Portland, OR. With no end in sight for the COVID-19 lockdown, State mandates surrounding interactive museums and exhibits continue to affect the operation status of many organizations, including the Portland Children’s Museum, which remains closed.
One way staffers are continuing to serve the community is through popular summer camps. Located in the Portland Children’s Museum building itself, the kids attending have the unique experience of spending time in the museum without any of the normal attendees.
Under creative and strict social distancing measures, the campers are able to spend time in a unique setting under the Children Museum’s philosophy of “learning through play.”
Aside from the summer camps, the staff at the Children’s Museum is making a big effort to reach families at home through its Museum@Home newsletters. These are filled with clever ways for children and their parents to spend time learning together through activities that only require common household supplies, such as “nest” building and focus on thinking “outside of the box.”
From the Portland Children’s Museum, here’s all you need to know about camps:
The Museum may still be closed to the public, but 2020 Summer Camps are on and OPEN FOR REGISTRATION!
Beginning in July and running through August, Portland Children’s Museum will offer weekly camps with added safety measures for children ages 4–10. Using Governor Kate Brown’s statewide Guidance for School-Aged Summertime Day Camps, we have reenvisioned Summer Camp plans in order to continue to explore, discover, and create together this July and August!
What to Expect this Summer:
Groups of 10 or Less: Campers will be in stable groups of 10 or fewer with consistent staff members for their entire week of camp. If siblings are attending, they will be in the same group as each other despite age differences.
Building Closed to Public: Portland Children’s Museum will be closed to the public. Campers will have the unique opportunity to play and enjoy the Museum in their small group during the week without being alongside the regular summer crowds.
Designated Spaces & Staggered Timing: Each camp group will have designated indoor classroom space, bathrooms, and entrance to the building used only by their group and sanitized multiple times each day. Time in the indoor and outdoor Museum spaces will be staggered to ensure distance and time to sanitize between groups.
Wellness Surveys: Campers and staff will have wellness surveys each day to screen for symptoms of illness. This will include a temperature reading, checking for any new symptoms, and any known exposure to COVID-19.
Meal Modifications: Campers will be required to bring their own lunch and snacks for health safety reasons.Read the Museum’s Communicable Disease Management Plan.
Our Mission: To develop innovative problem-solvers through playful learning experiences that strengthen relationships between children and their world.
Our Vision: We envision a world where everyone retains and values the innate curiosity, creativity, and empathy of childhood.
Portland, OR. With most people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, pet companionship has become more important to many. Whether you’re in need of a new furry friend or are seeking veterinary care for your pet, the nonprofit Pixie Project is continuing to offer services. The organization has maintained community outreach despite the difficulties of staying afloat during this unprecedented time. By focusing on one-on-one appointment-only interactions, staffers are able to bring potential pets directly to people’s homes to meet for the first time.
Jessica Berg, Development Director, says they’ve recently performed about 20 feline surgeries in only 2 days.
The Pixie Project, located at 510 N.E. MLK Blvd., is a small nonprofit animal adoption and rescue center. It differs from many other local centers by not only offering pet adoption with a focus on establishing life-long homes for animals but also by offering medical attention to pet-owners who cannot shoulder the financial burden required of surgery such as spaying and neutering or more serious health concerns for animals.
The Pixie Project offers a “sliding scale” payment practice for medical attention in order to ease the financial burden on struggling pet-owners.
Jessica Berg, the Pixie Project’s Development Director, says that adoption rates are still fairly high while donations have taken a hit. The steady adoption rates should be no surprise considering the need for companionship during the stay-at-home orders. Most of the organization’s funding comes from coordinated fundraising events which have all but stopped during this time of social distancing.
Pixie Project supporters say there’s nothing more valuable during these isolating times than a happy and healthy companion.
From: Pixie Project
If you’d like to find out more about the Pixie Project, donate to a good cause, or if you’re in need of pet care services, check out the Pixie Project website here or its donation page here.
Portland, OR. High schools and universities have had to get creative with this year’s graduation ceremonies. Edison High School, in Beaverton, held its first-ever “car graduation ceremony” on May 29th. The ceremony started with a procession of staff members and students with their families.
Edison Graduation Coordinator Rachel Hansen ready to lead the graduate parade.
The car parade had all twenty-four graduating seniors. The graduating class of 2020 found it a fun way to honor social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Edison staff cheer on graduates from the sidewalk.
Seniors hopped out of their cars and were greeted by Principal, Jason Wold.
Edison Principal Jason Wold hands out diplomas with his face mask and gloves.
Despite unusual circumstances, the students were allowed to celebrate with friends, families, and teachers who offered congratulations to the graduating class of 2020.
From Edison High School:
Edison exists to empower students with learning differences to experience academic success and personal growth while preparing them for a productive future.
Portland, OR. While nonprofits are forced to adapt to survive during this period of uncertainty and social distancing, the Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) is successfully moving and maintaining outreach programs in the virtual world. “We believe that art heals and we could use some healing right now,” explains Barb McDowell, Executive Director.
One way administrators continue to reach children in hospitals is through care package drops.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, CHAP’s main campaign revolved around bringing art supplies and artists to hospitalized children across Oregon, allowing them to express themselves and have fun despite their hardship and potential disabilities. As businesses and organizations were forced to close their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic, CHAP had to re-imagine its goals within the framework of online chat rooms and virtual hangouts.
Susan Sherwood, Child Life Specialist for OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, provides free packs filled with art supplies to the children for them to enjoy in their rooms/beds.
The crates of art supplies can be sanitized by hospital staff to allow the kids the tools and ability to paint, draw, or otherwise express themselves despite strict social restrictions inhibiting organizations like CHAP from visiting and in-person deliveries.
Further, CHAPs has created online art clubs through services such as Zoom and Facebook Live that allow children and their parents to virtually attend together while working on art projects that require only common household materials. The move to online has been very popular among CHAP’s patrons who are primarily families stuck at home or in hospitals during this precarious time. This summer they will also be holding online art “summer camps” for the kids by delivering boxes of supplies beforehand and working with local artists and teachers who wish to participate.
CHAP now hosts 2 Art Clubs for children with medical challenges each week via Zoom to keep the CHAP families connected and the creativity flowing.
If you’d like to donate to CHAP you can do so here. If you’d like to watch a short video on them and see what they’re all about, you can watch it here.
About the Children’s Healing Art Project:
At CHAP, children are known for their creativity and ingenuity — not by their disease, diagnosis or disability.
Our innovative and inclusive healing arts programs are provided free of charge to children, teens and families affected by pediatric illness, disability or special need. CHAP provides Oregon’s only in-and-out of hospital interactive healing arts program for children facing any medical issue.
NONPROFIT BENEFIT TICKET GIVEAWAYS!
Sign up for our free weekly highlights for the chance to win two tickets terrific nonprofit events! If you "like" us on facebook, or sign up for our weekly news highlights, you'll be entered to win! Sign up today!
Look for another ticket giveaway soon! Are you a nonprofit looking to bolster your publicity with facebook and tweets? Email us and we'll run a contest with tickets to your event! [email protected]
