Learning with The

Summer Reading Program: June 10 through August 5

All ages are invited to join the annual Josephine Community Library Summer Reading Program. The 2023 theme is “Find Your Voice,” sponsored by the State Library of Oregon. Join us to explore art, music, theatre, and more. Starting in June, find weekly activities for all ages, events, and bookish fun for everyone!

Visit josephinelibrary.org to get started. Stop by your preferred branch in Grants Pass, Illinois Valley, Williams, or Wolf Creek for the kick-off celebration on June 10 during open hours to receive your tote bag, registration prizes, and summer reading booklet. Look for updates each week in the Sunday edition of the Grants Pass Daily Courier and Wednesday’s Country Weekly.

This program is offered at no charge to participants and is open to the public. A library card is not needed to participate. Yet, if you need to, sign up for an instant online library card today at: josephinelibrary.org/library-cards.

Lemonade Day is right around the corner! Registration is open and we are expecting to work with 300 kids this year. In our third year, this program has grown leaps and bounds. This is made possible due to all of our amazing sponsors that allow each child to participate for free. A huge thank you to our Title Sponsor, Northwest Community Credit Union.

The impact we have already seen in the first two years has been very rewarding. It starts kids at a young age thinking about becoming an entrepreneur! We are building our next generation of leaders! Just the discussions that happen between parents/mentors and the participant have been incredible. The creativity it sparks has blown us away. I wanted to share some of the processes the participants go through to get to the big day.

Each participant receives a backpack that includes a workbook that has specific lessons. These lessons include creating a business plan, finding investors, marketing tips, creating your product, setting goals, and, of course, producing a budget. All of this is in preparation for the big day on August 4th.

We also host a Resource Fair with booths run by community members on the importance of partnering with a non-profit, how to count money, customer service tips and skills, samples of product options, and food handling tips! This year we are also hosting virtual lessons on specific topics such as choosing your location and promoting your final product! They will be contacting local businesses to set up their stands in front of high traffic areas. We even have a sample agreement they will request you to sign. It is all about location! If you are selected as a location, please share some tips with these entrepreneurs and help them market their stand.

We encourage participants to spend some, save some for the future, and share some with a local non-profit of their choice. Some of them raised funds for a trip with their family, bicycles, cameras, etc. But almost all of them also partnered with a local non-profit organization. One participant donated all of their profits to a non-profit organization!

Please mark your calendars for August 4th from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. to support these young entrepreneurs all over town. A full map of the locations will be available online at www.lemonadeday.org/grants-pass. Participants can also register at that website. Thanks for your support! You are making a huge impact on a child’s development, giving them valuable skills they will use for the rest of their life!

Pregnancy Care Center of Grants Pass

Pregnancy Care Center of Grants

Pass has operated as a life-affirming, Christian, non-profit in Josephine County since 1988 with more than forty-eight thousand individuals served. Services are provided free of charge to all and include pregnancy testing, options counseling, nurse consultations, OB ultrasound, connections to local and other resources, parenting classes, school presentations encouraging positive sexual health decisions, and recovery classes for those who are struggling from a past abortion experience.

In June of last year, Pregnancy Center of the Illinois Valley, which had operated over the previous 35 years in Cave Junction, became part of Pregnancy Care Center of Grants Pass. Medical services at this facility now operate under medical director Dr. Jon Ermshar and we have begun to see increased appointments and parenting class participation from those residing in the area. Outreach strategies are underway to reach more of the 17,000 individuals living in the Illinois Valley.

We are also excited to announce that construction of a roughly 8,000 square foot building is planned to begin very soon which will be located next to the current Grants Pass facility on 8th and L Street. This project will provide further support to mothers, fathers, teenagers, and others in the community by adding an auditorium and kitchen for parenting and other classes/events, a larger boutique to provide increased supplies to new parents, 10 additional offices, and 20 additional parking spaces. The new building will also allow the current facility to be used entirely for medical services to further support pregnant women and their unborn children.

All Pregnancy Care Center services have and will continue to be 100% supported through individuals, churches, businesses, and private foundations. Thank you for making this vital work possible!

~ John Maier, Executive Director

is less than 20,000 sq. ft. (includes all buildings on site) organization that provides free or reduced-cost services, or a religious center/place of worship email to confirm your eligibility. Energy Trust special offers for small businesses you may be eligible for. If you lease Trust know and they can help share this information with your property

B