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.
Adopt-A-Bear Gives Local Kids a Healthy Start
Catching Issues Early Helps Children Thrive
When a child has an unaddressed health or developmental concern, it can affect many areas of his or her life—especially when it’s time to start school. Research shows that nearly 40% of children enter kindergarten with some sort of barrier to success. “Often they act out because they don’t know how to ask for help,” says Diane Murray-Fleck, Executive Director of Healthy Beginnings, a local non-profit providing free pre-kindergarten health screenings to Central Oregon kids. “If we can catch those things before kindergarten, it can have a huge impact on their success.”
Healthy Beginnings provides a multi-station health and developmental assessment for children ages 5 and younger. The assessments check everything from overall physical and dental health, vision, motor skills, behavior, hearing, concepts, and speech. Local practitioners with expertise in each discipline use state-of-the-art screening tools to conduct the assessments.
According to Murray-Fleck, this gives parents an opportunity to bring up their concerns, discuss possible next steps, or simply have their worries put to rest. “Parenting is so difficult, and every parent wonders if they’re doing enough,” she says. “Even parents who have a medical home and great support sometimes have questions and need reassurance that their child is developing normally.”
Increasing Access for Local Kids
Mid Oregon’s support of Healthy Beginnings and the Adopt-A-Bear campaign began in 2004, when their work caught the notice of CEO Bill Anderson. He and then-Director Holly Remer decided to team up to help provide additional funding using a branch fundraiser. Their collaboration, starting with a drawing of a teddy bear soon evolved into the familiar bear-shaped paper cutouts that line the walls of Mid Oregon branches every April during our Adopt-A-Bear fundraiser.
Since Adopt-A-Bear began, Mid Oregon members have generously contributed nearly $25,000 in donations to provide health screenings to more Central Oregon children. In total, nearly 1,000 families each year receive a free health assessment from Healthy Beginnings, giving families greater peace of mind and ensuring that local kids get their best chance to thrive and succeed in school.
Supporting Adopt-A-Bear
We’re inviting the whole community to stop by or call to support Healthy Beginnings through our Adopt-A-Bear fundraiser. Mid Oregon can accept your donations at any local branch, or by phone at 541-382-1795. You can also donate at our Free Shred events happening at four Central Oregon locations on April 14, 2018.
Adopt-A-Bear to help Central Oregon children start school healthy and ready to learn!
Shred Your Documents for Free!
Mid Oregon Credit Union has teamed up with Secure Shred, a division of Bend Garbage & Recycling, to help Central Oregonians stay protected from fraud and identity theft. Shred your documents for free!
We are offering a safe disposal of sensitive documents on Free Shred Day, April 14, 2018, at four Mid Oregon Credit Union locations:
9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Bend Olney Branch – 202 NE Olney Avenue (near Black Bear Diner)
Madras Branch – 395 SE Fifth Street (at Fifth and “F” Streets)
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Redmond Branch – 2625 SW 17th Place (next to Bi-Mart)
Prineville Branch – 305 NE Hickey Farms Road (in front of Bi-Mart)
Free Shred is intended for private residential document shredding only, no commercial or business shredding provided. Personal documents with staples and paper clips are okay.
Shred Your Documents for Free!
“It’s a great opportunity to go through important paperwork such as old bills, tax documents or anything containing your account numbers, signatures or Social Security numbers, and bring the materials down for secure disposal,” said Kyle Frick, Mid Oregon VP Marketing. “It’s a great way to protect against identity theft, it’s open to the public and it’s free.”
Mid Oregon is asking event participants to consider bringing a donation to benefit Healthy Beginnings . A representative will be onsite at event locations to answer questions about their no cost health and developmental screenings for local preschool children.
4 Things You Can Do With Money
The Best Ways to Use a Few Hundred Dollars
So, you have some money coming in for which you didn’t plan. Maybe you’re getting a tax refund? Or you finally had that garage sale? Possibly you received a bonus at work? From whatever the source, you have a decision to make. To be productive, you have 4 things you can do with money!
Sometimes it can feel like you need thousands of dollars to move the needle on your finances even a little bit. So if you find yourself with a few hundred dollars, the temptation to spend it can be great. After all, how much difference can $500 make? But used wisely, even a few hundred dollars can put you on the road to a more financially secure future. Here are 4 (Productive) Things Can You Do With Money.
Spend It
The first of 4 things you can do with money is to spend it. Spending can be a positive, or a negative. Blowing it on one big splurge might feel good temporarily, but it might also give you a hangover. Putting it into checking can give you some breathing room, but ultimately you will spend it- and probably won’t know where it went.
Perhaps now is the time to fix that leaky faucet, get the new set of tires, buy the paint for the spring project, or something else you have been putting off. Spending it could be your best choice. But what about the other three productive things you can do with your money?
Save It
Start an emergency fund. Ideally you want six months of living expenses stashed to cover unforeseen expenses, but $500 is a good start. And once you have a good start, it can spur you to keep contributing. The second of 4 things you can do with money is setting it aside for future use.
Save for a bigger-ticket expense. If you foresee a need from a few months to a few years in the future, start saving now, so you can pay cash when you need it. This could include a down-payment on a vehicle, or major repairs on your vehicle or home. It might be for a dream vacation. The key is to use some form of savings account to put your money aside, where it can earn dividends (interest). Whenever you have a little extra money come in, set it aside as well. You could end up with a gift the whole family will cherish for years.
There are a few different choices for savings. Basic savings accounts pay small amounts of dividends, but you can get your money at anytime. Share Certificates (CDs) require a specific deposit (often $1000 or more) and that it be stay untouched for a period of time, but pay higher dividend rates. Some special savings accounts pay more based on the amount on deposit, and the funds are accessible. Mid Oregon has several saving account options which may fit this need, including our Savers Club.
Invest It
If your big ticket expense is further out, like retirement, a home purchase or college tuition, investments might be a better choice. Typically when the need is more than 4 or 5 years down the road, investing provides a potential higher rate of return, and the risk factor can be smoothed out over time. Investing is the third thing you can do with money to be productive.
For retirement, you can fund or add to your IRA (Individual Retirement Account), which can have tax benefits in addition to investment increases. For this and other purposes, finding a trusted advisor to help you invest is critical. Mid Oregon has a financial advisor in house, Mid Oregon Financial Services. Mid Oregon Financial Services provides retirement planning, financial guidance, Long Term Care Insurance, 401(k) Planning, and Life Insurance Planning.
Give It Away
Donate to charity. If you itemize deductions on your tax return, consider helping an organization whose works you admire. Not only can you deduct the gift, but it might ultimately mean more to you than spending the money on yourself. Mid Oregon Credit Union often provides its members opportunities to pool donations with other members to support local organizations. The fourth of 4 things you can do with money, giving it away, is the one people most often forget.
Adopt-a-Bear, in April, supports Healthy Beginnings. The Great Drake Park Duck Race provides tens of thousand of dollars every year to each of 6-8 local organizations. Supplies 4 Schools in August gets needed school supplies to Central Oregon students through the Family Access Network (FAN). During the holiday season, several local agencies benefit from Mid Oregon’s “Holiday Dough” effort. There is no shortage of opportunities to help in Central Oregon.
Considering the best use of your “found money”, you can find the best ways to make it work for you.