William Temple House Lifting Spirits Benefit Sets Fundraising Record

Portland, OR. New and old friends of William Temple House gathered for the nonprofit’s biggest fundraiser of the year, raising over $162,000. It was an all-time record for the Lifting Spirits Auction and an attendance record with over 200 people joining the October 22nd celebration at the Exchange Ballroom. Executive Director Stephen Ristau with Past Board Presidents: Susan Workman, John Chandler, George Ivan Smith, Mike Vawter, Jim McCarter, Leigh Wilson, and Gary Gross enjoyed the evening. (Photo credit, Andrea Lonas.) William Temple House provides mental health counseling and emergency social services to individuals and families in need. The organization has been active in the Portland community for 50 years.

Administrators thanked donors saying, “Your support provided 43,500 meals to families who visit our pantry, 533 new outfits for children, 722 hours of quality life-affirming counseling, and vision and dental care for hundreds more!”

From William Temple House:

The Foundation for William Temple House was established in early 1965 when several lay members of the Oregon Episcopal Diocese met with Rev. Canon Clarence T. Abbott of the Parish of St. Mark in Portland. They gathered to discuss ways to embrace the Declaration of Mutual Responsibility and Interdependence, issued by Rt. Rev. John E. Hines, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America.

As a result of their discussions, the group incorporated the Episcopal Layman’s Mission Society to operate a center for pastoral and licensed professional psychological counseling. They named their center in honor of William Temple, the late Archbishop of Canterbury and prolific author on Christian social action. A short time after the counseling center was launched, William Temple House expanded its role to include emergency material and financial assistance for individuals and families in crisis.

Since 1965, William Temple House has served Portland by providing help where it is needed on behalf of the disadvantaged and distressed in the community.

William Temple House outgrew its Marshall Street facilities and moved into the Mackenzie House on Northwest Hoyt Street in 1971. Abbott Hall, adjacent to Mackenzie House, was completed in 1981 to house the expanding counseling and social service programs. It is named in memory of Fr. Abbott, who served as executive director from 1965 until his death in 1990.

The Thrift Store, which helps support counseling and social services at William Temple House, is a few blocks away on Northwest Glisan Street.

William Temple House Services include the following: