Aumsville
Mill City
Family Building Blocks
Stayton-Sublimity
Chamber of Commerce
By Mary Owen
Local non-profits and agencies are working together through the Canyon Collaborative to better provide for the people they serve.
“Our goal is local non-profits and agencies empower those they serve to make choices that help themselves to identify and create goals toward self-sufficiency,” said Lisa Graber of Friends of the Family.
The Canyon Collaborative includes 25 active non-profits and businesses from Aumsville to Mill City. A leaders meeting is Wednesday, May 11, 9:30 a.m. at 784 N. Third Ave., Stayton. A Canyon Collaborative gathering will take place Wednesday, June 8, 9:30 a.m. at the Stayton Public Library.
“Anyone living in or providing services in the Santiam Canyon is invited to participate in the Canyon Collaborative gatherings by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on ‘sign up,’” Graber said.
Graber, a member of the Canyon Collaborative Leadership Team, said collaborating and communicating with one another leads to being more efficient with time, finances and resources.
“When we seek support, we tend to make and impact on our own lives and create positive outcomes for ourselves and our families,” she said. “If we do not know one another exists, we are not able to strive toward a healthier community.”
The collaborative provides a free bi-monthly gathering space for non-profits and businesses to network, share concerns, ask questions regarding needs in the community, and to create a dialogue about best practices, Graber said.
“An example of what best practices means is that, if four agencies are serving the same family and are providing similar services, a best practice would involve Canyon Collaborative agencies communicating with one another to determine that perhaps only one agency might be able to meet the needs of that particular family rather than four agencies,” she explained. “Best practices also include identifying what our clients and families have to offer their own community beyond just receiving from their community.”
Additionally, participating groups are able to share with one another via e-mail contact lists about upcoming events, fundraisers, and family and agency needs.
“We plan to continue meeting bi-monthly to better communicate and collaborate with one another,” Graber said.
The team meets bi-monthly on the off months from the Canyon Collaborative gatherings to determine speakers for meetings, topics for discussion, and bring in local leaders and trainers for free workshops.
“We would love anyone interested to attend our large Canyon Collaborative gathering or sit in on a leadership team meeting,” Graber said.
The group has created the Santiam Canyon Resource Guide, located online via websites of all cities in the Santiam Canyon, the Stayton-Sublimity Chamber of Commerce, and Family Building Blocks’ Doris’ Place.
