News & Events

To stay connected and learn about upcoming events, subscribe to our quarterly newsletter and follow us on social media.


If you are a member of the media who is seeking information or would like to request an interview, contact community@cssoregon.org.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Pujita Mayeda: Outreach Coordinator...and so much more!

Sept. 18, 2018


Behind the scenes at CSS is a beehive of activity that keeps a dynamic and challenging organization running as smoothly as can be expected. One of the energetic worker bees in the hive is Pujita Mayeda, whose official title is donor relations specialist.


Pujita manages and reaches out in many ways for CSS. If you see the white CSS van heading to the coast one day with a dozen CSS campers on board for an outing, that would likely be Pujita at the wheel. If you’re reading this newsletter online, Pujita is the IT support person who keeps the computers and programs happy. If you’ve attended a tour of a CSS camp, it’s likely that Pujita showed you around.


Throughout all these activities Pujita brings a bright smile and positive energy to the people she serves.


“Pujita is smart, responsible, hardworking, and committed,” says Kristin Fay de Buhr, co-founder of CSS. “She is also thoughtful and caring and is a very versatile member of our team. She knows how to make everyone feel included, valued, and appreciated, which is critical with an organization like ours that is built on volunteers and donors.”

CSS has expanded and broadened its mission in the 5 years that Pujita has been on staff. The donor base has grown to over 1700 people and businesses, and Pujita is responsible for managing that database and all related donor activity which includes being a part of the development team.


She works with the CSS newsletter team and with other staff and volunteers to prepare and mail the annual appeal letter and digital marketing campaigns. She helps organize the annual benefit dinner, and she makes sure food is available for meetings and camper work parties.



Pujita first learned about CSS in a phone call from a close friend and volunteer, Bhavia Wagner who asked her to come back to Eugene from overseas to work with CSS. After she was hired, Pujita quickly realized her background and skill set were a good match for a non-profit organization whose mission is to create stable and secure shelter for those in need.


She has been a world traveler and volunteer nearly all of her adult life, primarily to places that need social uplift or environmental protection. She provided care for elderly and infirm people at a facility in Varanasi, India, run by the Mother Theresa Order. She has been to Cambodia as part of Friendship with Cambodia, volunteering at orphanages and monitoring humanitarian projects and she wrote a “responsible travel” guide book for travelers to that country. She volunteered at a birthing center in Indonesia and soup kitchens and schools in African shantytowns and worked for a conservation group that protects black rhinos in South Africa.


She is an outdoor enthusiast and has backpacked extensively on the Pacific Crest Trail and the Himalayas in Nepal. She has also worked as a whitewater river guide on thousands of river miles all over the world.


“I consider myself a steward for the planet,” Pujita says. “CSS is a natural fit for me and I feel honored to be a part of the amazing work we do here at Community Supported Shelters.”

Community Court Program

04 May, 2024
Community Supported Shelters’ Roosevelt Safe Spot Community has been transformed into a shelter community aligned with the City of Eugene Community Court program. Beginning in January, people charged with minor misdemeanor offenses who have opted into the Community Court system (rather than Municipal Court) can opt into the CSS shelter program and move into one of 16 available Huts at Roosevelt.

Volunteers Boost Energy Systems at CSS Communities

03 May, 2024
During the ice storm that brought Eugene to a standstill in January, all the batteries that stored the energy from the solar panels at CSS’s Lot 9 Community went dead, meaning no lights and no way to charge cell phones. Dave Reuter knew that because of a monitoring system he had set up to keep track of the status of the solar energy systems at eight CSS communities. Dave, a volunteer who has led an effort to upgrade and standardize the CSS power systems, and his wife Janel Erickson, who has worked with him on this project, are intrepid outdoors people. While most of us struggled to get out of our front doors, Dave and Janel loaded a couple of fresh batteries on their Flexible Flyer sled and attached Yaktrak spikes to their shoes and a rope to the sled. With Dave in front and Janel in the rear, they guided the sled the five miles from their Friendly neighborhood home to Lot 9, near Autzen Stadium.

UO Interior Design Creative Storage Collaboration

02 May, 2024
A sixty square foot area. Six feet by 10 feet of space covered by an unconventional Conestoga shaped canvas. This is the simple description of the Hut basic to all CSS communities. How can a safe, comfortable, and efficient habitat be created within this framework using common and inexpensive materials? This was the question posed by Assistant Professor Solmaz Mohammadzadeh Kive to her Architecture 484 class this winter term at the University of Oregon.

Volunteer Spotlight: Sandy and Percy

30 Apr, 2024
For the past several months, a couple of long-time donors to Community Supported Shelters have joined us for two hours a week at our main office to do whatever needs doing. While this may sound like a modest amount of time, Sandy and Percy’s consistent, constructive, and upbeat engagement demonstrates a truth that is often overlooked: big issues can be meaningfully addressed in small increments of time.

Eugene Parking Ban Opposition Testimony

12 Mar, 2024
It's not too late to share your thoughts on this proposed update. Send your written testimony to mayorcouncilandcitymanager@eugene-or.gov .

Incarceration and Homelessness: Breaking the Cycle

15 Jan, 2024
Formerly incarcerated people are almost ten times more likely to be homeless than the general population, according to a study from the Prison Policy Initiative. Jack spent 27 years in prison, from the age of 33 to 60. “It is a long time. It's an entire lifetime,” he says. At first, he thought he might never get out and continued what he calls “bad behavior.” But he saw others who participated in educational programs and were successful in getting their sentences reduced. He realized if he started “acting right,” he might get out. He especially credits a program called “Nonviolent Communication” with helping him. He started using what he learned and realized that “the person we communicate worst with is ourselves.”

From Waste to Wonder - UO's Grey Water Conservation Project

14 Jan, 2024
Lima, Peru, and Eugene, Oregon, are worlds apart in many ways. But spend some time with Kory Russel, an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon, and you will learn there are communities in both places with challenges of access to sustainable and efficient water use. Kory has a photo in his office depicting a highly condensed neighborhood in Lima, a city where he and some of his students work on sustainable water projects.

New CSS Director of Community Impact: Black Burrell

13 Jan, 2024
Did you know CSS has a shared leadership model, with three directors? This November, Blake Burrell joined CSS as our new Director of Community Impact. His role supports all of our direct service staff, managing internal relationship-building, culture creation, program operation, mentoring, and conflict resolution. Read on for his introduction:

Volunteer Spotlight: Veronica Paredes

12 Jan, 2024
Veronica Paredes has been helping sew the weatherproof porch coverings ("scrims") for the Huts, recently working 26 hours to complete 34 scrims for us before the holidays.

Bike and Build Volunteers Assist in Refurbishing Huts

13 Oct, 2023
Bike and Build organization was established as a nonprofit in 2003. Its website summarizes its mission: “Bike and Build engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise awareness for the affordable housing cause. We advocate for the need for affordable housing in thousands of communities across the country.” As teams bike from town to town, they volunteer for service projects and give presentations about issues surrounding the lack of affordable housing. Since 2003 Bike and Build estimates that over 3,800 participants have biked over 11 million miles and donated over 255,000 volunteer community service hours to local organizations throughout the country.
Show More
Share by: