This week

Garden club garage sale funds scholarships

The North Bend Garden Club is seeking the community’s help in raising money for scholarships.

 The club will hold a garage sale fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at College Park Community Church, which is at the corner of Newmark Avenue and Oak Street in North Bend. There will be a large  variety of items; too many to list.  All proceeds will go to scholarships.

Anonymous HIV testing offered at no charge

There will be free, anonymous HIV testing from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, at the Family Resource Center, 5 St. John’s Way, Reedsport. There will be no needles, and results will be available in 20 minutes. No appointment is necessary.

Testing is encouraged for people who have had any kind of unprotected sex; shared needles for drugs, tattoos, body piercing or steroids; or had a sexually transmitted disease.

For more information, those interested can call Maggie McFadden at (541) 505-0823.

Barbecue proceeds go toward snack packs

In celebration of Oregon Hunger Awareness week, from May 26 to June 2, NW Natural Gas will host a Community Barbecue from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, at the Coos Bay Wal-Mart, 2051 Newmark Ave., with proceeds going to Oregon Coast Community Action’s Share Bear Snack Pack program.  

The barbecue, sponsored and hosted by NW Natural and coordinated with Oregon Coast Community Action, will include gourmet hot dogs, soft drinks donated by Pepsi-Cola, live music by local band Stampede, a showcase of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and more.

The barbecue and fundraising event also will celebrate National Hunger Awareness Day, June 3, announced by America’s Second Harvest, a national food organization dedicated to ending hunger.

All proceeds will be donated to the Snack Pack program, which feeds 150 hungry children in Coos Bay, North Bend and Reedsport, who were identified by school staff as being at risk for returning to homes with little or no food over the weekends. The children are provided with nutritional snacks that require no cooking, cooling or heating, each Friday before they leave school, which help make sure the children have food to eat until they return to school on Monday. Every donation helps Oregon Coast Community Action offer vital services to local families, individuals and children throughout Coos, Curry and Western Douglas counties.

Oregon Hunger Awareness week, announced by Gov. Kulongoski, is intended to encourage all Oregonians to learn more about food insecurity and hunger in the region, and to help fight hunger. Oregon Coast Community Action has been on the front lines in the battle against hunger for over 43 years, and through community support, individuals throughout the region can help ORCCA create a vision of all South Coast households thriving and living with dignity, security and hope, according to a press release.

Oregon Coast Community Action works to house, feed, warm and educate low-income and vulnerable children, families and individuals in the region and has been servingthe South Coast since 1965. For more information, to donate or volunteer, those interested can call 888-7108 visit http://www.orcca.us or.

Next week

Rummage sale benefit for Foster Parent Assoc.

The “Awesome Blossom Rummage Sale,” a fundraiser for the Coos County Foster Parent Association, will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, at Blossom Gulch Elementary School, 333 S. 10th  Street, Coos Bay.

There will be the usual furniture, housewares, clothing, camping gear, crafts and more. There will be no pricing; buyers decide the donation they want to give. Donations can be dropped off at Blossom Gulch Elementary School from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6.

Those interested also can call Flo at 267-2518. Funds raised will help Coos County foster children go to summer camp, take music lessons and participate in other activities.

Barn sale proceeds go to mother with cancer

The sixth-annual Messerle barn sale will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., June 7-8, at 94881 Stock Slough Road.

The barn is located at the corner of Stock Slough and Catching Inlet Road. The sale has been organized to raise money for a Coos Bay mother of two fighting breast cancer.

Monetary donations also will be accepted. Checks can be made payable to Annie Messerle. For more information, those interested can call Annie Messerle at 267-6606 or Molly Messerle at 369-6369.

Coming soon

Friends of NB Library host used book sale

The Friends of the North Bend Public Library will host a used book sale Saturday, June 14, in the library’s large meeting room, 1800 Sherman Ave.

Most paperback books will cost 50 cents, and most hard cover books will cost $1.

The sale will be open to the public from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Paid Friends members will be admitted to the pre-sale at 10 a.m. Friends membership applications will be available at the library and can be purchased that day.

Proceeds of the sale will benefit the children’s summer reading program, plus the book, audio and video collections.  The Friends also support the Title Wave and Oregon Book Awards author events at the library.   

Donations of clean, used books are needed for the sale. Donations will be accepted at the library 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mondays through Wednesdays; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays; and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

For more information, those interested can call 756-0400.

Free concert performed at community college

Several Southwestern Oregon Community College faculty members are planning a community performance at 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on the Southwestern campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay.

The program — which will include works by Shostakovich, Copland, Milan, Brouwer, Sor, Debussy, Gretry and others — will be performed by faculty members Charlotte McLauchlin and Ida Jo Gates on piano, Mike Turner on classical guitar, Blake McGee on clarinet, Myriam Harvey on violin, Tom Beckstrom on percussion and Libby Harrison on electric guitar.

The concert is free and open to the public, but donations for the Southwestern Music Department would be accepted. Refreshments will be served in the lobby after the performance.

Volunteers, campers can sign up for camp

Southern Oregon Camp Kiwanis (Camp SOCK) is accepting applications for campers and volunteer staff for this summer’s camping session, volunteer staff work July 13-18 and campers attend July 15-18.      

Youth and young adults ages 12-20 who have physical disabilities can apply to attend the four-day camp. The camp is accessible to wheelchairs. Activities are adapted so that participants can safely participate in swimming, canoeing, fishing, horse and animal activities, arts and crafts, nature hikes, astronomy, campfires and other group activities. Medical staff is onsite at all times. The camp is targeted toward young people with physical disabilities including cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, artificial limbs or other physical challenges. Camp SOCK is not appropriate for children with mental, emotional or behavioral challenges.

The camp is located at Camp Myrtlewood near Bridge off of Highway 42.

The cost is $450 and camp scholarships are available on request.  

Youth and young adults, ages 13-25, also are needed to serve as peer counselors and will receive room and board. Unit counselors and medical professionals also can participate. A police background check is required, and training will be provided.  

To obtain a camper or a counselor application, go to the Web site http://www.campsock.org or call Wendy Millard at (541) 882-8078.  You may also request an application by e-mail at info@campsock.org or write to P.O. Box 735, Keno, OR 97627. The application deadline is June 13. Those wishing to sponsor a youth can send donations to the same address.

Ongoing

Fibromyaliga group will not meet in June

The Fibromyaliga support group that usually meets from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month at the South Coast Hospice Education Building, 1620 Thompson Road, Coos Bay, will not meet in June.

Community Action seeks volunteers

Oregon Coast Community Action is seeking volunteers to help unload trucks of food provided to the South Coast Food Share by Oregon Food Bank.

With volunteer assistance, Oregon Coast Community Action will be able to unload the twice-monthly truck of food from OFB into its warehouse for distribution throughout the region. Volunteers at the South Coast Food Share warehouse will unload the OFB truck, sort items onto pallets and organize selections for local food pantries and meal sites.

Volunteers are usually needed from 7:30 a.m. to noon on the first and third Friday of the month. Volunteers can donate their time as best fits their schedule, a press release said.

South Coast Food Share, an Oregon Coast Community Action program, collects and distributes donated food to local food pantries and meal sites throughout Coos and Curry counties, and distributed 1.5 million pounds of food last year.

Volunteers must be able to lift 50 pounds. If possible, all volunteers should bring a pair of work gloves.

For more information and to volunteer for South Coast Food Share, those interested can call Volunteer Coordinator Nora Nicholas at 888-7188 or email noran@orcca.us.

Oregon Coast Community Action provides a variety of services that house, feed, warm and educate vulnerable children, individuals and families in Coos, Curry and Western Douglas counties. For more information, those interested can visit www.orcca.us or call 888-7108.