Until November 30^, any Ventura County 501(c)3 nonprofit can apply for a Fastsigns of Ventura sign grant worth over $1000 to help increase visibility for their cause. The sign grant package includes a full color custom table throw, retractable banner stand with graphic, bent easel table top sign, 250 decals and 500 postcards valued at over $1000. A second grant will be awarded which includes a full color custom table throw and 500 postcards.

“Getting noticed with great signs and graphics can increase fundraising, membership, volunteer support and more,” said Saurabh Bajaj, Owner Fastsigns of Ventura. “Last year Straight Up Ventura County earned the grant for their commitment to youth advocacy, peer education and parent education as they clearly demonstrated a need for the sign grant and a plan for using the items.”

Ventura County 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations who engage in outreach efforts that require tabling, branded marketing & educational materials can apply online for a sign grant package, details at https://www.facebook.com/fastsignsofventura/. For questions, please [email protected] with subject Sign Grant. Please no phone calls.

Asthma today afflicts one in 12 adults in the United States and every year is responsible for about 439,000 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths. The good news is that increasingly effective asthma treatments have been developed over the years as the medical field continues to explore new treatments.

People with asthma and their loved ones are invited to attend a free seminar in Ventura on Nov. 14, when Dr. Prashant Verma, a local expert in treating people with allergies and asthma, will share information about new therapies that provide relief for children and adults suffering from asthma.

Dr. Verma received his medical degree from Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University, completed internal medicine training at the UC San Diego Medical Center and received allergy-immunology training at UCLA Veterans Affairs Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. He is board certified in internal medicine and allergy-immunology. Dr. Verma is an active member of the Community Memorial Hospital medical staff.

The Nov. 14 seminar will begin at 6 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital, 147 N. Brent St. Registration is free but reservations are required. For reservations, visit www.cmhshealth.org/rsvp or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, the Centers for Family Health, and various outpatient centers serving communities located within Ventura County, California.

The Ventura County Library has recently won two awards for the implementation of Open+ Express Hours at the Hill Road Library. Using innovative technology called Open+ by Bibliotheca, the Ventura County Library has expanded access to library services at the Hill Road Library during “Express Hours” by opening to the public before the library is officially staffed.

The two awards are from CA County Information Services Directors Association (CCISDA) and the California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and both recognize innovation in government.

CCISDA awarded Ventura County Library the 2018 Innovation Award for large counties: Business Process Re-Engineering Automation Category – Library Express Hours at the Hill Road Library.

CCISDA is the official organization of the county IT directors and CIO’s throughout the state of California. CCISDA represents all 58 California counties in the area of information technology and county government.

CSAC presented Ventura County Library with a Merit Award in their 2018 Challenge Awards, again for the “Library Express Hours” project at the Hill Road Library.

CSAC’s annual statewide program honors innovation and best practices in county government. Ventura County Library’s project was selected as one of 36 Merit awards out of 267 entries. An independent panel of judges with expertise in county programs selected the award recipients.

Hill Road Library is the newest of Ventura County Library’s branches, opening in December, 2017. It boasts being only the second library in the U.S. to use Open+ technology. The library is configured with self-service in mind, supplementing staffed services.

During Open+ Express Hours at Hill Road, customers can checkout laptops, use WIFI, meet and collaborate, checkout print and electronic collections, and use research materials.

Customers 18 and over in good standing may opt-in for “Express Service,” allowing access to self-services and the facility without staff assistance. To get started, they are given a short orientation from staff, reviewing entry points, services available, and the code of conduct.

With Hill Road’s morning Open+ Express Hours, the Library and the community enjoy a 30% increase in total hours of operation and services available at Hill Road Library.

“We are extremely happy to have been able to not only open a new library branch on the east side of Ventura, but to extend the hours of access to the community who values it so highly!  … Open+ is making a real difference in the community and the level of access we can provide to library services,” says Nancy Schram, Ventura County Library Director.

Foster VC Kids reminds interested community members there are many ways to help the 800 local foster youth. The need is now. Becoming a resource parent means helping a child or teen by fostering, mentoring or providing permanency.

There are more than 800 Ventura County children in foster care, from newborns to teens, who need nurturing resource families to help them thrive while separated from their families of origin. These youth come to Foster VC Kids when they have been exposed to neglect, domestic violence, parental illness such as mental health or drug/alcohol abuse that impacts the child’s safety.  Through no fault of their own, children and youth are then separated from their birth families, including siblings, and brought into foster care.  Learn more at www.fostervckids.org.

“Even though foster care is temporary, caregivers (resource parents) play a critical role in helping to heal a child’s trauma,” said Judy Webber, Deputy Director, Department of Children & Family Services, Ventura County Human Services Agency.  Webber added that “resource parents provide so much more than just a home, they help heal and strengthen families in our community through simple connections and understanding.”

Additional resource families are needed now in Ventura County, especially in the cities of Oxnard and Ventura.  In a recent radio interview supporting Foster VC Kids and encouraging community members to take action, Supervisor Steve Bennett said, “If you saw a youth drowning in a pool, you would immediately jump in to help. Foster youth are in that same kind of urgent need… Please jump in to help.”

Resource parents – whether fostering, mentoring or providing permanency – have the full support of the Foster VC Kids team, including social workers.  Extensive training and support services (including medical and dental care) are available to ensure caregivers have the tools to nurture, protect and care for local children and teens in need.  Visit www.fostervckids.org/need to watch the informational video or call 805-654-3220 to learn more about helping a local youth today.

Foster VC Kids is a program of Ventura County’s Children and Family Services

Recognized as a best practices leader statewide in the family recruitment and support component of child welfare, Foster VC Kids provides resource families with ongoing support services, trauma-informed training, and mentorship to enhance the safety, permanency and well-being of Ventura County’s youth and families.  Learn how Foster VC Kids is making a difference throughout Ventura County, www.fostervckids.org.