Just like fires can get away from firefighters, this year is getting away from me.  I've been a bit delinquent in posting our 2nd quarter #cateringforacause recipient.
Colton Fire Depart is  a Volunteer Firefighter Association that has certainly had its share of challenges over the last several years with all of the fires in their areas.  We would like to come alongside them, for a time, and dedicate this 2nd quarter contribution to them in hopes that when next fire "season" starts they will be able to "breathe" a bit easier.  Since 1956, Colton Rural Fire Protection District #70 is a Volunteer Fire Department in Clackamas County providing Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services.  The district protects 46 square miles located between the cities of Molalla and Estacada. 
They have a fundraising event coming up on November 11, 2023.  Perhaps look at your calendar and see if you can attend, or at least help to support.  Let's show them some community love!

Our chosen recipient for our first quarter cause is one that we have been working with throughout the last year and a half, Elijah's Heart House.
​With the struggles faced by Elijah's family through his illness, the Auxier family is now committed to helping other families navigate through struggles with housing and some sense of peace during extended hospital stays for their children with life threatening illnesses.
When a child is admitted to a pediatric specialty facility, families go from certainty to chaos in the blink of an eye. Elijah's Heart House is dedicated to come alongside families in the navigation, with regard to providing necessities and a home.

 Anywhere and everywhere we look these days, you can't help but notice a person or persons with no apparent home. I don't know about you, but it saddens my heart.  I wish that there was an all encompassing solution, but I know there is not. What we can do is donate to organizations that are doing all that they can to help those in a homeless situation. 
One of these AMAZING organizations is MY FATHER'S HOUSE. 
My Father’s House is a non-profit shelter ministry that opened more than 20 years ago, to meet the needs of homeless families.  The men, women and children in homeless families often sleep in their cars, crash on friends’ couches, or go from home to home just to survive. Many of these families have no idea of how to obtain or keep a job. Some need professional counseling. All of them need HOPE. 
​In our effort to support this amazing organization, we are dedicating our last quarter of 2022 #cateringforacause to My Father's House.

First responders are near and dear to our hearts, at TCR. We value the job that they do in keeping us safe, healthy and protected. 
Our quarter 3 #Cateringforacause is in effort to give back a bit to those that serve our local communities.
Responder Life is an organization that supports our first responders.  Their programs are "focused on working with first responders to ensure that their lives are not defined by the negativity that comes from constantly confronting the evil of this world, but rather the by hope and light delivered through their dedication and service. They do this by providing a safe place for first responders to go to when they are on duty. It is a non-contact office, meaning they are not in the public’s eye and can stop for a moment to catch up on paperwork, eat lunch and relax while they work on paperwork; peer-to-peer programs equip selected first responders within partnering public safety agencies to provide sustained, long-term support to their peers through formal and informal relationships that address spiritual, psychological, emotional, and physical health". In addition they offer public safety programs and assist "responders without boarders" to be able to do what they do.
It is our privilege to give back!

We have literally been ripped apart from our community and neighbors over the last couple of years.  Such sadness...we're all working to try to reconnect with others in our communities and neighborhoods.  One program that is working to do this for those that might not otherwise have a "community" or "neighborhood" is COMMUNITY DINNERS. With who we are and what we love to do, we thought that Community Dinners was the perfect choice for our second quarter #Cateringforacause. We look forward to contributing to their cause.

. It's difficult to believe that we are already into a new year! Here's to hoping that 2022 is good to everyone.  We'd like to start off the year in support of ​Youth Rights Justice. This organization was brought to our attention by one of our employees.  She is blessed to work her fulltime days with them and has told us on many occasions how impactful it is to her life. 
Established in 1975, Youth, Rights & Justice is Oregon’s leading nonprofit law firm dedicated exclusively to children and families. They bring a trauma-informed lens to all of their work; seeking to promote resilience, dignity and respect. They work with children and families from all walks of life. 
This firm helps to bring hope into the lives of all of the clients that they represent. We are honored to have this organization be our first quarter #cateringforacause. 

Homelessness, we see this growing challenge all around us especially in the after affects of last year. There are many agencies trying to help those in need. One such place is Annie Ross House, our 4th quarter #CateringforaCause.
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 Since 1986, as a core program of Northwest Housing Alternatives, the Annie Ross House is the only shelter for families experiencing homelessness in Clackamas County. Annie Ross House can serve up to 8 families at a time, each of whom receives a private room equipped with a bathroom and kitchenette for maximum privacy and dignity throughout their shelter stay. Families work with a case manager from the HomeBase program to set goals and create a work plan to move into permanent housing.
Families staying at Annie Ross House participate in classes such as Rent Well, financial education, and after-school educational groups for kids. These classes provide opportunities to build skills and knowledge which lead to success in permanent housing. The average length of stay for families in Annie Ross House from date of entry to moving into their own permanent housing is 66 days.

We can't comprehend the devastation that a fire causes, especially those that many people in our state faced last year.  For those with insurance to replace things and property, it is a little less of a struggle.  What about those neighbors that don't have insurance or the means to clean up and rebuild? Well, a community of volunteers blossomed out of the need created by the devastation of some of the fires last year. Community members in and around the Echo Fire in Otis, have come together to help in the clean up and support their neighbors. Out of that Cascade Relief Team was formed.  This community of dedicated people, offers services such as supply donation pickup coordination and drop off to affected areas, livestock rescue and temporary relocation, and resource connections.
TCR is proud to be supporting Cascade Relief Team during our third quarter of 2021.

How do we deal with all of the grief in our lives? As adults, most of us are able to process it. But what about children that are faced with unspeakable tragedy in their lives? How do they deal with the grief? There is a place, The Dougy Center has been working with children for over 35 years! 
Recently one of our staff family shared with me how amazing Dougy Center has been with his family, in helping his nieces and nephew deal with the loss of their parents. Working with each of the kids to process and cope with moving forward with their new "normal". We are grateful for organizations like Dougy Center and the work that they do to help make this world a better place. That is why we have chosen Dougy Center as our second quarter # CateringforaCause.