Tag: Oregon Volunteers

Meet RARE AmeriCorps Participant: Timothy Smith

Posted on by Julia Havens

Timothy Smith RARE Participant Resource Assistance for Rural Environments Coos Bay, Oregon

Timothy received his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism with a Minor in Photography from Doane College. After attaining his Bachelors Degree, Timothy served with Peace Corps in Zambia where he worked as an Agroforesty Extension Agent on an array of rural community development projects. Via RARE, Timothy hopes to gain experience working in the local food arena. Ultimately, he sees the RARE Program as a stepping stone that will allow him to return to his home state of Nebraska with the purpose of increasing sustainability at the local and state levels. Following Timothy’s year with the RARE AmeriCorps  Program – Resource Assistance for Rural Environments, he plans to attend graduate school in sustainability.

Timothy is placed with the South Coast Development Council (SCDC) in Coos Bay, Oregon. SCDC’s mission is to promote and support businesses that provide quality jobs through responsible development on Oregon’s south coast. The 501(c)3 organization was incorporated in 2000. It has a Board of Directors of approximately 20 members, representing county and community government, private industry and economic development partners from Business Oregon, the Southwest Regional Airport, the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce and more.

Timothy’s workplan includes conducting a comprehensive inventory of regional food systems and resources in Coos County. He will examine local food self-sufficiency including local retail, livable wage farming, and local farmers markets. Additionally, Timothy will work to form partnerships with the local farming and agricultural community as a means to increase involvement, and to increase the ability to produce and market locally grown products. 

Organization: South Coast Development Council
Community: Coos Bay
Population: 15,967
County: Coos

ready. . . set. . . SNOW!

Posted on by Julia Havens

Top Story on the News Tonight: Snow

Just about every community in the state of Oregon is hunkering down for snow, snow and even more snow. Levels range from 1 to 3 inches along the south coast to 7 to 10 inches in areas east of the Cascade Range. The National Weather Service says the cold weather will last through the weekend and transition to milder and wetter conditions (a.k.a. rain) by the middle of next week.  With that in mind, the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments-RARE AmeriCorps participants took a moment to share photos of their community’s first winter wonderland conditions before the rain washes it all away.

Resource Assistance for Rural Environments - University of OregonThe mission of the RARE Program is to increase the capacity of rural communities to improve their economic, social, and environmental conditions, through the assistance of trained graduate-level participants, from across the US.  These RARE AmeriCorps participants live in and serve 25 rural Oregon communities assisting in the development and implementation of projects for achieving a sustainable natural resource base and improving rural economic conditions. The markers on the map represents the 25 RARE placements throughout Oregon for 2013-14.



Special thank you to Andrew Barbier, Aubrey Erwin, Jeremy Goldsmith, Laura Goodrich, Maggie Hanna, Julie Havens, Katherine Hayes, Blake Helm, Gabby Pauling, Maddie Phillips, Rebecca and Jason Sergeant, Saira Siddiqui, and Titus Tomlinson for sharing their photos with us.