ILWU Local 53 and Timber donate to HELP

From left, Jerry Ashby, president of TPT US Limited; Yale Fogarty, ILWU Local 53 president; Eric Oien, general manager of Teevin Bros.; Katey Townsend, HELP coordinator; and Steve Cullen, manager with Jones Stevedoring Co.

A recent donation of $4,250 from a group of timber shipping enterprises is already providing emergency assistance to homeless students and their families in Lincoln County School District. Katey Townsend, coordinator of HELP (Homeless Education and Literacy Project), gratefully accepted the donation on behalf of students in need.

“This gift comes at a great time. We have had an overwhelming number of calls for assistance, so this generous donation will fill the gaps and help us get people into sustainable housing,” Townsend said. “After the holidays, gifts of money, clothing and other items tend to dwindle while the need for assistance is as great as ever.”

The fund-raising effort was spearheaded by International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 53 in Newport; and Teevin Bros. Land and Timber Co., which hopes to bring its shipping operations to Yaquina Bay next year. The other Pacific Northwest organizations that donated are Hancock Forest Management, Jones Stevedoring Company, and TPT US Limited.

“Wood products and shipping have historically been important industries in Newport and Lincoln County,” says Yale Fogarty, ILWU Local 53 president. “Our hope is that when we bring shipping and timber handling back to Newport, we can provide living-wage jobs and get people back to work. A key part in making this happen is helping our young people stay in school, which is why we are donating to the school district’s homeless student program. We also want to provide a pathway to the workforce for youth involved in HELP’s student work program. This will give young adults the opportunity to learn a worthwhile skill while on the job.”