Craft N’ Care event speads cheer

Oregon State University Campus Recycling paired up with the Center for Civic Engagement Tuesday to host their Recycled Craft N’ Care event, a donation event for nonprofit organizations in the Corvallis area.

The goal of the event was to teach participants the ways people can craft through reuse while giving back to the community, giving useful purpose to many items otherwise tossed in the dump. Although the majority of the crafts made were donated to local shelters, recycled cards and stickers were also available for students to decorate and take home to the people they care about.

“The crafts made by the CCE are going to be donated to local organizations who have asked us to spread some cheer to their residents,” said sophomore Samara Rufener, internal coordinator for the CCE.

This is Rufener’s first year working for the CCE, and she is currently in charge of planning service and care events for the group.

Although many of the students involved with sustainability groups around campus are in environmental degree programs, there are also countless students from other interest areas who choose to volunteer as well.

Steven Burress is an electrical engineering major who decided to help out at the Craft N’ Care event this week to earn extra credit for his 300 level geoscience class.

“I decided to come support the event because I think it is important to reach out to the community and help the environment, and one way to do this is through recycling,” Burress said.

The Corvallis Manor, Home Life Inc. and the Grace Center for Adult Day Services were among the organizations receiving the crafts, including handcrafted decorations for Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year — all made from recycled materials.

The Corvallis Manor is a local nursing facility sponsored through the Pinnacle Healthcare group that is committed to meeting the needs of their elderly residents and the families they serve each year. In addition to their Corvallis location, the organization also sponsors facilities in Eugene, Grants Pass, Medford, Roseburg and Woodburn.

The second group receiving crafts, Home Life Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization which provides safe, integrated community living services for purpose of enhancing the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities. Home Life Inc. has roots dating all the way back to the 1970s, and they have since grown to fill several properties and service centers throughout Benton County.

The Grace Center for Adult Day Care operates under their mission to, “provide comprehensive quality services to meet the adult day care needs in [the Corvallis] community,” according to the organization’s official webpage.

This organization offers many resources to the local elderly community, including exercise programs and Alzheimer’s care and information.

Although each of these centers offers different services to the Corvallis community, they all work towards the goal of providing aid and comfort to the elder generation of Benton County.

This event was part of an ongoing series of activities being held for ReycleMania, a national recycling competition held between universities each year. At the end of week two of the competition, OSU has the lead over the University of Oregon, 3.05 to 2.74 pounds of recycling per person.

To find a listing of all of the RecycleMania events still to come, visit Campus Recycling’s webpage at recycle.oregonstate.edu.

Lara von Linsowe-Wilson, news reporter
news@dailybarometer.com