As the year comes to an end, we find ourselves filled with grateful optimism. While communities continue to pivot due to the pandemic, rebuild after the Almeda fire and respond to all of the changes in between, we are reminded of the positivity and generosity that exists around us. You are a part of that generosity and we want to thank you for being there for TMC along the way.
The Gateway mural project in Talent.
At TMC, we are going through our own changes. This fall, we said goodbye to co-founder Ryan Wilcoxson. We are so grateful for Ryan’s years of service to the organization and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors. Since Ryan’s resignation, Alli French has stepped in as Interim Executive Director and added to staff capacity. While change can be challenging, we know TMC is headed in the right direction and we’re optimistic about the year ahead.
Staff at TMC (from left to right): Alli, Philip, Robyn, Piper and Sue
Change can be difficult, but gives us hope for the future. With needed capacity, TMC recently brought on three new staff members to help the organization into its next chapter. Shop Coordinator Philip Oje transitioned from intern to staff member this summer and has been an asset to TMC programs and shop coordination. Robyn Janssen joined us in November as Outreach & Engagement Coordinator bringing 9 years of nonprofit experience and a passion for creativity. We also welcomed Sue Hawkins as Administrative Specialist to help with bookkeeping, internal systems management and a lot of whimsy with her intricate LEGO creations.
We have a lot to be excited about in the year to come. With the addition of new staff, we will be better able to serve local communities with our hands-on programming and workshops. We are honored to be the recipient of state funding to purchase land and build a permanent home for TMC, creating a community-informed space for creativity and innovation. And through our partnerships with Phoenix-Talent Schools, Rogue Workforce Partnership, Armadillo Tech, and others, we continue to provide crucial workforce training and career development for underserved youth and adults.
Thanks to you, we achieved great things in 2021.
Here are a just a few of the things you helped TMC accomplish this past year:
In partnership with Girls Build and Rogue Federal Credit Union, we worked with 42 students to build 55 beds and other necessities for families who lost their homes in the Almeda fire. These workshops not only provided necessary resources for fire impacted families but also education and skill building for students who were directly impacted by the fire allowing for them to be a direct part of the solution therefore creating healing and resilience in the process.
With Southern Oregon Educational Services Department, Project Youth Plus, Phoenix-Talent Schools, Medford Schools and Armadillo Technical Institute, we’ve been working with students to convert two, full sized school buses into transitional housing for families impacted by the fire. Students learned carpentry, electrical, plumbing, and more to retrofit buses into tiny homes for impacted families.
This summer, we served over 250 students in 16 different summer programs with 32 instructors trained in Trauma Informed Care Practices so as to better serve students and families impacted by the Almeda fire and to continue to fulfill our mission for hands-on creativity and STEAM based learning. Students learned to weld, build Go Carts, implement social media campaigns, build ukulele’s , create tile mosaics, and so much more. TMC’s summer STEAM Camps are an integral part of what we do and provide important educational, hand on learning for students in the Talent-Phoenix School District.
Together with the Talent Public Arts Committee and The Urban Renewal Agency of Talent, local student artists submitted artwork to be created into a mural and displayed at the Gateway Transitional Housing project in Talent. Artwork was selected and then transferred onto plywood sheets to create physical murals that were installed at the Gateway to welcome families home. This project not only helped create beauty and joy to the Gateway housing but also helped students directly with their healing process from the trauma of the fire.
Your continued support will help us do even more in 2022.
We are currently planning and implementing winter programming including our adult workshop series, purchasing land to build a permanent maker space and onboarding new staff to help support our growing organization.
Reintroduce our Adult Workshop Series!
With COVID safety measures in place for the health and wellbeing of participants and staff, we are reintroducing our adult workshops offering fun, creative, hands-on educational opportunities. We look forward to having folks back in the shop again for fun, educational, community connection and creativity. Check our web calendar in February for details.
Continue the Rise Up + Rebuild Programming
Thanks to The Roundhouse Foundation, The Oregon Community Foundation and local Rotary, we are continuing our Rise Up & Rebuild workshops including finalizing and wrapping up the Bus Project. These workshops will teach youth carpentry and construction skills while building furniture and other items for families who lost their homes in the Almeda fire. Workshops begin in January and run throughout the spring. Check our website for more information.
Restructure Shop Memberships
TMC’s mission is to provide an accessible, equitable Makerspace for the entire community. We are revisiting our past “membership” model and restructuring it so that the space is accessible to all! Starting in February, we encourage you to check out our website for more information on “how to use the space”, workshops and other opportunities to get involved.
Build a Community-Informed Permanent Makerspace!
With your input and support, we are excited to start designing and planning for a permanent Makerspace building for the community. With funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, we will be purchasing land in downtown Talent and building a new Makerspace with access and usability for all. This will be a multi-year project and we plan to engage the community as much as possible!
Can you chip in with a year-end contribution?
Every little bit counts and goes directly toward programming for students and community members.
Even with change, we have a lot to be optimistic about. With funding to build our own space, new staff, and restarting our workshops and programs, I find myself filled with grateful optimism for the future of TMC. I also see this optimism in the youth that we serve. Their perspective, energy and connection is what reminds me of what we all have the innate capacity to create. We owe it to them to follow through with optimism and gratitude about the possibilities that lie ahead for each and every one of us. I hope you will join me in supporting this mission.
You+Make+Talent!
Thank you for your support, today and everyday.
Alli and the TMC team: Robyn, Philip, Sue, Piper, Lucia, and Noah
Staff & Interns (left to right): Noah, Robyn, Philip, Alli, Sue, Piper, & Lucia
Support TMC’s mission and programs into the future by becoming a sustaining donor! With automated monthly donations, you help create stable funding for our staff and programs so that we can spend less time fundraising and more time doing what we do best, teaching and creating! Become a sustaining donor today,
thank you!