A big celebration in Redmond honored 29 volunteers with the Heart of Oregon, who have completed their service to the organization. Spokesperson Amy Mentuck says these young people have come from some very tough circumstances. "Many of the young people that participate in our programs come to us as disconnected students from the traditional learning environment. So they may have dropped out of high school or they may have previous court involvement. Or they may be resource challenged; they may be low-income young adults. They may have barriers to employment. They may have a learning disability. So we provide them with training and education to complete wither their high school diplomas or obtain their G.E.D."
Mentuck says throughout their term of service they worked with educators to focus on their education and gained job skills they can use for the rest of their lives. She says this group of young people have collectively earned about $127,000 in stipends; and over $57,000 in post-secondary education scholarships. A celebration was held Thursday afternoon at the Heart of Oregon Training Center in Redmond.