Each December the Medford Mail Tribune runs a series of articles entitled Light One Candle, inviting readers to grant the holiday wishes of less fortunate individuals. This year stories featured four individuals supported by Living Opportunities.

Jason and Eric, die-hard Beavers and Ducks fans, are native Oregonians who have worked hard to gain independence and today live in their own apartments with some support services provided by Living Opportunities staff. Although Eric & Jason both hold part-time jobs, their income is just sufficient to meet daily living expenses—there is no room in tight budgets for tickets to a game or to pay for travel expenses. MT readers donated $550.00 to fund a trip to see a live Beavers/Ducks game.

Fifty-five year old Calvin has persevered over the course of a very tough life, until a stroke two years go resulted in some mobility and speech problems. He has made a partial recovery, but now spends most of his time at home, following the day’s events as they unfold on his police scanner. His analog scanner will soon be obsolete as the police switch to an all-digital format.

Calvin has never left the Rogue Valley (other than a fateful trip to Salem to be institutionalized) and yearns to see the ocean. Considerate readers of the MT contributed $275.00 and one person donated the use of a beachside cabin.

Janet retired a few years ago and lives on a very limited fixed income in a Living Opportunities group home. When she moved to her new neighborhood, she really enjoyed going for walks, seeing the kids playing and visiting with her many neighbors. She is still mobile with the use of a walker, but recently has become more unstable and this has caused a curtailment of her activity. The very day her Light One Candle story appeared a kind gentleman called to say he had just read the story and “it must be fate.” He was getting his wife’s golf cart ready for sale and instead he gave it to Janet.

On behalf of Jason, Eric, Calvin and Janet a BIG thank-you to the big-hearted Mail Tribune readers who helped make dreams come true.

The Studio at Living Opportunities has expanded  our mission to embrace artists with all types of disabilities.  In 2008, when Noo shared his drawings with his therapy group, the therapist recommended The Studio at Living Opportunities.  Noo was shy about having no art training, but Studio Director Dan Mish encouraged him to give it a try.  Noo says art “opens me to a new day and a new kind of life.  I see art now in everything I look at.  Everything good that comes out of life comes into my pictures and I can share my new inspiration.” Noo is the recipient of a workshop scholarship from the furnARTure event, and has ventured from line drawings to painting with vivid colors.

Currently employed part time as a van driver, 48-year old Noo is a native Oregonian, and one of nine children.  In the past, he has worked in grounds maintenance, as a nursery man and for 10 years on the docks at Harry & David.  He spent 5 years as a member of a Christian rock group, The Lighthouse Band, and in his spare time composes on keyboard, guitar and drums.

In October 2011, Oregon Business Magazine announced the findings of the annual survey of non-profit organizations and for the second year in a row, Living Opportunities was acknowledged as one of the 100 Best Non-profits to Work For in Oregon. Our employees cited practical reasons for their rating: flexibility to balance family, community and job obligations as well as paid time off and leave benefits and positive work environments. We are most proud, however, of the philosophical basis for their appraisals, which gave high ratings for adherence to and progress on mission and purpose, support for the broader community and fairness for differing racial, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age and economic status. Our sincere appreciation to all of our dedicated employees, whose conscientious efforts further our goals every day.

“I did not find the world desolate when I entered it. My fathers planted for me before I arrived, so I plant for those who come after me.”               -Talmud

The future of Living Opportunities will be assured with your gift to the Endowment Fund. An endowment fund is a special fund that provides a “payout” every year to support the mission of Living Opportunities. The corpus, or principal, of the endowment is kept intact, and only the interest, or a portion of it, it available for use.

Our staff would be happy to discuss with you the many ways that you can participate in the Living Opportunities Endowment Fund, managed and administered by the Oregon Community Foundation

Endowment gifts may be made during a person’s life or at death through a will or trust. Some donors combine the two, making a gift during their lifetime, and then adding to it with a bequest.

If you have already remembered Living Opportunities in your will, please let us know so that we can include you in the activities of our Valley View Society. If you would like further information about charitable gift planning, transfer of stocks or other appreciated property, or creating a charitable annuity or trust, please contact Jim Gochenour at 541-772-1503.

Gifts to the Endowment Fund may be made in any amount. You are welcome to make a gift in honor of a friend or loved one. In recognition of gifts or bequests over $25,000, you may wish to have one of the following named.

-A meeting or conference room in the Living Opportunities administration building

-The Photo Gallery and services

-A Group Home

-The Studio Art Gallery

-The Out and About Recreation Room

-Employment Services Center

The Opportunity Tree will honor all those who have made gifts of $5,000 or more to the Living Opportunities Endowment Fund. Your name or the name of someone you wish to honor will be included on a leaf of this beautiful sculpted tree.

Endowment gifts are like sunlight and water to the long-lasting growth of Living Opportunities.  Your gift to the endowment fund will live forever, helping to fulfill our mission and promise to the community we serve.

I was so pleased to welcome folks to the second annual furnARTure event on October 2nd at Bigham Knoll in Jacksonville, and only regret that I had to do so via video presentation.  We raised more than $32,000, which will directly benefit the artists of The Studio, providing supplies, instruction and scholarships for artists with disabilities to attend workshop sessions.  I am so impressed by the time and effort of the artists who transformed everyday functional items into wonderful works of creative expression and reached out, including painters with disabilities in the larger art community.  Of course, the celebration couldn’t take place without the countless hours of behind-the-scenes volunteer work by an impressive group of people, as well as the generosity of our event sponsors, for which I am most thankful. It is gratifying to have such a strong base of sponsors, donors and volunteers who support our mission with the same passion as the staff and Board of Directors.

I couldn’t finish without announcing the receipt of two significant grants.  The Meyer Memorial Trust has awarded us $75,000 to assist in our development and employment departments, a grant of $15,000 from Leightman-Maxey Foundation will help us address the waitlist for our job development services, and a $6,000 grant from the Carpenter Foundation will assist in the Studio.  Thank-you so much to these generous funders!

I look forward to seeing you at the Ashland Livin’ Lovin’ Lunchin’ on November 16th and I hope you all have a jubilant Thanksgiving–I can’t think of any group of people who are more deserving.

Best Regards,

Roger

On Sunday afternoon October 2nd, some 250 people gathered in the Bigham Knoll Ballroom, Jacksonville for the second annual furnARTure fundraising event to benefit The Studio at Living Opportunities.  We are indebted to our many sponsors: Cutler Investment Group, Umpqua Bank and United Risk solutions, as well as Bicoastal Media, Charter, Mustard Press, OPUS Broadcasting, Snapshot and Terra Firma Home.  The gala afternoon was the culmination of a year-long planning process by a group of some 40 volunteers, led by furnARTure Chairperson Baylee LaVoie. The décor was lovely and all attending enjoyed the scrumptious hors d’oeuvres and canapés from Season’s Events Catering and libations donated by Troon Vineyard, Roxy Ann Winery, Jacksonville Inn and Valley View Winery.  MC Shannon Young was charming and Auctioneer C.W. Smith returned to motivate the bidders in his usual entertaining and efficient manner during the live auction.  Scholarship Studio artist Noo Cook gave an emotional testimony regarding the major role participation in the workshops has had in managing a very difficult year in his life.  We are so proud of the outreach of 31 contributing artists who have embraced and honored artists of The Studio as part of the larger art community. Thank-you Anna Baker Powell, Anne Brooke, Carrie Kaufman, Cathy Doris, Chandra Hayes, Clista Prelle-Tworek, Curt Evans, Cynthia Flowers, Cynthia Mish, Dan Mish, Donna Patella, Ellen Cholewa, Eve Withrow, Fran Batzer, Gabriel Lipper, Holly Herrick, Jack West, Joe Romano, Joy Light, Joyce Feigner, Krissy Milner, Molly Kreuzman, Nikki Daugherty, Paul Nash, Pegi Smith, Ruth Simpson, Ryan Offenbacher, Sarah Bernard, Susan Kramer Pope, Susan Labozetta and Tiffany Kirkpatrick.

This wonderful event, which raised more than $32,000 to directly benefit the participants in The Studio at Living Opportunities, was a bang-up success, and plans for furnARTure III in the fall of 2012 are already underway.

Linda Vista (Beautiful View) in Ashland, specializes in care for stable patients who need an intensive program of recovery and around-the-clock assistance with routine personal care.  All health services are coordinated by licensed nurses.  As you can imagine, in an 87 bed facility there is a lot of stocking, documentation and paper management to be done.  That’s where Jim Thomas fits right in.  Jim, who has an AA degree in Theater and Communication and enjoys acting, singing with his choral group and music of all types, stocks personal care items and ensures that each patient always has a ready supply at hand.  He also sets up folders and files in the medical records and payroll departments.  Roberta Clemenze in central supply says “Jim is a priceless timesaver and the residents love him!”  Jim, Linda Vista and Living Opportunities—a beautiful partnership!

Living Opportunities is enlisting a team of volunteers to serve as Ambassadors to help make connections in the community. Our Ambassadors are individuals who truly understand and are passionate about our work. Their job is to introduce a minimum of ten of their friends and associates over the next year to Living Opps by inviting them a short presentation to learn about the organization.

Living Opps Livin’ Lovin’ Lunchin’s are successful fundraising events, however; we don’t want a person’s first experience with Living Opportunities to be a request for a donation. Instead we want new people to come to an overview event where they simply learn about our programs and services that support individuals with developmental disabilities. All we ask for at the overview event is feedback however; our hope is that attendees will be so interested to learn about the mission and work of Living Opps that they will become friends of the organization.

We already have ten people signed up to be Ambassadors but we are looking for an additional 20 volunteers. Please consider joining this wonderful team of “friend-raisers”. The time commitment is manageable yet, you’ll be making a significant contribution to Living Opportunities. If you are interested contact Carrie Kaufman, Business and Donor Relations Manager, at 541-772-1503 or carriek@livingopps.org.

Appreciate: to be grateful and thankful for; to value and regard highly.

The mission and purpose of Living Opportunities is to ensure that persons with developmental disabilities are full included in all facets of community life.  It’s all about people and only accomplished by the dedication and hard work of more than 140 employees and scores of volunteers who have been called to serve—they are the only means of fulfilling our purpose.   On August 23rd, 100+ plus employees, volunteers and guests gathered at Lava Lanes to enjoy dinner, a little friendly competition and to honor exemplars of commitment and service.

Dennis Franklin was named the Rosann Boyer Johnson Employee of the Year.  Dennis was the lead staff in coordinating new and complex support services in Central Point, doing whatever it took, no matter the hours, to ensure the individuals exercised choice and control as they moved to independent living.

Barbara Harper was present to award the Bill and Barbara Harper Volunteer of the Year award to Baylee LaVoie.  Baylee has served in many capacities over the years, but her leadership of the furnARTure art auctions has been outstanding.  The event is a year in planning, and she attends every meeting, coordinating the efforts of a large team of volunteers with graciousness and aplomb.

Dan Dail was recipient of the Laurie Lindberg & Jessie Martin Manager of the Year Award.  Dan, a manager in Employment Services, oversees all of the parks, grounds maintenance and janitorial contracts.  He fills in for absent crew supervisors, be it 7 in the morning or 11 at night. As one of the nominators said “he will do anything asked of him, whether it is his job or not”.

This year we completed our third summer collaboration with the Children’s Advocacy Center, bringing the healing power of artistic expression to 40 victimized youth.  The eight-week workshop concluded with another brilliant reception and auction hosted by Veranda Park, featuring the work of both CAC and Studio artists.  Each artist received a standard commission for their sales and the remaining proceeds are furthering the important and life-changing work of this wonderful alliance.  We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Children’s Advocacy Center and Veranda Park!