From: Kate Gibson
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 8:31 AM
To: 'abc@123.org'
Subject: News from the MERIT Program
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News of MERIT |
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Dear Marcia, If you know people who are considering self- employment, please
forward this newsletter to them. We start up a new group of training classes in
February in Salem. For more information about MERIT, please visit www.merit.chemeketa.edu. Thanks for your support of MERIT! Forrest Peck
We are very excited to be able to offer a larger resource
library, an expanded computer area, and larger classrooms at our new site! We
will be located on the second floor and we will share the building with
SEDCOR, Portland State University, Northwest Innovations, Enterprise for
Employment and Chemeketa Customized Training. MERIT classes will be held in the new building starting on
Monday Oct. 19th.
Starr Studios Salem School of Dance, owned by recent MERIT
graduate Serenity Guzman, offers a wide variety of classes that focus on
personal development, building confidence and having fun. Classes are
available to everyone from age 2 ½ to adults in ballet, tap, jazz, dance
aerobics, lyrical, hip hop, show, movement exploration, and salsa. The school just opened up this summer and classes have been
filling up due to Serenity's teaching style, which tailors classes
specifically to the students. "Its more comfortable and students are
more confident because we design classes based on what the students enjoy,
what they are interested in and what they need to work on so they naturally
are more successful." Dance is a fun way to get in shape and a third of
Serenity's students are adults. If you're shy about your dancing skills,
private instruction is available! Serenity has 18 years of dance experience and is also enrolled
in school for early childhood education, which will allow her to better serve
her students. She participated in the Fall 2008 MERIT class in Salem and has
also received advisement at the SBDC. She continues to refer back to the
resources she obtained in the class and she especially appreciates the
opportunities to network with other entrepreneurs that the class provided. The MERIT Program provides training and advising to residents of
Marion, Polk, and Yamhill counties. The program works with 15-20 interested
individuals each term, and provides hands on teaching, counseling, and
empowerment to assist people in getting their new businesses up and running.
These services are free to those that are income-qualified.
MERIT has a class where you can test your business idea in an
informal, confidential setting. We call this Entrepreneurs 101, and we now
offer it monthly in three locations. Best of all it's free!
The class is held the second Thursday of every month in each of
these locations. This month it will be held on Thursday November 12th at 9am
in Salem, at 12pm in Dallas and at 2pm in McMinnville. To register for the
next Entrepreneurs 101 class, please call the Chemeketa Small Business
Development Center at 503-399-5088.
In Yamhill County, the program is sponsored by the Yamhill
County Sheriff's Office and this year's event will be held at the McMinnville
Walmart Store, 2375 NE Highway 99W, on December 12th at 8:30 am. Tax
deductible donations can be made to Yamhill County Shop with a Cop, 535 E
Fifth Street McMinnville OR 97128, or call 503-434-7507, ext 2. In Marion County, the program is sponsored by Law Enforcement
for Youth. To make a donation, contact Troy Clausen (troy@lawenforcemntforyouth.com)
or visit their website.
The Oregon Arts Commission offers several grants to individual
artists. Individual Artist Fellowship grants are available for Oregon's
"most innovative creators" in the form of $3000 stipends. The
awards are granted to artists in a different artistic discipline each year.
The 2010 fellowships are for artists working in the visual arts or in design
arts and the application postmark deadline is October 15. Career Opportunity Grants are awarded several times per year.
These grants enable artists to take advantage of a unique opportunity to
enhance their career by developing arts, business or professional skills to
increase the marketing capacity or quality of their artwork. Grants range
from $300 to $1500. The next deadline is November 12. There are also grants available throughout the year for artists
involved in community development, cultural tourism, teaching art, and media
arts. For more information or to apply visit the Oregon Arts Commission
website.
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email: forrest.peck@chemeketa.edu phone: (503) 399-5088 |
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