The Giving Town

Send us Fan Mail Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to changing the world one child and one community at a time. In this episode, Newberg Kiwanis Club members Kevin Purcell and Rick Lee share what Kiwanis is all about. They also share some of the projects Kiwanis has been involved with and how the community can get involved as well. To learn more about Kiwanis, visit https://...

Send us Fan Mail For nearly 100 years, the people of Newberg have celebrated the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival in one form or another. This 4-day festival is a time for the community in and around Newberg to come together and celebrate all of the things that make our town such a wonderful place. Between the carnival, parades, food vendors, display booths, music and dancing, various contests, and...

Send us Fan Mail Yoop! is a program that helps youth in Yamhill County who are low-income and have barriers to education or employment. In this episode, Program Manager Charlie Rice shares how Yoop! provides a variety of services to help youth overcome these barriers and achieve their goals, including help completing their high school diploma or GED, pursuing career pathways, and assistance with j...

Send us Fan Mail Love INC Newberg is a nonprofit organization that partners with local churches and agencies to help people in need. Love INC goes far beyond meeting immediate and tangible needs by striving to help people find lasting change and transformation. In this episode, Executive Director Thomas Bellomo and I discuss Love INC and the central role it plays in Newberg. We also talk about red...

Send us Fan Mail Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue (TVF&R) is Oregon's largest fire and rescue district, serving over half a million residents in an area covering 390 square miles. In 2018, Newberg was officially annexed into TVF&R's service area and now benefits from the sophistication, technology, and coordination of a large fire and rescue service while maintaining the culture a...

Send us Fan Mail In 1986, a group of clever-minded women in Newberg were tired of not being allowed to join the other local service clubs in town and decided to create their own club. They wanted a place to learn about important issues of the day and also have a place to discuss those issues. And thus, Newberg City Club was born. After nearly 40 years, Newberg City Club is still accomplishing its...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re a high school student—or a parent of a high school student—you know how expensive it can be to have your kids in sports, or really any extracurricular activity. And while schools have budgets for these activities, it’s not near enough to cover all of the expenses. Newberg's school district is no different, which is where the Newberg Booster Club comes in. The booste...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Aubrey Nichols, Executive Director of Newberg Downtown Coalition (NDC), shares how this organization supports local businesses in the Newberg downtown core. In this fun and engaging episode, you'll learn the answers to the following questions (and more!): What is the Downtown Coalition and how did it get started? What area does the NDC affect? What is the mai...

Send us Fan Mail Whether you’re a cat lover or a dog lover, we can all agree that animals should be treated humanely. But unfortunately, not all animals are. Every day, cats and dogs are abused, abandoned, or left out on the street to fend for themselves. Today I’m talking to Ronnie Vostinak, Executive Director of Homeward Bound Pets Humane Society, which is Oregon’s first no-kill animal shelter....

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dr. Stephen Phillips shares about his first year as Superintendent of Newberg's school district and why he believes there is hope for the district's future. In 2022, Dr. Phillips (or Steve, as he prefers to be called) joined the school district during a season of heavy controversy, turmoil, and staff turnover. While there were many challenges faced at th...

Send us Fan Mail In part 2 of this live-recorded episode, Daniel interviews a panel of representatives from four of Newberg's service clubs. This was done in partnership with Leadership Chehalem Valley, which you can learn more about at the link below. In this episode, you'll learn about the inner workings of both of Newberg's Rotary clubs, in addition to Soroptimists and Kiwanis. B...

Send us Fan Mail In this live-recorded episode, Daniel interviews a panel of representatives from four of Newberg's service clubs. This was done in partnership with Leadership Chehalem Valley, which you can learn more about at the link below. In this episode, you'll learn about the inner workings of both of Newberg's Rotary clubs, in addition to Soroptimists and Kiwanis. By the end,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Ranee Solmonsson shares about Yamhill county's 4-H program, how it got started, what activities it involves, and how it benefits kids who go through the program. If you're interested in learning more about 4-H or would like to get involved, visit https://extension.oregonstate.edu/4h/yamhill . As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Robe...

Send us Fan Mail The past few years in Newberg have brought their fair share of hurt, frustration, anger, and broken relationships. However, these hardships have also produced some wonderful new projects and organizations that aim to heal the brokenness and put Newberg on the path toward reconciliation and civility. One of these projects is called Conversation Groups, which is under the umbrella o...

Send us Fan Mail If you search the internet for Peace Trail Village in Newberg, you will likely find all kinds of conflicting information leaving you with a lot of questions. Is this a homeless camp that will turn Newberg into Portland? Will there be drug addicts living next to a school? Is this the best location for transitional housing? How did this get started? In this episode, I go straight to...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Jan Hart, leader of the NHS Resource Room, shares her story of how the resource rooms got started and why they are so important for local students. You can find out more, including items to donate at https://www.newberg.k12.or.us/nhs/resource-room As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts YouTube Channel here. The Joyful Roberts Group The J...

Send us Fan Mail Auggie Gonzales is a well known and beloved member of our community who has been serving this town in various capacities for over 25 years. In this episode, Auggie shares what brought him to Newberg, how he got involved in Rotary, various projects he has been involved with, and his work with Newberg Urgent Care. As mentioned in the episode, you can check out The Joyful Roberts Gro...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Dennis Littlefield, Executive Director at Camp Tilikum, shares some of the recent challenges as well as the exciting future of Camp Tilikum. For over 50 years, Tilikum has held a special place in the hearts of Newberg's population. Every year, thousands of children experience the highlight of their summer at one of Tilikum's Summer Camps. However, Tiliku...

Send us Fan Mail For many people, doing laundry is just another chore, like vacuuming the carpet or washing the dishes. But for other people without access to a washer or dryer in their living space, doing laundry is a major inconvenience and financial burden. By offering free laundry service, in addition to snacks and storytime for kids, Loads of Hope is living up to its name by giving hope to th...

Send us Fan Mail In part 2 of this episode, Carrie Bates shares her work with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and how they help people recover from alcohol addiction. She also gives some great insight into how we can help those around us who are struggling with this disease. To learn more about the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, visit https://www.hazeldenbettyford.org/locations/newberg The Joy...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Olympic gold medalist Carrie Bates shares her story about growing up in a family with alcoholism and the role that played in her life. She also shares her journey of finding success at the Olympics, her battle with alcoholism, her amazing recovery, and how she now is a source of hope for people fighting this disease. There are many misconceptions about alcoholism...

Send us Fan Mail In this Episode, Larry Strober shares how Rotary changed his life for the better. Through a chance meeting, Larry found out about Rotary and quickly got involved. He is now a member of the Newberg Noon Rotary club and is involved in many projects locally and internationally. Much of his work includes supporting youth and promoting peace initiatives and in this episode we discuss s...

Send us Fan Mail During the 2016-2017 school year, Newberg lost multiple high school students to suicide. During this time, several community members came together to see how they could support and improve the mental health of students and the town as a whole. In this episode, President and co-founder Elise Yarnell Hollamon shares the story of Community Wellness Collective and how they continue to...

Send us Fan Mail There is no way to prepare yourself for hearing those dreaded words: "You have cancer." But while the fight against cancer is itself often a difficult struggle, there is another very real struggle that people often do not consider. Between lost energy from treatments, time spent traveling to appointments, and other disruptions, many families dealing with cancer find that...

Send us Fan Mail Many nonprofit organizations would not be able to survive without the generous contributions of local businesses both in time and money. In many ways, local businesses are the backbone of a successful community's nonprofit sector, and Newberg is no different. In this episode, Kathie Byers, Community Impact Coordinator at First Federal Bank shares the importance of finding way...