative is also looking at ideas such as pet food donations that can be delivered to seniors who have pets but may have trouble being mobile.

The Serving Seniors Initiative team will be reaching out to members of the community for donations and opportunities to volunteer. Love Stanislaus County is currently in the process of hiring the person who will lead these efforts. We plan on having someone in place no later than October 1st. This is a great opportunity and continues to allow us to Think Love, Inspire Love, and Give Love in our community.

Lending in Your Community

Jeff Hushaw

Commercial Lending 844.7544

Laura Weaver

Area & Branch Manager - McHenry 343.7633 Victoria Gaffney

Commercial Lending 343.7601

Pamela Swift

Branch Manager - Dale Road 758.8020 Lynnette Fletcher

Commercial Lending 844.7552

Cesar Camarillo

Branch Manager - 12th & I 343.7611

At Oak Valley Community Bank we’re committed to supporting the borrowing needs of the communities we serve. Here are a few examples of projects we’ve recently financed for clients.

$1.0M $4.5M $900K

Contractor Line of Credit Commercial Industrial & Equipment

SBA 504 Loan $3.7M $16M $9M

Asset Based Manufacturing Line of Credit Ag Real Estate Acquisition Commercial Real Estate

www.ovcb.com

Imagine for a moment that you can’t go home tonight. It isn’t safe there. You only have what’s in your pockets, or your purse, or your car. You know you need to hide because someone is looking for you; someone you love but also fear.

HAVEN has provided emergency shelter for people experiencing domestic violence in Stanislaus County since 1977. Today, shelter is only one of the services HAVEN offers to all survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking regardless of gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, or immigration status. However, for people in that moment of fear and insecurity where they don’t know what their next step will be, our 24 hour crisis line (209.577.5980) and shelter are the only services that matter.

In 2020, the fear of exposure to COVID 19 was a very real concern that people experiencing abuse had to think about. Congregate shelters like HAVEN did not feel safe to many people. Thankfully, HAVEN had existing partnerships with hotels in Stanislaus County, and made new connections with more as the pandemic wore on. These partnerships and funding specific to COVID related shelter needs helped ensure victims of abuse in Stanislaus County could have safe shelter without the fear of exposure that comes with close living at a 24 hour shelter. HAVEN’s Hotel partners were a vital piece of safety planning for survivors in Stanislaus County, and they continue to support us today.

Now imagine if you would that you’ve been in our shelter for four to six weeks and you’re preparing to leave. You can’t go back home, and you want to be able to provide the long term stability for yourself and your children that only your own home can bring. However, the rental market is very tight, and maybe your credit isn’t so good or you don’t have the work history you need. You’re not sure where you’ll be going next.

HAVEN was able to add Housing assistance to our programs in 2016. This program filled a huge gap in need for services, as stable housing is crucial to ongoing safety. While there is always more demand than HAVEN is able to fill, the program has made a huge difference in the lives of people who have been able to participate.

If you would like to learn more about HAVEN’s Shelter and Housing programs, consider joining us at our Kick Up Your Heels event on Oct. 27. October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, and attending Kick Up Your Heels gives you an opportunity to support HAVEN’s work and learn more about us while helping celebrate 45 years of service in Stanislaus County. Please see HAVEN’s website at havenstan.org for more information.

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