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L’Arche Portland 3rd Annual Benefit Concert Has High Notes

Celebrating a beautiful concert: L'Arche Portland Executive Director Andrew Noethe, Singer Julianne R. Johnson, Director of Development Tamara Yates, Board Member Matt Weisensee, Diane Frank, L'Arche Volunteer

Portland, October 5th, 2013. Over 200 supporters joined forces at The Madeleine Parish Hall on NE 24th Avenue to celebrate the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. Fans included: L’Arche Portland Executive Director Andrew Noethe, Singer Julianne R. Johnson, Director of Development Tamara Yates, Board Member Matt Weisensee, Diane Frank, L’Arche (Photo credit, Paul Deering) It was a great night for giving as supporters donated $30,000. That $30,000 will be matched through a challenge grant from the Hedinger Family Foundation, bringing the total to $60,000.

The evening began with a fun soiree then another performance by Julianne Johnson and Michael Allen Harrison. Special guest, PHAME Academy student performer Aaron Hobson, received two standing ovations for his performances of “Somewhere” and “What A Wonderful World.”

Michael Allen Harrison and Julianne R. Johnson performing together

L’Arche Portland resident Marilyn Petruzzelli and Jessica Weisensee
sell a raffle ticket to Dorothy Coughlin, L’Arche Portland founder and
Director of the Office for People with Disabilities at the Archdiocese
of Portland

Announcing the raffle winner: Julianne R. Johnson, Tamara Yates, and
L’Arche Portland resident Adam Richards

Special guest, PHAME Academy Student Performer Aaron Hobson

The concert was a celebration of the gifts of people with intellectual disabilities (including a return performance by Jordan Ackerson) and a beautiful expression of L’Arche Portland’s mission to be a sign of hope in the world.

From L’Arche Portland:

Our mission centers around three key elements:

Relationship
Transformation
Sign

We start by building an environment in which relationships of trust and openness can flourish. This growth takes time, but the more we give ourselves to it, the more we find ourselves transformed by the friendships that emerge. Into what, you might ask? Into more authentic versions of ourselves. The masks come off, and the real you and I appear to be received and celebrated. This kind of love, radical in its simplicity and day-to-day-ness, is the sign to the world of what is possible.

L’Arche Portland Mission Statement

At L’Arche Portland people with and without developmental disabilities work together to create home and build community. Those with developmental disabilities form the heart of our shared life and invite others into mutual relationships. We welcome each person’s unique gifts and challenges, and offer opportunities for personal transformation. We trust in God and live as a sign that love, respect and interdependence are the path to a peaceful and just world.

Read the Charter of the Communities of L’Arche

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.