Updates from Looking Glass
The students at Looking Glass Center Point School had a special visitor this week when Dr. Lois Youngen, one of roughly only 600 women to ever play professional baseball, stopped by to share her experiences. Youngen played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1951 until it folded in 1954 as a member of the Fort Wayne Daisies and South Bend Blue Sox teams during her four-year career. She primarily played catcher.
Students enrolled in the Looking Glass Riverfront School Skilled Trades Program recently completed construction of a Tiny House on behalf of SquareOne Villages. The house is now part of SquareOne’s Opportunity Village. SquareOne provided the materials through donations and grants and students in Riverfront’s Skilled Trades Program constructed the house in just a little over four months. Multiple local media outlets gathered for an unveiling of the tiny house on November 15th.
Looking Glass was a sponsor of the NAACP Freedom Fund Gala on May 5th. Our Cultural Awareness and Equity Committee filled most of the seats at our table. Excellent music, food and networking with community leaders was enjoyed in celebration of diversity, inclusion and work toward equity in our community.
Looking Glass President & CEO Craig Opperman presented the 2021 Community Leadership Award to Representative Nancy Nathanson at a recent Looking Glass board meeting for her stellar and steadfast support for our community’s youth and families in need. Nathanson has pushed for increased financial support for Looking Glass and other social service organizations including helping Looking Glass to receive new funds to help make needed capitol improvements to Looking Glass homeless youth programs.
This past May and June, Girl Scout Troop #24761 hosted a donation drive to collect toiletry items for Homeless Youth.
Their leader, Amy Mahady reached out to Looking Glass to learn more about the services offered so that the girls’ could learn more about how homelessness impacts youth in our community.
Looking Glass Development Coordinator, Amanda Zacharda, joined on a Zoom call during one of their meetings and was able to educate the Troop about all of the services provided at Looking Glass, especially the Homeless Youth Services.
The girls were able to come up with over 30 bags of toiletry items to donate, along with $350+ donations from multiple businesses in our community.
The Youth Action Committee (YAC) is a group of homeless youth ages 16-21, who access services from New Roads, Station 7, or New Roads School. The group consists of 6 youth and are hoping to expand to 8-12 youth in the future. They meet once a month at New Roads School and are served dinner as part of the meeting.
One of the goals of the group is to provide feedback in how we serve homeless youth in our Homeless Youth Services at Looking Glass. They will provide input on how the program is running, what changes they would want, and what ideas they have for the community.
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week & Thank A Youth Worker Day… we’d like to celebrate our staff and say thanks for your hard work!
The Development Director, Tyler Mack & his assistant delivered Starbucks Coffee & Lochmead Ice Cream appreciation treats to Looking Glass programs as a way to say thanks to our staff and teachers on Thank A Youth Worker Day & Teacher Appreciation Week.
Looking Glass staff and teachers make a difference in youth and families lives throughout Lane County. Thank you for all that you do!
Thank you to Starbucks at Valley River Center & Dari Mart for the coffee & ice cream and helping us show our appreciation to our staff this week.
The Youth Development Division (YDD) awarded Looking Glass with a grant that provides funding for Reengagement programs within our Riverfront School and our Adjudicated Youth Services (AYS) School. Reengagement programs are focused on providing young individuals with support and access to education, with the goal of completing high school and finding a career path or post-secondary education.
In September 2020, it was announced that Looking Glass had received recognition from Oregon Business as a top nonprofit to work for in the state of Oregon. Organizations that finish in the top 100 are included and the criteria for making the list is entirely from existing employees providing feedback via online surveys. “Looking Glass Community Services is honored and proud to have been included among the top 100 best nonprofits list,” said Looking Glass President & CEO Craig Opperman.
An article published in The Register-Guard on Saturday, June 22nd outlined details surrounding a former counselor employed at Looking Glass’s Kyanite residential treatment program who was terminated in January. An internal investigation led Looking Glass staff to alert the Eugene Police immediately and the investigation by EPD is ongoing. “Upon discovering the alleged actions of this former employee, we immediately contacted Eugene Police, “ said Craig Opperman, Looking Glass CEO and President. “We are unable to comment further about this matter as it is an ongoing investigation.”
On Tuesday, January 1st, Looking Glass’ in-school therapy program was featured prominently in The Register-Guard with a front page article highlighting the program’s growth and importance. Looking Glass now has therapists embedded in 30 schools in Lane County and has 5 more schools on a waiting list.
As part of Center Point School's twice a week "Out and About" off-site trips, students were able to meet Mayor Lucy Vinis and learn about their local government. "Exposing students to activities and parts of their community they haven't had a chance to see or experience is important in their growth and education," explained Center Point School Family Services Coordinator Crystal Hall.
