Jackson County Fuel Committee (JCFC) is a free and voluntary private membership association of forestry, timber, and mill workers, low-income seasonal and service workers, students, teachers, clergy, local merchants, and other concerned community residents. Operating seven days a week with an all-volunteer staff and no government funding, JCFC is dedicated to addressing heating disparity.

Established in 1981, Greenleaf Industries is a private, non-profit corporation, serving as the Northwest's largest horticultural training center, providing training and employment opportunities to eighteen men and women who have varying developmental disabilities. Greenleaf is strongly committed to attaining self-reliance and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for disabled persons through integration, independence, and productivity. For more information visit: greenleafindustries.org

As a result of the priorities in Senate Bill 762 and to better meet the needs and assist Oregonians, the Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) created Fire Adapted Oregon. This initiative utilizes an integrated and strategic investment of resources to reduce fires and its impact on the public. Fire Adapted Oregon is grounded in statewide data, science, new defensible space codes, and trends. For more information visit: https://www.oregon.gov/osp/sfm

The Equamore Foundation provides rescue and sanctuary for neglected, abused, and abandoned horses who have no other alternative for their care. Each day our Sanctuary pushes back against cruelty and indifference. Our mission of kindness and respect for the dignity of all life is vital and universal. For more information visit: www.equamore.org

Rogue Farm Corps trains and equips the next generation of farmers and ranchers through hands-on educational programs and the preservation of farmland.  Rogue Farm Corps offers connections to established farms in Oregon that are offering on-farm internships and apprenticeships. These RFC host farms offer real-world farm production experience, training, and mentorship. RFC envisions a world in which land is deeply cared for, power is equitably shared, and farms, ranches, and the people who work them flourish. For more information visit: https://www.roguefarmcorps.org

The Food Project was started in January 2009 by a small group of Ashland residents who wanted to make it easy for people to donate food to the Ashland Emergency Food Bank. We realized that many of our neighbors wanted to help fight hunger in our community, but for one reason or another, never got around to it. So we created a simple, door-to-door food collection system to enable them to pitch in. The system was so simple that it spread around southern Oregon, to Talent, Phoenix, Medford, Eagle Point, Grants Pass, and has now spread to over 60 communities nationwide. For more information visit: https://neighborhoodfoodproject.org

Sanctuary One was established in 2007 as the nation's first care farm. It was founded by a small group of visionaries who never wavered in their belief in the Sanctuary’s mission: to be a safe place for animals and a healing place for people while promoting environmental stewardship.

ACCESS provides food, warmth, shelter, and other essential services to Jackson County’s low-income children, families, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. As the Community Action Agency of Jackson County, Oregon, ACCESS has been helping residents break the cycle of poverty since 1976.

Rogue World Music builds community and cultural connection through world music experiences. Showcasing culture-bearers of communities as the majority of performing/teaching artists that we hire. Adding cultural context through personal storytelling to all productions and learning opportunities we produce.

Every morning someone wakes up in Southern Oregon with an ache inside because they are grieving. They feel overwhelmed and don’t believe healing is possible, but it is. WinterSpring is dedicated to helping those who are grieving face their loss and learn to embrace life again. They offer compassionate phone support, assessment, group grief support, individual peer support, resources, and more.

At Maslow Project, we realize that basic needs must be met before children and families can focus on higher goals. How can children be expected to concentrate in school when their bellies are empty and they slept on a crowded living room floor? How does a high school student study for the SATs when a desk is the front seat of a car?

Committed Alliance to Strays, otherwise known as C.A.T.S., has been helping cats in Jackson County, Oregon since 1990. Three compassionate women noticed the problem our area has with stray cats and decided to do something about it. C.A.T.S. mission is to decrease the number of stray and abandoned cats in Jackson County, Oregon by rescuing, testing, vaccinating,  neutering, and providing shelter.

Grandmas2Go connects ‘women of wisdom and experience’ to become volunteer family coaches to support struggling new families to help their children thrive. Grandmas2Go has a unique, evidence-based intergenerational approach to helping new moms and families deal with the stresses of parenthood and everyday life today. Trained community volunteers, 50+, provide non-medical, physical, emotional and informational support. For more information visit: https://grandmas2go.org

Dogs for Better Lives’ mission is to professionally train dogs to help people and enhance lives while maintaining a lifelong commitment to all dogs we rescue or breed. Certified professional staff train and place Assistance Dogs with individuals who experience deafness; with children who are on the autism spectrum; and with professionals whose clients can benefit from the dogs’ calming presence.

Badger Run Wildlife Rehab is a not-for-profit organization, located in Klamath Falls, who are dedicated to the care and treatment of injured wildlife. They strive to return injured animals to the wild whenever possible. For more information, visit their website: https://www.badgerrun.org

ORD2 Indivisible has organized a community-based campaign called "WE CARE." WE CARE by wearing masks and getting vaccinated. But we also care about the health of our doctors, nurses and other health care professionals who are working so hard to keep people alive. To support them, we want to make a weekly delivery of drinks, snacks, cards and messages of support to Asante and Providence hospitals

At Project Youth+, we prepare low-income, first-generation, and under-represented youth to thrive in school, careers, and life. We use resiliency development strategies personalized to meet the strengths, preferences, and challenges of each individual. For more information visit: https://projectyouthplus.org"

When the Almeda fire burned through southern Oregon last fall, many people didn't receive a local emergency alert telling them they needed to evacuate. State officials have been working on implementing a new emergency alert system to fix the problem. Representative Pam Marsh talks about the new OR-Alert system. It is expected to go online this summer, and will operate statewide, alerting Oregonians through phone calls, texts, and social media.For more information please visit: https://www.oregon.gov/siec/Pages/OR-Alert.aspx

The Skoolie Home Foundation and Talent Maker City have partnered together on The Bus Project, a pilot program designed to ignite student interest in the construction trades by providing hands-on opportunities to build awareness, encourage exploration, and engage through real-world experiences that dovetail with regional pathways into high-wage, high-demand fields. Student builders are working with CTE educators and industry experts to convert two retired school buses into homes for families displaced by the 2020 wildfires in Southern Oregon. For more information visit: www.skooliehomefoundation.com or www.talentmakercity.org/the-bus-project

The Grants Pass Clinic was looking for an opportunity to maximize their vaccine distribution and came upon a unique solution by partnering with their Grants Pass neighbors the SouthGate Cinema. They have been giving COVID-19 vaccines 3 days a week inside the movie theater, which has been unable to fully reopen yet. 
 For more information contact: GrantsPassClinic.com

Damien Rennie is a financial advisor who grew up in the Rogue Valley, he has a long history of volunteering help to the community he loves. The day after the Almeda Fire he jumped into action, hiking through Phoenix, helping people who couldn’t get back into town letting them know if their house was standing or not. In the days following he aided fire victims by raising over $12,000 and spending all that money on immediate necessities, and then delivering those items directly to the aid stations himself. He and his friends' quick response helped fill in the gaps while the larger relief agencies were still getting a foothold on the dire situation.

Randi Brock has loved animals her entire life. When the Almeda Fire hit, she jumped into action as soon as possible and began to help reunite lost cats with their families. Sharon Anderson is a long-time Talent resident and community activist. When she lost her home, her beloved cat Bubba went missing. Randi was able to give Sharon a happy reunion.

Rogue Food Unites is coordinating food businesses, farms, and cultural organizations to meet the acute demand for regional support with a community-driven meal preparation and delivery program. Meals prepared with ingredients from local farms by local restaurants are delivered to locations in Southern Oregon where residents displaced by fires receive the food they need. Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner.

Anjalie Trice is a veteran homeschool teacher, who in response to COVID and the uncertainty around the public school system, created this opportunity for six 5th-grade girls and their families to join a homeschooling pod. This has become a place where the girls can learn and grow in a safe environment.

The Klamath Independent Film Festival is the only Oregon-centric, all-genre film festival in the state. This September the festival will showcase the shorts and feature films of Oregon filmmakers and/or films shot in Oregon. COVID has forced them to rethink the festival, moving it all online, while also offering much-reduced in person theater screenings.More info: http://klamathfilm.org

Kid Time is a nonprofit Children's Discovery Museum and Early Learning Center. Typically they see up to 100,000 visitors a year and 100 students in their preschool. Since March 12th, both the museum and early learning facility were closed due to the COVID crisis. Since that time, they have offered a distance learning program for regional families that included educational videos and free activity kits.To ensure kids have the learning support they need during this time, Kid Time is operating as an emergency childcare provider during the 2020/21 school year. They are expanding their services for the duration of the COVID crisis to incorporate school age children and offering care options for children up to 6th grade. Their educators will work with students to assist with their online curriculum and supplement with enrichment activities. This is for working families who cannot leave their children home alone to attend distance learning programs on their own. Kid Time is adhering to very strict health and safety protocols under the guidance of Oregon Health Authority and utilizing the best practices possible, such as ample time outdoors. They are partnering with area school districts to reach as many families as possible that need this service, providing programs on-site at local schools, and collaborating with additional nonprofits including the Rogue Valley Family YMCA.For children learning from home, the museum will still be offering Kid Time from Home, educational videos and activity kits that engage children and their parents, provide supplies and creative components that inspire imaginative play. The goal is to make sure children have the school readiness and developmental tools they need so as to not fall behind.Childhood does not stop for a pandemic, and Kid Time is doing what they can to help the community. For more information, go to https://www.kid-time.org/.

At 69-years-old Barnstormers in Grants Pass, is the oldest community theater in Oregon. Like most theaters in America, they had to shut down production of their plays when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Recently they came up with an idea of how to re-open the theater to audiences by streaming their shows live on Youtube. They found it to be an exciting challenge, and are able to broadcast their plays to a whole new audience.
Produced by XRATS.

When the Shelter in Place order began, Chevonne and Darren Johst (owners of the Grocery Outlet Bargain Market in Medford, Oregon) immediately began on working on ways to keep the community fed.
Produced by Julie Akins.

Learn more about the movement where people clean recyclable items in order to donate them to people who have no money and need to recycle to survive. Communities members clean bottles and cans worth a $.10 deposit each to donate to those in need. This is a grassroots effort, organized only by good will.
Produced by Julie Akins.

The Labor Temple of Central Point is collecting food and preparing for a family food drive for its members out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic. They could not do it without the help of their members and community partners and volunteers.
Produced by Julie Akins. Hosted by Trip White.

A look at how Medford's new camp will help the vulnerable through the pandemic.
Produced by Julie Akins.

A look at how one Ashland company has changed operations to assist vulnerable communities.
Produced by Julie Akins.

See how young artist Josslyn Anderson Barton is working to turn her painting talent into help for those in her community.Visit Josslyn's GoFundMe page HERE.
Produced by Julie Akins.

Hearts with a Mission, a home for at risk and unsheltered youth in Medford, OR, faced unexpected difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic. Fortunately, the community came together to help the organization overcome problems of food shortage, isolation and more.
Produced by Julie Akins.

The United Community Action Network (UCAN) of Grants Pass is working to house those in need during the pandemic. See how one veteran is off the streets and in his own home in this installment of Southern Oregon Responds.
Produced by Julie Akins.

The pandemic has shut down businesses around the Rogue Valley and caused the cancellation of the Britt and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. A group of business people and philanthropists are attempting to create a unique culinary festival to overcome that challenge. It's called "Ashland on a Plate."Produced by Julie Akins.

Southern Oregon Solutions features the Hutchings family of Medford who have converted their home into an assembly line for hand stitching masks during the Coronavirus. The masks are free and constructed through donations of fabric and elastic to the family which cuts, irons, installs filters and stitches them together. In all they've made more than 1,100 masks for people who work in essential services and members of the public who want and need a mask.The family of six each takes a role in hand sewing these masks as a labor of love and care for the community. "I felt nervous and uneasy when the virus hit," says Gwen Hutchings who came up with the idea, "but when I started doing something to help I felt much better."The Hutchings family, creating solutions in the midst of the pandemic featured on Southern Oregon Responds with Southern Oregon Solutions.
Produced by Julie Akins.

Talent Maker City focuses on providing high end manufacturing equipment in a creative environment to tackle today's difficult problems. TMC harnesses the talent and knowledge of area engineers, fabricators, builders and designers to collaborate with students to build what the community needs. During the pandemic the group made manifolds and filters for ventilators, personal protection equipment for medical professionals and work on a daily basis to create what products that are needed on a 24 hour turn around.Talent Maker City wishes to thank its many partners such as Asante and the Cow Creek Band for their generosity and support.To learn more: https://www.talentmakercity.orgProduced by Julie Akins.

On this episode of Southern Oregon Responds, we meet J'amie and Toni, a young couple who love each other and gardening together. As a result they met with a few other people throughout the Rogue Valley who have soil, plant starts and land to assist the process of "Solidarity Gardens." They assist back yard food growers and in exchange only ask that they share their crops with others in their area. They receive no pay and money never changes hands in this casual gift from one person to another. They have so far worked on 15 gardens scattered from Central Point through Ashland.If you'd like more information on this grass roots association you may contact the reporter. julieanneakins@gmail.com