451 lbs DONATED!

THANK YOU to the Nine Mile Post Office Mail Carriers for participating in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive!! All of the food donated will be distributed through the Tum Tum Community Food Pantry.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

Thanks to the Nine Mile Post Office mail carriers for participating in the Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive! All food donated will be distributed through the Tum Tum Community Food Pantry.

Tum Tum Community Food Pantry

In March, the Alliance was asked by Rural Resources to oversee the reorganization of the Tum Tum Community Food Pantry. Since March, it has been overwhelming the amount of community support! The Outpost published an article last week about the changes, details of how to financially support the Pantry and what area we serve. This is the link to the article: http://www.lakespokaneoutpost.com/story/2012/05/02/features/tum-tum-community-food-pantry-completely-reorganized/4114.html

Successful Day of Taxes completed

3 certified AARP Tax Aide Counselors helped community members complete their taxes at the Tum Tum Community Center recently. Everyone was grateful for having this service available in our area. There are still several sites in the Spokane area that will be doing taxes until April 15th. The locations and times are listed in the previous post.

Free Tax Prep in our area

All of these sites will offer electronic filing for a quick refund.

Tum Tum Community Center ~ Feb. 26th ~ 10am til 4pm
6424 Hwy. 291 ~ by appointment only
lakespokanetaxprep@gmail.com or 466-1497

February 1 - April 15

Deer Park City Library ~ Fridays ~ 11 am til 3pm
208 S. Forest ~ 1st come 1st served

Spokane YWCA ~ 930 N. Monroe - 1st come 1st served
Tuesdays 4pm til 7pm and Saturdays 9am til 2pm
Closed March 5-12

Spokane Co. United Way ~ Saturdays 9am til 2pm
920 N. Washington St. Suite 100 ~ 1st come 1st served

US Court House ~ 920 W. Riverside rm 489
Monday thru Thursdays 10am til 2pm
1st come 1st served ~ Closed April 4-7th

What to bring:
* 2009 tax return
* Valid picture ID
* All 2010 W-2's, 1098, 1099 for both you and spouse
* Social Security cards for you, spouse and all members of household
* Proof of other income for you or spouse and banking information
* Child care provider information
* Property tax information if homeowner
* 2010 Home Purchase Credit information (if you purchased home in 2010)

Taxes done for free!

Take Your Money, You Earned It!

Did you earn less than $48,362 in 2010?
The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) could pay you as much as $5,666 based on your earnings and family situation.

You could receive:
$1,000 per child for the Child Tax Credit
$3,050 for one child for the Earned Income Tax Credit
$5,036 for two children for the Earned Income Tax Credit
$5,666 for three children or more from the Earned Income Tax Credit
If you are age 25-64, had no children living with you in 2010 and earned
less than $13,460, you can receive up to $457.

On Saturday, February 26th from 10am til 4pm at the Tum Tum Community Center (6424 Hwy. 291) there will be certified and trained AARP Tax-Aide Volunteers available to prepare your taxes for free. To schedule, please email your name & phone number to lakespokanetaxprep@gmail.com or call Diane at 466-1497.

Tax Volunteers are trained to assist in filing tax forms and basic schedules, including the 1040, 1040A and 1040EZ. Taxpayers with complex tax returns are advised to see paid tax assistance.

Community Map

Community Mapping Event - July 2010

Debra Kollock from WSU Extension, guided a group of people who had participated in the Tum Tum Horizons Project in the many ways that the Horizons Project has benefited the Lake Spokane Area.

Community Mapping Event

You are invited to join us help do a fun and creative project called "Community Mapping" on Tuesday, July 20th from 6pm til 8 pm at the Tum Tum Community Center

* Did you attend a Study Circle, Leadership Plenty, Action Forum or Community Meeting?
* Do you think that the Horizons Program has benefited our community?
* What impact have you seen or experienced personally because of the Horizons Program?

These are just an example of what areas we will be exploring.

When we illustrate the ripple effects of Horizons and Leadership Plenty, we will see the impact it has had on our community. We can then continue to create stronger partnerships within the community and potentially use the information to find more grant money to benefit our community..

Community economic development professionals and elected leaders are seeing the value of the Horizon's Project and we want to be able to demonstrate and validate the effect that it has had in our community.

Dinner will be served from 6 til 6:30pm ~ Please RSVP to ogle.dm@gmail.com

If you are unable to attend, we would like to hear your story, email Diane at ogle.dm@gmail.com

Resource Link, Food Bank & 2nd Harvest

* Resource Link at Lakeside Library on July 9th (10am til 3pm)
* Resource Link at the July Tum Tum Food Bank on July 24th (10am til 3pm)
* 2nd Harvest Food Mobile Food Bank @ Tum Tum Community Center on Aug. 4th (12pm til 2pm)

MAY 11, 2010

2ND HARVEST MOBILE FOOD BANK
AND
RESOURCE LINK
55 families served that included 162 individuals
2,470 pounds of fresh perishable food distributed
11 volunteers worked 38.5 hours
6 families accessed needed services through Rural Resources

THANK YOU to Drew Meuer from 2nd Harvest who delivered the Mobile Food Bank, Rural Resources Intake Specialist Sue Konitzer, the Tum Tum Community Center and the fantastic volunteers who helped to pass out fresh pears, apples, carrots, potatoes, bread, pasta & apple juice on a weather perfect day!

FIGHTING HUNGER, FEEDING HOPE: Second Harvest brings community resources together to feed people in need through empowerment, education and partnerships. You can be part of the solution to hunger. Visit www.2-harvest.org to learn more.

RESOURCE LINK: Find programs, services and other resources to help you manage temporary financial crises and improve your life. Meet one-on-one with a resource specialist from Rural Resources to learn about help that's available to you - utility assistance, job training, weatherization, housing, food and more - and how to access it. Visit www.ruralresources.org for the latest information and schedule.
Resource Link is currently available at the Lakeside Library every 2 weeks.

NE Washington Trends

Ann Fackenthall and Diane Ogle participated in the Northeast Washington Trends Focus Group through the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Analysis at EWU this past year. The website is now live and available! Check it out at www.northeastwashingtontrends.org

Northeast Washington Trends exists to give the communities in Ferry, Pend Oreille, and Stevens Counties a way to assess how they are doing in key quality-of-life areas, such as education, health, and the environment. The Trends also seeks to improve local, public decision making by providing relevant data in an easily navigable website. The data are offered as neutral information for all parties involved in public policy issues.

Community Garden

A Community Garden Proposal was brought to the LSA monthly meeting on May 7th during their regular monthly meeting. A Community Garden Committee was formed and a committee member will be taking the proposal to the next Lake Spokane Community Church Board Meeting for their approval on May 20th. Highlights of the proposal included an "Overview", "Purpose", "Resources" (already donated) and "Needs" to get it started for this growing season.

Rural Resources & 2nd Harvest

Several members of the LSA Leadership Team recently met with Barry Lamont & Kelly Charlton to discuss how to improve the accessibility of "Resource Link" to our area and what we could do to support the Tum Tum Food Bank. As a result of that meeting, the intake specialist from Rural Resources will be at the Tum Tum Community Center on May 11th from noon til 2pm along with a 2nd Harvest Food Mobile Food Bank. There will be free produce and perishable products available to low income families and those in need of food assistance. No appointment is necessary to participate.
Also as a result of that meeting, Rural Resources is going to provide a much needed additional refrigerator for the Tum Tum Food Bank and will be renting office space at the Community Center to better serve the participants of the Food Bank.

Senior Nutrition & Excercise Program

The Tum Tum Community Center has expanded their services to include the "Senior Nutrition" program to the Lake Spokane/Tum Tum area of southern Stevens County. The frozen meals are stored at the Community Center and delivered weekly. A freezer was donated for storage at the Community Center. Also in the works is an exercise program especially for our Seniors.