Updates from Looking Glass
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.
The Inaugural "Hike for Hope" event, a group hike fundraiser up Mount Pisgah held Saturday, August 11th, was a resounding success in all aspects. The $4,000 fundraising goal was exceeded by $135 and a group of generous supporters of about 50 people joined together to follow hike leader and former Looking Glass client and employee, Nick "the trainer dude" Hammond.
Thank you to Grocery Outlet on River Road for designating Looking Glass as the beneficiary for this year's Independence from Hunger program. This program brought in $4,000 to help feed youth in Looking Glass programs! This money will directly benefit the health of youth in Lane County.
Through the Rapid Rehousing Program, Looking Glass assists with rent for up to 2 years to provide homeless youth with secure housing along with mediation and ongoing case management support. Currently, we have 5 clients awaiting the opportunity to get off the streets and into housing, due to a shortage of property managers willing to rent to our clients. We need your help.
For more than 20 years, Looking Glass has embedded therapists inside schools in Lane County, providing students from elementary, middle and high schools with a safe space to discuss anything that is on their minds. School Based Therapists, as they're called, are now embedded in 30 schools in Eugene, Springfield, Bethel and Junction City school districts. The number of schools Looking Glass works with has almost doubled in the past year.
Since 1990, Looking Glass' Lane Metro Youth Corps has coordinated a summer work crew, giving paid summer work experience to hundreds of Lane County youth over the years and helping to make improvements to a variety of local natural resources and habitats. "Beyond getting paid, these youth are getting valuable work experience," said crew supervisor and Riverfront teacher Craig Annsa.
For the entire month of July, patrons shopping at the Eugene River Road Grocery Outlet store will have the opportunity to make a donation at the cash register that will help raise funds for Looking Glass programs.
Looking Glass' Pathways Girls Program classroom has recently undergone an exciting transformation. Local artist Steven Wade Johnson (AKA Wayde Love) replaced a mural from 1995 that the staff and clients have been asking to be redone for years.
The Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) department of Looking Glass met at Wayne Morse Ranch for their annual retreat on Friday, June 22, which featured presentations, cultural awareness training, and strategic planning.
