By Mary Owen
North Santiam Service Integration recently received a $3,000 bite of United Way’s community benefit funding, thanks to a new partnership formed last month between the two charitable organizations.
“At United Way, we are focused on supporting our friends and neighbors in need because the community is stronger when everyone is cared for and has the opportunity to reach their full potential,” said Kim Hanson with the Mid-Willamette Valley branch. “The Santiam Service Integration Team is an incredible partner in that they identify local needs, work collaboratively with community partners to provide both immediate help and sustainable solutions, and leverage our contribution to make donor dollars go further.”
This year, United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley also gave $1,000 from its Women United Fund specifically to help women and children, and another $2,150 given in response to individual Santiam SIT funding requests, Hanson said.
“We strongly believe in the service integration model as a way to unite the community to respond to immediate basic needs while collaborating to create the lasting social change that supports a healthy Santiam region,” she said. “We decided to give a larger amount to basically fill the pot so that match requests could be met more immediately.”
Hanson’s organization is working with Melissa Baurer, coordinator of the Santiam Service Integration Team, to design a regular quarterly funding allocation that will begin on July 1.
The recent allocation will be used as match dollars and not be put into the team’s funding “pot”, said Baurer, who is also community liaison of Santiam Hospital.
“The funds will be set aside and tracked on separate ledger,” Baurer said.
In addition to contributions by Santiam Hospital and the Santiam Canyon and North Santiam school districts, the team partners with Early Learning Hub of Marion and Polk Counties to specifically help families with children under age six or pregnant moms, Baurer said.
“These funds are readily available to meet urgent needs in a time-efficient manner,” she said. “To date, the team has met every request from a community partner by working together with our funding partners and community partners who attend the meetings.”
Baurer recently represented the team at Capital Auto Group’s celebration for raising $200,000 for United Way. She also attended the Marion, Polk and Yamhill Department of Human Services yearly training at the Keizer Civic Center, presenting the SIT model and sharing stories of how partners in the Santiam region work together to help others.
“We also have a Facebook page, and we have chosen to list needs on there when appropriate,” Baurer said.
“The community members have been sharing our posts and a lot of times the needs are taken care of by private community members. This has been a fabulous way to involve the team in the awesome work of helping our neighbors.”
Baurer shared how a Silverton resident, currently serving in Korea, saw a Facebook post that the women’s clinic was looking for a diaper bag to help a local mom.
“Mariah purchased it on Amazon and sent it to the hospital!” she said.
Hanson credits Baurer for providing “thoughtful, caring and skilled leadership” to the SSI program.
“She and the many partners around the table who are part of the North Santiam, Cascade and Santiam Canyon SIT teams are coming together to support individuals and families in need – leveraging their collective resources and helping to shape a healthy and thriving community,” Hanson said.
United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley also gave a $5,000 grant to New Growth Ministries for the new Santiam Teen Center in Stayton.
Last year, in total, the organization invested over $1.3 million back into local communities, supporting over 174 community service partners, “raising capacity and addressing urgent needs,” Hanson said.
“We invested in over 850 classrooms across the Willamette Valley, fighting childhood poverty,” she added.
Future plans for North Santiam Service Integration include implementing training for community partners, Baurer said.
“This will be an opportunity for service providers to share with the Santiam region the services they provide and how partners and clients can access those services,” she said. “This will be an all-day training that Santiam Hospital will be funding. Our goal is to have them three times a year, with the first one in May.”
The training sessions will be held: North Santiam SIT, 9 a.m., May 9, Santiam Center; Cascade SIT, 9 a.m., May 21, Turner Christian Church; and Santiam Canyon SIT, 10:30 a.m., May 28, Gates Fire Hall. The meetings are open to all community organizations, groups, businesses, government agencies, faith-based groups, and community members wanting to help their neighbors.
Team members will meet in the next few weeks to procure storage unit(s) for donations that are commonly needed, such as bed frames and dressers, Baurer said.
“We have spent a total of $7,988 in team funds combined for the three teams and have leveraged $33,019,” she said. “We could not have done this well without the support of community partners, as well as private community members who want to help their neighbors.”
For information, contact Baurer at 503-769-9319 or visit the Santiam Service Integration Facebook page.
