January 13, 2011-Martha Young Award to be Presented to THRIVE at January 13 CCUIF Grant Awards Presentation

Canyonville, Oregon..... Martha Young was Executive Director for the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation from its founding in 1997 until her death in 2006. Since then, the CCUIF Board of Directors periodically presents the Martha Young Award to an organization that seems to particularly exemplify Martha's philosophies.

 

At the CCUIF Grant Awards Presentations on Thursday, January 13, 2011, at 10 a.m. at Seven Feathers Convention Center, the Martha Young Award will be presented to THRIVE (The Rogue Initiative for a Vital Economy). THRIVE, located in Jackson County, is a fourteen-year old economic development organization working to cultivate a more sustainable local economy, focusing on community food security. THRIVE supports the Southern Oregon Farmer Incubator & Education Program, a comprehensive two-year program of training and support for new farmers as well as a subsidy program that purchases fresh food from new farms and delivers it to local food banks and non-profit kitchens.

Specifically, funds from this $10,000 grant will be used to support agricultural training, farm business planning, and market access for 50-60 individuals in the Rogue Valley and to provide produce for approximately 1000 food bank clients. Carma Mornarich, Executive Director for the CCUIF, commented, "Martha had a real sense of how to support families and children. She enjoyed working in her own garden and knew how important food is to productivity, to health, to home. This grant award would have pleased Martha Young."

Earlier recipients of the Martha Young Award include the Family Development Center Parent Relief Nursery in Douglas County, the Deschutes Children's Foundation in Deschutes County, and LEAD in Lane County.