Volunteers glean wood to provide
warmth

The Philomath Gleaners, partnering with the
Linn Benton Food Share, would like to thank the arborists and all
the persons who donated wood to the Gleaners this past year. Many
families will be kept warm this winter and next year.

A special thank you to Dennis Cabatic, the owner of Philomath
Rental, for the use of the two wood splitters that we used. And a
special thank you to all of the people who went out on the wood
gleans, rain or shine. I could always count on you to help.

Don Harris

Philomath Gleaners

Family appreciates support amid grief

A deep
thank you to all of you who honored the recent passing of my
husband our dad and grandpa, Sherman E. Morgan.

The many cards and calls, along with the attendance at his
Celebration of Life, were humbling and so appreciated.

Jessie Morgan and family

Philomath

Corvallis Manor gave caring therapy

Thank you
to the staff at Corvallis Manor. I just spent eight weeks there
(late last year) recovering from an infection and surgery. My rehab
included occupational therapy and physical therapy. The entire
staff was very professional and caring, attending to my
needs.

I wish to commend all those involved. Hopefully I will not need
them again. But if I do, I will go willingly because of this
experience.

Thank you again!

Spike Smith

Philomath

School patio built with the help of many

We
extend our appreciation and gratitude to the following businesses
and the Philomath School District, without whose support the patio
area at Philomath Elementary School could not have been
completed:

Karl at Limbwalker Tree Care Co., for removing several tree stumps;
Denny Timber supply, which helped with landscape fabric; Brad at
the Bark Place Inc., for providing and spreading bark dust; DeeDee,
Mid-Valley Gravel; Tony Livermore of Gaia Landscaping for measuring
the area for the bark dust; student volunteers Jonathan Neufeld and
Ryan Chesser; custodians Pat Wagner and Leslie Barner; Joey
DiGiovannangelo of the maintenance crew and schools superintendent
Dan Forbess.

All of you are wonderful and helped us get the area ready for the
children at PES. Thank you – all of you – for caring about and
supporting our schools. You are the best!

Becki Goslow

Martha Mickenham

Philomath

HP reachs out to help Community
Outreach

Thank you, Hewlett Packard Co. of Corvallis.
What an honor to be chosen as this year’s recipient of the
Corvallis Site Charitable Giving campaign 2011-12. The events that
were planned by the staff at HP were amazing. The coffee talks,
on-line auction, bake sale, book sale. Raffle sales and the HP
Crafters Faire helped raise money for and awareness of Community
Outreach. Thanks to the super committee for making Community
Outreach a valued partner in this year’s campaign. Way to go,
HP!

Ron Thiesen

Community Outreach

Vina Moses Center gets community help

The
Vina Moses Center is most thankful for the generous community
support for our 2011 Christmas Food and Gift Program. Thanks to the
Timberhill Shopping Center for providing a great location, the
businesses and organizations who sponsored giving trees and
conducted food and gift drives, and the many, many individuals who
sorted and displayed gifts, made food boxes, delivered food and
gifts to families, adopted and sponsored families and donated
gifts, food and money.

Thanks to Boy Scout Troop 3, Linn Benton Food Share and the Benton
County Gleaners for their donations. Working together in the spirit
of the season, we brought added joy to nearly 1,000 families in
Benton County.

Christine Duffney

The Vina Moses Center

News of break-in prompted outpouring

On
behalf of everyone here at Work Unlimited, I would like to extend a
big thank you to the many community members and businesses who read
about our break-in over Christmas weekend and sent their kind
thoughts and donations. The good people of Corvallis have provided
us with enough funding to replace all of the equipment that was
stolen.

Our grounds crew is anxious to get back to work providing landscape
maintenance to our many customers. I cannot think of a better
community to support the work we do for individuals with
disabilities.

Kim Moore

Work Unlimited

Store’s day of sharing a boon to students

The
local holiday shopping season had a positive impact on Corvallis
public school classrooms thanks to the generous “Day of Sharing”
gift donated by Many Hands Trading to the Corvallis Public Schools
Foundation.

Thank you to the staff and community members who made Dec. 9 a day
of support for the Mini Grants for Educational Excellence, a
program of the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation. Twenty-five
percent of that day’s sales were donated, and those dollars will
provide students with materials and expanded learning opportunities
that would not otherwise be available. Thank you, Many Hands
Trading!

Brenda VanDevelder

Corvallis Public Schools Foundation

Corvallis helped Dutch family weather a health
crisis

I fainted on the beach near Yachats in July of
last year. It was the second time that day. It was at the end of
our first week of our tour through Washington, Oregon and
California. A so-far-unnoticed congenital heart valve problem gave
me, a 47-year-old father of a family of three beautiful daughters
of 12, 14 and 16 years old from the Netherlands, sudden problems.
Two days earlier we’d hiked through meters of snow near Paradise
Inn on Mount Rainier.

We rushed to Newport Samaritan hospital and left all our camping
stuff near Yachats. Later an ambulance brought me to Corvallis. In
the meantime, my wife and the kids were already informed that in
case they needed accommodation a special house called Mario Pastega
House at the hospital campus was possibly available. It gave them a
very warm feeling when being distressed by the medical problems
with your beloveds.

Within three days, I was helped with a pacemaker and an artificial
heart valve by the very experienced medical staff of the Samaritan
Hospital.

At the same time my family was welcomed by Pat, one of the great
staff of the Mario Pastega House. A tour around the house, the nice
open kitchen and living area followed. What a great place! A
meeting place. To share your troubles, but also make new friends.
The chapel with a fireplace (!) was beautiful, especially the door
with a welcome in many religious languages. They arrived at the
house without any supplies, toiletries, at all. Even those were
supplied. They felt immediately at home. For me, in the hospital,
it was a comfortable feeling that my family was well cared
for.

The Pastega House mobilizes a group of volunteers to support the
functioning of the house but also to enable special activities.
During our stay they made nice cookies, but also pasta with tuna
fish. One lady took our girls around Corvallis, to show the art and
art houses (downtown). My girls baked dozens of Dutch pancakes for
breakfast for the other guests and staff.

Meeting with Mario Pastega of the respectable age of 94 was one of
the better experiences this summer. The positive-thinking, very
active founder of the house is a good example of how we can turn
good ideas into reality, thereby helping hundreds of people in need
of our care!

Therefore the wish of Mario Pastega: “peace, hope, comfort and
love” is truly implemented in the daily practice of the
House.

Back home again in Driebergen, The Netherlands, we have mixed
feelings about our vacation in the Northwestern states of the USA.
The medical problems have been very acute and uncomfortable and led
to a full stop of our planned tour. The good care provided by
hospital and the Mario Pastega House carried by many nice people
makes us thinking back in a positive way. And that’s what
counts!

Therefore we decided to “adopt a day” at the Mario Pastega house,
to contribute to the future of this great organization.

Berend Scheffers and family

Driebergen, The Netherlands