The Bottom Line
Small business is important to Central Oregon, and to Mid Oregon. Find tips and resources for business, and information about Mid Oregon’s commercial services and business members.
Central Christian School- One Class at a Time Debuts!
Central Christian School- One Class at a Time Debuts!
Mid Oregon Credit Union and KTVZ kicked off a new community investment program called “One Class at a Time” this week, as Bob Shaw of KTVZ and Kyle Frick of Mid Oregon Credit Union visited Central Christian School in Redmond. Science teacher Karrie Johnson is the first One Class at a Time grant recipient, and was awarded the check in her classroom at the school. The grant will be used for purchase glassware and updated chemicals and to replace dilapidated chemistry textbooks. A new program kicks off in Central Oregon, as One Class at a Time debuts.
Funding Needs in Central Oregon Schools
One Class at a Time is a joint effort between News Channel 21 and Mid Oregon Credit Union to help fulfill needs of area schools across Central Oregon. The campaign will award $5,000 in 2015 by identifying and funding applications for ten $500 classroom projects in the Central Oregon school districts in Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook Counties.
Visit the KTVZ One Class at a Time webpage for more details and contest rules.
2015 Adopt-a-Bear Effort Raises $2,034
2015 Adopt-a-Bear Effort Raises $2,034 for Healthy Beginnings
The 2015 Adopt-a-Bear promotion at Mid Oregon was very successful, thanks for the staff and volunteers of Mid Oregon and Healthy Beginnings! Over $2,000 was raised through donations in the branches and at our Free Shred Day on Saturday, April 18.
Members were especially generous at our Olney ($1,032.02) and Redmond ($680.50) locations! The total of $2,034.68 will will go a long way in helping Healthy Beginnings with their free screening clinics to families in Central Oregon.
Adopt-a-Bear
Since 2004 Mid Oregon has supported Healthy Beginnings by giving our members the opportunity to Adopt-a-Bear. Traditionally we put their names on a bear (if they choose) and hang them up in our branches so we can show our support. Starting on April 6 and going through Friday, April 24, members and the community will be able to support Healthy Beginnings by Adopting a Bear.
Healthy Beginnings, a Central Oregon Non-Profit provides access to health, education and behavior services for young children and their families.
Free Screening Clinics
Did you know there is a program in Central Oregon that can help children with health and development issues succeed? Healthy Beginnings offers FREE, that’s right, FREE screening clinics all throughout Central Oregon for 
The screening clinics have 12 stations – each hosted by an expert in their field of work – where parents can sit and have time to discuss their concerns about the child’s behavior, health, nutrition, motor and concept skills, hearing, vision and other areas. If an expert does detect a concern, Healthy Beginnings staff partners with community organizations to help parents connect with resources like an audiologist or Early Childhood Special Education to ensure that their child will enter kindergarten prepared and ready to learn at the same rate as their classmates.
Adopt-a-Bear Funds
All the funds raised through the 2015 Adopt-a-Bear program will ensure that all children will have a healthy beginning by attending our screenings. The state has identified universal community screenings as best practice, providing consistent, reliable, valid, evidence based screening for young children – but there is no state funding available. Instead, Healthy Beginnings relies heavily on community support to keep the screenings available to children and their families free of charge. By encouraging your members to purchase a bear in honor of the young children in their life, they are in turn providing a bright future to the children of Central Oregon.
To donate online or get more information, visit the Healthy Beginnings website.
Give Your College-Bound Student a Personal Finance Crash Course
Does your young-adult student need a crash course in personal finance? A recent financial literacy survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) reveals that the majority of adults say they learned the most about personal finance from their parents. Should you give your student a personal finance crash course?
Basic Financial Knowledge Checklist
Parents: Compliments of the NFCC, here’s a checklist of basic knowledge that will benefit everyone managing his or her own money:
* Budgeting: Be clear with yourself and with your student about how much money is available for expenses. Help him create a workable monthly budget that balances income, loans, and gifts with anticipated expenses. This discipline is a skill that will pay benefits for a lifetime.
* Recording financial transactions: Show your student the importance of recording all transactions in a check register or monitoring online, tallying the running balance daily, and balancing financial statements every month. Tracking expenses might reveal some surprises (60% of your income is spent on dining out?) and provide opportunities to change direction.
Wise Use of Credit
* Using credit: Tell your student why it’s important to commit to paying each credit card bill in full and on time each month. By using credit wisely, she will be learning how to live within her means while creating a positive credit file that could help when buying a car, renting an apartment, obtaining insurance, and even landing a job.
* Getting financially organized: Help your student commit to keeping all financial records, bills, and bank statements in one location. This will help ensure that he will pay bills on time, avoid late fees, and keep an unblemished credit score.
* Recognizing the dangers of Identity theft: Discuss forms of identity theft, the kinds of personal information that need to be protected, and how to protect them—even, and especially, from friends and roommates. Discuss the pitfalls of careless, unprotected use of social media. Tell them about CardNav to protect their debit card from misuse.
Take Their Membership to College
Remember, too, that your departing young adult is still eligible for Mid Oregon Credit Union membership. Our low-cost, high-quality services will give any member a leg up on personal finances. The staff members at Mid Oregon are valuable resources.