(Photo | Courtesy of AFSC)
Have you ever thought of a great way to make your community better but had no way to get your idea off the ground? A Sisters nonprofit knows that feeling and is doing something about it.
AFSC (Age Friendly Sisters Country) was founded in late 2018 with a mission to make Sisters livable and accessible for all. That may sound like a lofty goal, but it’s backed by the organization’s ability to mobilize resources. As AFSC founder Toni Landis explains, “We help people take their ideas from lightbulb moment to launch. Our community is filled with thinkers who have fantastic ideas, big and small, for making Sisters truly resilient. But many of those ideas don’t go anywhere because the process of creating a nonprofit to support the concept is pretty overwhelming. AFSC delivers strategic oversight, fiscal structure and administrative support so people can get their ideas up and running more easily than they could on their own. In effect, we create a straight line between innovation and impact.”
That “straight line” has resulted in services that make a big difference. AFSC’s first and most successful project is just one example. STARS (Sisters Transportation and Ride Share) is a ride service that offers free transportation to nonemergency medical appointments in Sisters, Bend and Redmond. Rennie Morrell, along with other residents, saw a need for such a program, particularly among Sisters’ older adults, and brought the concept to AFSC. Morrell, who is STARS’ program manager, says, “They helped us with budgeting and grants, and connected us with a volunteer attorney. It was so helpful to not have to worry about those details.” STARS has nearly 30 active volunteer drivers who, last year alone, completed almost 400 rides and drove 21,000 miles supporting Sisters residents (as defined by the boundaries of the Sisters School District) unable to drive themselves to medical appointments.
With STARS as its most visible project, it may seem AFSC’s work primarily serves older residents. Kristin Turnquist, AFSC’s board president, says they’re working to shift that perception. “Our new tagline, Making a Difference Made Easy, puts the focus on our process and its ability to help others make a positive difference for people of all ages. We support ideas that benefit everything from education to the arts to economic stability, and align with other community organizations to ensure our work is relevant and impactful.” AFSC is launching its new website this fall and Turnquist says it will be a valuable resource for all members of the community to leverage.
AFSC has its eyes fixed on the future and looks forward to increasing the number of projects it supports. But, as Landis says, that growth will require increased capacity. “AFSC is a 100 percent volunteer organization so the number of new initiatives we can launch is directly driven by the number of helping hands we have. From board members to volunteers, we are actively seeking individuals who have a heart for improving our community. It’s an exciting time for us because passionate people implementing innovative ideas will create a powerful force for change!”
