The Community Voice - December 2022

THE COMMUNITY VOICE A Quarterly Newsletter by Community Services Employment Training

December, 2022

Dear Community Partners, As the year draws to a close, I am humbled by the support, dedication, and commitment of our staff, board, volunteers, and the community. We navigated another difficult year together, never losing sight of the important work to reduce the causes of poverty and to fulfill CSET’s mission of inspiring youth, families, and communities to achieve self-reliance through innovative pathways and collaboration.

CSET was honored to work with several other Tulare County non-profit organizations for Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving. As part of Giving Tuesday on November 29th, nearly $1,000 was donated to CSET to support local families. Thank you to those who supported us and our local partners. There is still time to donate, or you can read more about participating organizations by visiting www.givetulare.com.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. It is an honor to work together to support our friends, neighbors, and community.

Sincerely, Mary Alice Escarsega-Fechner, CSET Executive Director

VITA VOLUNTEERS NEEDED CSET is seeking volunteers to assist with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. VITA provides tax preparation and electronic filing services at no cost to Tulare County households with less than $58,000 annual income. In 2022, VITA preparers helped file 3,281 tax returns, returning more than $5.3 million to Tulare and Kings County residents.

No prior experience is necessary to become a VITA volunteer and training is provided.

Retired financial professionals, adults and high school youth exploring careers in the finance industry would serve as excellent volunteers. Bilingual volunteers are also needed for this upcoming tax season.

CSET’s VITA program will conduct volunteer training online for the 2023 tax season.

Volunteers will provide tax preparation services to customers primarily over the phone. Visit www.cset.org/vita to become a volunteer, or for more information contact Jerel Dutton at (559) 372-0411 or jerel.dutton@cset.org.

Page 1

WEATHERIZE FOR THE WINTER Are you feeling the chill of winter, even with your doors and windows closed? There are easy steps you can take to keep your home warm in the winter and they’ll also help you save on energy costs.

Changing your indoor air filter once a month will help your heater run more efficiently and improve indoor air quality. You can also add weather stripping to prevent air loss around doors and windows, which can save you up to 20% on energy bills. Lastly, if you have ceiling fans, set them to rotate counter clockwise to pull the cool air up and redistribute the warm air in your house.

Photo Caption: A Sequoia Community Corpsmember installs new air ducts in a Porterville home.

These simple steps will improve your home’s efficiency, keep you warmer, and save on your monthly expenses.

For more energy tips and information on CSET’s Energy Services, visit www.cset.org/energy-services or call 1-844-224-1316.

SENIOR DINNERS

Photo Caption: Seniors are served dinner by volunteers at the Porterville Senior Center.

CSET’s Senior Services team recently hosted a Turkey Dinner & Dance for local seniors at the Porterville and Cutler senior centers. The free dinner events provided healthy meals and provided a great opportunity for our seniors to spend quality time with friends and community members.

In Cutler 32 local seniors attended the dinner, and almost 40 seniors celebrated together in Porterville. There was singing and dancing after eating, and everyone who attended had a great time. The event was supported by staff and young volunteers from CSET’s Youth Leadership programs. Thank you to everyone who volunteered and attended the events!

The Cutler and Porterville senior centers are currently open, and the remaining six centers will be opening early 2023. For more information on CSET senior services, please visit Page 2 www.cset.org/senior-services or call 1-800-321-2462.

SEQUOIA COMMUNITY CORPS HOUSE OF INFLUENCE On August 25, 2022 the House of Influence was established as a Corpsmember leadership council to represent and advocate for decisions that directly affect the Sequoia Community Corps (SCC).

The House of Influence was created to develop Corpsmember leadership skills, and council members were hand selected to participate by their department director. SCC leadership wanted Corpsmembers to be represented and included in decisions Photo Caption: House of Influence’s founding Corpsmembers. that directly impact them.

The council established three core pillars of teamwork to outline their vision for the SCC and the House of Influence: Empowerment, Honor, and Respect.

House of Influence members are currently involved in planning and working at a holiday celebration for Corpsmembers and their families. House of Influence members also recently gave valuable feedback on a grant being submitted to the United States Department of Forestry. The Corpsmembers provided great insight to CSET’s Resource Development team, informing them of what projects would be most appealing for Corpsmembers to work on.

Raquel Roa, Assistant Director of Case Management stated, "It is important that we get insight from our Corpsmembers on how to strengthen our program. We want them to be invested in their journey here and feel empowered. We are confident the leadership skills they will gain through the House of Influence will carry into their personal lives and help them feel more invested in giving back to their community.”

BANK OF THE WEST SUPPORTS VITA Bank of the West has generously donated $20,000 to support CSET’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. This donation will allow CSET to provide $500 stipends to 40 of our VITA volunteers.

The VITA program aligns with Bank of the West’s funding priority of creating financial capability in the community. VITA provides participants with money in their pockets, helping them improve their personal economic development and continue towards self-sufficiency.

Thank you Bank of the West for supporting CSET and helping local families achieve self sufficiency! To learn more about Bank of the West and its community contributions, visit www.bankofthewest.com/about-us/why-us.

Page 3

MARGARITA’S SUCCESS After dealing with personal difficulties at home, Margarita was determined to improve her job skills and gain valuable work experience. Margarita started the In School Youth (ISY) program at Visalia Employment Connection to learn more about nursing, and she was quickly placed at Visalia Health Care Center. While training at the center, Margarita also kept her 4.0 GPA and continuously received great evaluations.

Margarita did so well that her worksite supervisor asked to extend her work experience hours so she could continue to expand her skills. When she was encouraged to apply for regular employment at the Center, some of her colleagues even put in a good word for Margarita when she submitted her application for full time employment.

Margarita did a great job at Visalia Health Care Center while completing her work experience, and at the same time she also graduated from Mt. Whitney High School.

Margarita then enrolled into College of the Sequoias to pursue her Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. Congratulations Photo Caption: Margarita on the job Margarita! at Visalia Health Care Center.

Visalia CSET 312 NW 3rd Ave. Visalia, CA 93291 Tel. 559.732.4194 Visalia Employment Connection 4025 W. Noble Ave. # B Visalia, CA 93277-1631 Tel. 559.713.5000 Tulare Family Resource Center & Employment Connection Affiliate 304 E. Tulare Ave. Tulare, CA 93274 Tel. 559.684.1987 Porterville Employment Connection 1063 W. Henderson Ave. Porterville, CA 93257 Tel. 559.788.1400 Earlimart CSET 176 N. Front St. Earlimart, CA 93219 Tel. 661.849.2960 North County Youth Site 40802 Road 128, Cutler, CA 93615 Tel. 559.315.3223 Pixley CSET 927 Center St. Pixley, CA 93256 Tel. 559.575.0098 CSET Senior Services 1.800.321.2462 Cutler-Orosi, Earlimart, Exeter, Farmersville, Goshen, Lindsay, Porterville, & Woodlake

View more stories at www.cset.org/client-success-stories.

CSET inspires youth, families, and communities to achieve self-reliance through innovative pathways and collaboration.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the Community Voice newsletter, send an email to: csetmarketing@cset.org Discover more information about CSET’s programs and services at: www.cset.org Follow us on social media for the latest updates:

Page 4