Kiwanis helps two take a shot at dreams

He is a sous chef at Three Creeks Brewing Company (TCBC) and she works in the deli/bakery at Ray's Food Place. What they have in common is they are the latest recipients of grants from the Sisters Kiwanis Career Opportunity Fund.

Vincent Faludi, 45, has been with TCBC since it opened three years ago. While he enjoys his work there, he has been looking for an opportunity to go back to school and reach for something that has more earning potential, and the medical benefits his family needs.

His wife recently asked him if he could go back to school for anything, what he would like to do. Vince told her he has wanted to get back behind the wheel driving trucks as he once did when they lived in the Portland area - this time though, in larger trucks which require specialized training. He discovered he could get his training locally at IITR (International Institute of Transportation Resource) through a five-week class for $5,300. After he applied to Kiwanis, the fund is paying $3,000 toward the cost of the school, with Vince paying the balance of $2,300 himself.

Sandi Skalda, 41, is converting her job at Ray's into a new passion for baking and cake decorating. Up until a year ago, she had only worked in childcare when circumstances changed and she had to rejoin the regular workforce as well as raise her family as a single mother. She has always liked baking for her four children and thought her skills could be the ticket to a better income for her family.

With the approximately $449 she received from Kiwanis this past week, Sandi will be attending three Wilton Cake Decorating classes through Jo-Ann Fabric and Crafts stores. She hopes her newly learned skills get her promoted to decorator at Ray's, where the idea to pursue the training came from her co-workers.

Sandi is grateful for the help she's been given to raise her family since she moved here four years ago. She gives back to the community she relies on as a regular volunteer in the food program at Three Sisters Fellowship and in the youth ministry at her own church, St. Edward the Martyr Catholic Church.

Kiwanis Career Opportunity Fund provides assistance to start, augment or complete a career opportunity that may include (but is not limited to) vocational, technical, artistic, or general fields of study. Since its inception, the fund has provided over $21,000 in assistance to help more than 15 Sisters-area folks reach for their dreams.

The fund is available to qualified residents of the Sisters School District. Application forms are available on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Kiwanis House (corner Main Avenue and Oak Street); from the Sisters Habitat for Humanity office; Family Access Network (FAN) or by calling 541-549-4274. To donate to the Career Opportunity Fund, make checks payable to Sisters Kiwanis with the phrase "COF" in the memo c/o Sisters Kiwanis, P.O. Box 1296, Sisters, OR 97759.