St. Charles gives boost to Project Connect

St. Charles Health System is pleased to announce it has contributed $9,000 to Volunteer Connect to help fund Project Connect, a program providing a wide variety of services to Central Oregonians who are in need of basic health and social services.

Project Connect is an annual, one-day event held at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds& Expo Center in September. In 2011, more than3,400 low-income and homeless Central Oregonians attended. This year, it is anticipated that the number of guests will equal or exceed the previous year’s attendance.

“This (program) is about building resiliency and empowering people in our communities to work together to overcome dire circumstances and diverse challenges resulting from ongoing obstacles and the economic recession,” said Shellie Campbell, Project Connect coordinator.

Participants will have access to health services, dental care, vision testing and eyeglasses, legal aid and information, housing services, haircuts, food, counseling, clothing, youth birthday parties, Internet training and access, and veterinary care at no cost to them. New this year, Project Connect will also include a program to connect attendees who are unemployed or underemployed with specific volunteer opportunities to build their job skills and employability.

Project Connect is also designed to be a community engagement and outreach vehicle. While the one-day event offers a wide variety of both immediate help and long-term assistance to its attendees, the event also introduces the many volunteers and participating organizations to other collaborative volunteer events and community opportunities.

Project Connect also provides guests the opportunity to work with the medical community through a collaborative network to provide referrals to support guests getting established in a medical home.

Preparatory work for Project Connect involves recruiting and training at least 800 volunteers, securing agency and resource partners, designing and coordinating the service delivery systems, marketing, transportation plan and securing additional funds, finding sponsorships and soliciting donations of materials and supplies.

“The St. Charles Health System Community Health and Benefit Task Force is pleased to support Project Connect, and believes this program is vital in providing access to much-needed resources for Central Oregonians in need of basic health and human services,” said Alisha Fehrenbacher, director of community strategies.

For more information regarding St. Charles Health System’s Community Benefit program and funding application processes, please contact Maggie Olstedt, community benefit specialist, at 541-647-1765.