Good news for people who care about people and community…
Thank You… for Being YOU
Summer Lunches Rocked Again!
Our Summer Food program rocked even bigger this year, and boy are we thrilled! More than 4,000 lunches were served in six locations by about 25 volunteers and staff members this summer. That’s twice the number of lunches and three more communities involved than last year, and next year the program will rock summer lunches right into the Scott Valley and Yreka areas as well! Think of how many more children we’ll be able to feed as we continue to expand this valuable USDA-sponsored program.
“We’re so glad to help put food in the bellies of our community’s children and we appreciate the great volunteers who serve beside us each summer. These folks know it’s all about the kids,” our Community Services director Heather Solus said.
And they do.
Some volunteers set their alarms and helped prep lunches at 7 a.m. Some served lunch midday to hungry kids in Montague, McCloud, Dunsmuir, Mount Shasta, or Weed.
Some, like Joyce Maria and Jill Thomas, did both.
“I’ve seen how kids need help. They’re hungry, they need clothes. In the past I’ve helped through my church but I’m glad to help with Great Northern,” Joyce told us.
Jill said her career was “based around kids,” so our Summer Food program seemed like a good fit for her. She also appreciates the camaraderie among the volunteers, the sense of belonging in community.
Volunteer Tonya Bray told us the kids still wave and say hi to her in the street. “It’s building a bond in the neighborhood,” she said.
What about your neighborhood? Want to help us make sure all our Siskiyou County kids are eating well during summer vacation? Call Heather at (530) 938-4115, extension 128 to find out how.
Hats off to you, Frank!
Frank Goulart is a familiar face to many in south Siskiyou County – as a neighbor, as a friend, and as a Mount Shasta police officer, recently retired after 12 years on the force.
To us, he is a trusted and appreciated member of Great Northern Services’ board of directors. Frank saw our organization through the tragic losses and recovery efforts after the Boles Fire and continues to bring his insight to bear on our work in community.
Executive director Bonnie Kubowitz describes Frank as being a very thoughtful communicator who cares deeply about the work Great Northern does and the clients we serve. “When Frank asks a question, it’s an excellent one. You know he’s really thinking about and really understands Great Northern and the work we do.”
Over the course of his career, he’s served in a variety of law enforcement and security roles.
His years as a Los Angeles motorcycle cop was the job he calls his “real passion.” His years providing travel security for the royal family of Brunei took him around Europe, Asia, South American, and all around the U.S.
Frank finds great satisfaction in helping people and feels strongly about treating with respect and dignity anyone with whom he comes in contact during the course of his work. He says he’s learned that “you can’t judge a book by its cover.”
That perspective and the breadth of experience it suggests has a lot to do with Frank’s valuable contributions as a Great Northern board director, Bonnie says. “Being on the street as a police officer, he’s seen a lot of people in desperate situations. Frank feels that being part of GNS continues his work helping people.”
Frank has said that his motto is, “If you can help one person every single day, you’ve been successful for that day.”
That’s a motto we can get behind, here at Great Northern. And we’re grateful and proud that Frank Goulart works with us to help as many people as we can in Siskiyou County, with respect and dignity, every single day.
Hats off to you, Frank!
North State Giving Tuesday is just around the corner…
Excitement is building at Great Northern as the November 28 “North State Giving Tuesday” one-day, online giving event gets closer.
“North State Giving Tuesday” is an opportunity for you to say “Thank You!!” with a donation to one or more of the non-profit organizations that provide vital services and work to bring about real change in Siskiyou and Shasta counties. It brings generosity and philanthropy into focus in our home region on the day “Giving Tuesday” is doing the same worldwide.
Thousands of people will find their way through Black Friday…and Cyber Monday…to get to “North State Giving Tuesday” and the sense of belonging and gratitude we feel when we are generous to those who work so hard on behalf of our community.
We hope you’ll think of us when you give generously that day. Look for our name on the list of participating organizations, and support our efforts to feed more kids, provide safer, warmer housing to those living in need, put more produce on the table for our struggling families.
We hope you’ll remember that, while Great Northern Services will be the name on that list, we stand for the thousands of names and faces we help lift up in Siskiyou County neighborhoods year after year.
North State Giving Tuesday is brought to you by Shasta Regional Community Foundation, Redding Bank of Commerce, United Way of Northern California, and Pacific Power Foundation.
Gratitude and Reflections: Our first Open House
We are deeply gratified that so many supporters and community leaders took the time to attend and help us celebrate our new home during our Open House in July. It was great to see them!
Our staff took great pride in showing our guests around. They toured everything from the new office butterfly mural that expresses the values of giving and generosity all the way to the forklift and delivery trucks in the warehouse that help us practice those values every day.
Potential plans for a Great Northern Services Community Garden created a buzz among guests who toured a possible future garden site. Our new state-of-the-art, multi-media conference center – which not-for-profit groups may reserve and use free of charge – wowed the crowd as well.For a lot of people, the Open House was about learning just how much we really do. Many had no idea our food program is so comprehensive – they were amazed by the sheer volume of food and equipment we have in our warehouse to support that work. Others didn’t realize we have a business development program, a real estate development program, and many others.
One staff member’s father who attended remarked to her, “Great Northern is a lot bigger than I thought it was. Do you have other branches anywhere?”
That’s a reasonable question to ask… and the answer is no, we don’t. Thanks to our generous supporters and dedicated staff, it all happens right here on Boles Street in Weed!
Because our new home can only hold so many people at one time, the July Open House was by invitation only. But we’d be happy to give private tours by appointment! Please contact our Development Director Marie Wells at (530) 938-4115, extension 121, to make arrangements.
