To the Rogue Valley Community,
Carpenter Hall Donation Center storefront will be closing permanently on Friday, October 30th.
We here at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival cannot thank you enough for your continued support of our community in these trying times. It is truly awe-inspiring watching our community rebuild.
OSF was able to open the doors at Carpenter Hall on September 10, creating a Donation Center to support those impacted by the Almeda Fire. In the days that followed, we did everything we could to get donated items into the hands of everyone in need. As the needs rose, so did our ability to support. We opened up the Thomas Theatre as a makeshift warehouse and distribution center, to take in and send out even more supplies to support our fellow donation centers. From pallets of milk from California to a box of socks and N95 masks from North Carolina, we saw (and continue to see) support from far and wide. We have also had the opportunity to collaborate with partners in the community through Rouge Valley Mutual Aid, all of whom are working to help the community rebound. Due to the amazing work of our partners, OSF’s Donation Center has gradually seen significantly lower traffic, and we now know that it is time to close the doors to our storefront at Carpenter Hall so we may focus on other relief efforts.
Based on a variety of factors, we have come to this decision; our storefront is seeing fewer visitors each day, we are continuing to see less availability from our volunteers, and the rise of Covid-19 cases in Jackson County is requiring us scale back in ways that makes it very difficult to support the work. The good news is, our community partners are well equipped to continue supporting our community, and we are equipped to back them up. Our hope is not just to continue to distribute, but to continue to use other OSF resources to help our community partners in the longer term.
As we wind down our storefront operations, we will be in direct communication with community members who are currently using Carpenter Hall as a resource to make sure that they know of other sites in the area that have supplies and food donations and how to access those sites.
OSF plans to continue supporting our partners by processing and distributing donated goods, and donations from the community can still be dropped off at the loading dock of the Thomas Theatre (right next to the upper level of the Hargadine Street parking structure ).
Friday, October 30th is the last day that OSF Donation Center storefront will be open.
OSF Donation Center Hours:
- Wednesday, October 28: 10:00am – 4:00pm
- Thursday, October 29: CLOSED
- Friday, October 30: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Other Donation and Relief Sites:
- The Shoppes at Exit 24 – 205 N Phoenix Rd, Phoenix, OR 97535
- Talent – 304 E Main St, Talent, OR 97540
- Living Waters Church – 360 E. Jackson St, Medford, OR 97501
This is just the beginning of the disaster recovery process, and OSF will continue to support and amplify the recovery efforts and rebuilding process in the Rogue Valley. We look forward to continuing this work, and know that our community will come back stronger and more resilient than ever.
OSF Donation Center