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When Martha Young first moved to Roseburg in 1972, there were almost no nonprofit organizations serving the citizens of Douglas County. With a fresh degree in social work from San Diego State University, Young set out to change that.
"A bunch of us just kind of rolled up our sleeves together and started going after programs for the county," the 57-year-old said.
Now, the Oregon Commission for Women is honoring Young as one of the 2004 Women of Achievement for her more than 30 years of helping to make Douglas County a nurturing place for nonprofit organizations and people in need. Young joined the two other honorees at the 20th Annual Women of Achievement Awards Dinner at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland Saturday to accept her award. She is the third woman from Douglas County to receive the honor in recent years including Katherine Jensen, a certified nurse-midwife, and Sue Shaffer, chairwoman of the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.
Young said she feels honored, but considering how many others are working to make Oregon a better place, she isn't sure she deserved to be singled out.
"I guess I could only accept it if I felt like I could share it with everybody that I've worked with over the years," she said. "Because I didn't do anything by myself."
Many of Young's gushing colleagues, including the woman who nominated her, disagree. Cynthia Hurkes, business liaison for the Oregon Child Care Resource and Referral Network in Salem, said Young is responsible for significant changes to Douglas County, especially for low-income women.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for her," Hurkes said.
It never occurred to Young to take up a career outside the field of public service -- a drive she attributes to her childhood days as a Girl Scout. When she and her newlywed husband, Alan, moved to Roseburg, he would set up the first pharmacy at Douglas Community Hospital and she would accept a staff position at the Parents Action Council. The nonprofit council was designed to assist low-income women and families while they worked their way out of poverty.
During her time at PAC, the organization established many services including Head Start, the Confidence Clinic and the Sunshine House child care center, the first in the county designed to serve low-income families of which Young was director.
"It was really fun because there was almost nothing here," Young said, "so you could be really creative."
David Morrison, president of Umpqua Community Development Corp., called Young a "guiding force" for burgeoning nonprofits in the '70s. Morrison remembers working with his longtime colleague during the early days of PAC.
"Marty's work was key to getting that organization on a strong footing," he said.
In 1981, Young left PAC to help develop early childhood training programs and work with other national education initiatives, but a few years later, she rejoined the council and stepped into the position of director.
Under PAC's new title, Umpqua Community Action Network, Young worked in an atmosphere brimming with the desire to serve others.
"It was an absolute dream job," she said.
When her son, Andrew, was born in 1991, Young left UCAN and became a consultant for nonprofit programs statewide, providing grant-writing assistance and strengthening their boards of directors.
She now works for the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation conducting grant reviews and helping organizations that apply for grants become more successful at gaining resources.
"Because I've been through that, I know what each grant means to each organization," she said. Young also helped establish the Grantsmanship Research Library at Umpqua Community College.
It was Young's history that would impel the foundation's vice chairman to want her on board. Norm Gershon said Young's knowledge of the nonprofit world makes her adept at distributing the foundation's funds.
"She is dedicated, serious, proficient, competent and just a joy to work with," he said.
Young said it's interesting being on the other side of the grant process. Many of the representatives who appeal to the foundation aren't aware that Young may have had a hand in establishing their organization.
"I know more about their organization's history than they do," she said.
On Monday, Young joined community members at the opening of the Grand Apartments, an affordable housing project spearheaded by UCDC. Few there realized it was Young who was one of the creators of the nonprofit, which was initiated through a partnership between the Council of Governments and UCAN.
Young would help choose UCDC's first board of directors of which Morrison was a member. She would also sign the organization's incorporation papers and write its bylaws before it was officially established in 1991.
"We also had daydreamed about doing the Grand Hotel back in the '80s," she said.
Young enjoys looking back on the fledgling programs that have become such successes.
"If you live in one place long enough you get the benefit of seeing that the seeds that you sew early on have come to fruition in an amazing way," she said.
While she's seen many successes, the nonprofit world can be straining. Young said it's difficult to see funding cuts come just as an organization has started making progress.
"You often see things come full circle," she said, adding that social services still need to be a higher priority nationally and communitywide.
Over the past 30 years, though, Young has watched Douglas County grow into the supportive environment she had envisioned.
"There seems to be nonprofit for every issue known to man now, compared to the early days," she said. But, Young emphasized that the numerous nonprofits currently serving the community would find little success without a coalition of support.
"The wealth in the work is in partnering with the community," she said.
* You can reach reporter Chelsea Duncan at 957-4246 or by e-mail at cduncan@newsreview.info.
Grantwriting and Technical Assistance Resources for Non-Profits
For more information, phone (541) 957-8945 or write
Carma Mornarich, Director, Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation
2371 NE Stephens Street, Suite 100, Roseburg, Oregon 97470
