Portland, OR. This year the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) will move its annual event – Operation Overcoat – “from one big downtown event, to distributing winter gear and meals all over the city in partnership with other non-profits and local churches,” according to Communications Manager Courtney Dodds.
Family receiving a meal together at Operation Overcoat
As new restrictions and safety challenges due to COVID-19 mean no large crowds this year, UGM’s team brainstormed a way to reinvent Operation Overcoat to get vital supplies to those in need. In several city-wide mini functions beginning Saturday, September 19th, the organization will be partnering with local churches, schools, and workplaces to gather and deliver backpacks filled with shoes, coats, pants, and other items.
This year UGM will reinvent Operation Overcoat to allow for safety measures against COVID-19
“In other words, Operation Overcoat is going mobile,” explained Courtney. “Winter weather can be dangerous and even life-threatening for our neighbors who are houseless and living outside. Due to the pandemic, more people than ever are financially on the edge and sadly it is projected that even more people will fall into homelessness.”
“Receiving vital life essentials is often the first step to building a relationship and helping someone find a path off the streets. Operation Overcoat not only provides for basic needs but is a point of personal connection.”
This year’s unique conditions pose greater challenges for those experiencing homelessness than previous years
For over 20 years, the downtown-situated block party drew nearly a thousand attendees with live music, free food, and festivities as volunteers distributed thousands of donated clothing items to neighbors experiencing homelessness or need in the community.
Courtney notes that the event “will look different this year, but our commitment to coming alongside those in need remains the same.”
Here are some ways you or your local organization can get involved this year:
Organize a donation drive at your church, workplace or school. Our most needed items include pants, new undergarments, sleeping bags, boots, and coats. Drop your items off at Union Gospel Mission at 3 NW Third Avenue.
Support Operation Overcoat financially. It costs about $23.53 to serve each person through Operation Overcoat. Consider a special financial gift for Operation Overcoat. You can give online at ugmportland.org/donate
Your Gift of $23.53 provides an Operation Overcoat guest with goods and services that would cost them over $200 in a retail environment.
From the website:
FEEDING THE HUNGRY, RESTORING THE ADDICT AND LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR. SINCE 1927.
Union Gospel Mission was founded in 1927, when 40 area churches came together seeking to minister to the homeless and hurting on the streets of Portland. In 1937, Union Gospel Mission purchased a building at 15 NW Third Ave.
Portland, OR. Supporters can sign up online for this year’s AIDS Walk which is scheduled for September 12th. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the walk will take place wherever participants are. Following the virtual program, participants will choose a suggested walking route that is the same distance as the walk would be if we could be together. In the Portland/Vancouver area, CAP is creating multiple suggested routes for walkers to choose from; elsewhere, walkers will be encouraged to create their own routes.
All participants are encouraged to wear their favorite face covering and maintain a safe physical distance from others!
For 35 years, CAP has called upon thousands of community members, advocates, and activists to step up and take a stand against HIV transmission. Though this year’s event may look a little different, organizers say it is still critical that people show up to walk (in a safe and physically distant way) in an effort to remind our communities that HIV has impacted each and every one of our lives in some way.
There will be a Live Stream Program on September 12th at 10 AM. The stream will be available at www.aidswalknorthwest.org, as well as on CAP’s Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. During the program, the nonprofit will be honoring the 2020 Heroes of HIV and celebrating the impact the individuals and organizations have made.
Following the live program, teams can head out any time between 11 AM and 2 PM to one of the Walker Check-In Stations to collect t-shirts, walker bags, and prizes.
From CAP:
CAP is the oldest and largest community-based provider of HIV services, housing, education and advocacy in Oregon and Southwest Washington
Portland, OR. Most piano teachers and students aren’t able to sit side-by-side these days; they’re learning via zoom. That’s the case with the young teachers at the Play It Forward Foundation. It was originally established by famous Portland pianist Michael Allen Harrison and has aimed to keep young musicians moving forward since its inception. It primarily operates with two distinct missions: the first is to take in donated instruments (primarily pianos) to rehouse them in public school programs and student homes; the second aims to keep these musicians in lessons while offering new teachers consistent work.
The first mission, wherein donated instruments are rehoused into public school programs and particularly talented young musicians’ homes, is just a part of how the Play It Forward Foundation is helping the community. The program’s Executive Director, Marietta Harrison, says that they look at nearly three hundred pianos a year, ultimately accepting around one hundred of these (with sometimes up to five calls a day for potential donations). These pianos are vetted and reconditioned prior to being donated in order to offer better services to the school programs or child’s home they end up in. In a time when public school’s art funding seems to be ever-declining, the organization pays for these services out of pocket in order to better serve the community.
With classes moved entirely online for the foreseeable future, potential barriers are further erased.
Rather than simply donating and dipping, so to speak, the second part of their mission aims to keep a consistent hand within Portland’s musical community. The nonprofit’s goal here is to remove any potential barriers between the students and their music– whether that be economic, logistical, or otherwise. Started in 2017 with a mere twelve students, the program was up to one hundred students by 2019.
Online piano recitals with both Michael and Marietta Harrison present.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, the program would offer work to young teachers seeking experience who would often travel to the school or the student’s home in order to better erase these potential barriers faced. Currently, the program has gone completely online and classes are being held through Zoom meetings. Given everything going on in the world right now, Marietta Harrison says that this program has always aimed to be proactive rather than reactive; establishing itself in the community as an organization that erases barriers for students and encourages musical growth.
About Play it Forward:
Nearly 20 years ago, the City of Portland passed a measure that cut critical funding to music education in our public schools. Having benefited from free music education in public schools, that eventually led to a successful career as a composer and pianist, Michael Allen Harrison could not watch this happen silently. Play It Forward, affectionately known as PIF was born. Play It Forward distributes gently used instruments gifted by donors to students and music programs throughout the Portland Metropolitan Community.
If you’d like to donate to a great cause, you can do so here.
Portland, OR. Learning at home with a laptop is likely to become “de rigueur.” The French American International School (FAIS), which recently raised over $200,000 at its virtual fundraising event, will be starting the school year with a comprehensive distance learning model.
According to Shawna Foster, Director of Development at FAIS, the distance learning model will prioritize goals such as: Supporting the FAIS mission of cultivating intellect and character through rigorous multilingual academic programs in an environment that promotes appreciation of diverse cultures and experiences; fostering a learning experience of connection and interpersonal relationships where people feel safe, seen, and valued; enhancing predictability for students, families, and teachers by using consistent timeframes, platforms, and tools; optimizing teacher instruction and interaction time with students while respecting the developmental needs and sustainable patterns for teachers and families; and designing schedules and instruction times around the well-being of students.
“None of this would be possible without our wonderful teachers and staff who have worked tirelessly to provide stability and continuity for our students and develop meaningful learning experiences,” Foster said.
In addition to planning for distance learning, FAIS has also prepared schedules and student cohorts to transition to a hybrid or on-campus learning model. For those interested in exploring educational opportunities for their children at FAIS, you can visit the Virtual Admissions Center to watch a virtual open-house recording, browse a photo tour of the campus and schedule a one on one Zoom meeting with the admissions team.
“Last spring, FAIS friends and family came together to celebrate our student art and raise important funds to support our community during this time of financial uncertainty,” Foster said. “The FAIS Virtual Community Gathering, which replaced the annual gala due to COVID-19, drew over 180 families to participate and support the school. This community event was an opportunity to join together in a spirit of celebration and appreciation for the French American International School.”
French American International School Virtual Community Gathering fundraiser
In the week leading up to the event, families drove through campus to see all of the student art projects from the comfort of their car at a Drive-Thru Art Gallery.
“This was a celebration of the hard work that all of our students put into the art projects throughout the year, and was a wonderful reminder of what we can create together,” Foster said.
The virtual event was hosted by Johnna Wells of Benefit Auction 360. Families bid on art projects, entered the raffle to win a designated parking spot on FAIS campus, and gave generously during the moment of giving. The event raised over $200,000 for FAIS.
About the French American International School:
The French American International School cultivates intellect and character through rigorous multilingual academic programs in an environment that promotes appreciation of diverse cultures and experiences. Whether students join our community in preschool, kindergarten, or middle school, our goal is the same. By the time students graduate from FAIS, they will have established a foundation of lifelong skills to prepare them for high school and to succeed in a global, interconnected world.
Boring, Oregon. Guide Dogs for the Blind (GDB) celebrated its annual Oregon Fun Day event in a new way this year, with a virtual Fun Week for members of the nonprofit’s community of volunteers, clients, and employees. In past years, the event was a single, themed day of robust activities on its Boring, Oregon campus. However, because of social distancing protocols, the event was expanded into a week-long occasion in late July, occurring remotely for its puppy-raising community to enjoy. Attendees were able to virtually attend activities and events with GDB staff, bringing their dogs to the Zoom sessions, as seen above.
This year’s Oregon Fun Week theme was retro video games, resulting in creative puppy costumes. GBD’s volunteer puppy raisers were able to virtually interact and bond with the community. GDB team members created a video session titled “Canine Campus Life” to share what happens when guide dogs-in-training return to campus after living with their volunteer puppy raisers. Other activities included a “How To” video on drawing a guide dog and a healthy recipe for making treats for your dog created by GDB’s Canine Welfare Neonatal Department.
GDB’s 2020 Fun Week event theme was retro video games, complete with a Zoom background for participants to use while attending with their GDB puppy-in-training.
Another highlight of GDB’s Fun Week was the “Pack” Man Challenge. The activity gave participants the chance to venture on a scavenger hunt with their dogs to identify common obstacles a guide dog team may encounter. To conclude the week, GDB community members shared an image of themselves and their GDB guide dog, which was compiled into a mosaic art piece.
GDB puppy raiser, Cory Erickson participated in the GDB Fun Week “Pack” Man Challenge which involves an outdoor scavenger hunt for puppies-in-training to identify obstacles that a guide dog team may encounter such as traffic cones.
With Camp GDB being held virtually this year, GDB sent each camper supplies for the week, including some campfire snacks and a stuffed GDB guide dog toy.
GDB’s virtual Fun Week celebration was one of many virtual events the nonprofit held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In July, GDB also hosted its annual Camp GDB virtually, which is a special summer camp for teens ages 14-17 who are blind or visually impaired. The virtual camp included an opening campfire, a meet and greet with one of GDB’s veterinarians, Zoom bingo, and a discussion on the value and logistics of having a guide dog in a high school or college setting. Each camper was also sent a special camping kit in the mail to add the virtual Camp GDB experience. GDB remains committed to providing support for its clients during COVID-19.
Over 375 photos were submitted by GDB volunteer puppy raisers and leaders during Fun Week to create a virtual mosaic of members of the GDB community.
From Guide Dogs for the Blind:
We are more than an industry-leading guide dog school; we are a passionate community serving people who are blind or low vision. All of the services for our clients are provided free of charge, including personalized training and extensive post-graduation support, plus financial assistance for veterinary care, if needed. Our work is made possible by the generous support of our donors and volunteers; we receive no government funding.
Portland, OR. Within walking distance of Portland Community College’s Cascade campus off of Killingsworth Ave, you may come across a sidewalk decorated with raised fists, demands for justice, and more. This sits just outside of the Dismantle, Change, Build Center (DCBC) where nonprofits such as Don’t Shoot Portland operate. If you happen upon this location on a Tuesday afternoon, you may find a beautifully painted sign letting passerby’s know that Books to Prisoners is in session.
The Dismantle, Change, Build Center (DCBC); used by multiple justice-oriented nonprofits.
Based out of Seattle since the 1970s, Books to Prisoners collects donated literary materials and sends those to incarcerated folks across the U.S. on their own dime. The Portland branch operates on volunteer time once per week for a couple of hours. During this time, they sort through donated books, deciding which can be resold to fund the operation’s expenses, which could go to a “free” box sitting outside for anyone who happens by and needs a new read, and which can be saved with the intent of mailing it to an imprisoned individual.
Donated books are organized by genre in order to better accommodate prisoner requests.
Anyone imprisoned can request a book to be mailed to them through the Books to Prisoners operation (with personalized letters, art, and more often accompanying that request). These requests are double-checked in order to make sure that the books will still be received by those behind bars. They will then be hand-wrapped by volunteers in preparation for delivery and shipping. Many of these volunteers are people who’ve either been locked behind State walls or who’ve had loved ones there.
Volunteers take a couple of hours out of their week to wrap books in preparation for shipping, offering invaluable resources for the organization that runs purely off of donated time and funds.
Portland’s Books to Prisoners continues to do great things despite a global pandemic and civil unrest. The nonprofit is always looking for new faces to volunteer their time, as this is the most valuable asset to their operation.
About Books to Prisoners:
If you’re interested in donating to their cause, you can do so here. If you want to see what they’re doing these days, you can check out their Facebook page here. If you’re interested in volunteering, you can find all the information you need here.
Portland, OR. The Sunflower Farm, an organic garden hosted by the nonprofit Focus on Youth, has expanded exponentially this summer, despite losing the support of its houseless youth volunteers. Founder Donna Lee Holmes said she was amazed at the willingness of the community to support one another during these tough times.
“It’s like a miracle happened,” she said. “We have had more volunteers this year than we have ever had, and it’s because people wanna channel their love and energy into something positive.”
The organization is still looking for volunteers who want a chance to connect with nature and like-minded people while they dig in the dirt. Volunteers say it’s a great place to learn something new every day. Morgan, pictured above, has been working hard on the garden since March.
This recent expansion didn’t come for free. Holmes said that at the beginning of the pandemic, the Templeton Foundation reached out with an offer to change what funding the nonprofit applied for. Since no youth volunteers were coming in, Focus on Youth decided to focus on the garden.
Selene is a volunteer at the Sunflower Farm. She started working there to get more involved with the community.
The Sunflower Farm donates its produce to the Neighborhood House and recently started donating to St. Anthony’s Church as well. Lines at food pantries have been long during the pandemic, so the extra produce is needed. Sunflower Farm is also home to 35 chickens, most of which were adopted recently to provide a good source of protein to people in need. The organization is hoping to donate over 9000 eggs by the end of the year. One thing they lack is egg cartons for transport; donations of these are appreciated.
The farm is home to lots of chickens.
Holmes hopes the farm will attract more young children and families in the coming months, as working at the garden is a tactile educational experience. This hands-on learning is even more needed as classrooms go online. “It’s as if you’re being immersed into a science book,” Holmes said. “I’d like as many children as possible to have that experience.”
A small watermelon growing at the farm.
The farm is home to a plethora of flower, vegetable, and tree species, many chickens, a resident dog, mason bees, an impressive amount of compost, and a pond where salamanders and small fish can be found.
Focus on Youth recently applied for funding to start a greenhouse so volunteers can save money by nurturing their own seedlings during the winter rather than buying them. And in a continuation of the farm’s expansion, they’ve also recently planted their first-ever batch of fall vegetables. Holmes hopes the flourishing of the garden will not only bring the community together but bring hope to all who are currently struggling.
The Sunflower Farm has many of its namesake flowers.
“What a garden represents is hope, and we all need that right now … There’s so much worry and concern about staying safe, about having food,” she said. “There’s something that’s very spiritual about digging in the earth and knowing that you’re being of service to others, there’s a certain peace that comes with that, and just a quiet joy.”
A garden is a place where all people can come together, regardless of background. The foundation of Focus on Youth is in photography and gardening, but also in cooking.
“We all need to feel that we belong somewhere, and a garden is someplace where everybody can come,” Holmes said. “Whatever background someone is, we all join in food, and food is love.”
From Focus on Youth: Focus on Youth and our program Seeds of Hope teaches sustainable gardening and photography to at-risk and homeless youth at Sunflower Farm. Learn more on the nonprofit’s website: http://focusonyouth.org
Portland, OR. As social distancing mandates continue throughout the U.S., places like theaters face the dilemma of relying on audience presence to deliver art and performance. Portland Center Stage (PCS) at The Armory, is trying something new called The Community Voices Project. The goal is to bring the artist’s work directly to your home, skipping the middle man of theaters.
The PCS performance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Associate Artistic Director, Chip Miller, says that this move to a digital platform was with the desire to use the PCS resources to uplift artists in a time when art is highly undervalued and many individuals are financially struggling. This platform will focus on artists of color for the next year, giving voices to poets, singers, actors, and more.
Chip Miller, Associate Artistic Director of Portland Center Stage.
Furthermore, The Community Voices Project is but a piece of the larger PCS Remix program. This program features online showings of theatric productions, community classes, and youth programs. Their goal with the Remix program is to uplift local talent, commission artists, and perform community outreach. As the future with COVID-19 still present is unpredictable, PCS will continue reaching out to the community and building bridges with artists.
From the Portland Center Stage website:
If you’d like to support a great organization, you can donate here. You can also find their event page for any upcoming artistic productions, classes, and more here. PCS is located downtown at 128 NW Eleventh Ave,
Portland, OR. The Bridge Meadows model is an intergenerational neighborhood where adoptive families of youth formerly in foster care bond with their older neighbors. The nonprofit has had to dramatically alter its operations due to the pandemic. “In our community, it’s about one-third elders—adults over 55 is how we define that—and then families who have adopted kids out of foster care,” Director of Communications Lindsay Magnuson explains. “The way everything is built is so people can connect, and that means being in person, face to face, doing things in the courtyard. And so [Covid-19] has kind of ripped away this way of connecting that has been so essential for people in our communities, and so we’ve had to pivot and figure out: how do we maintain that feeling of intimacy and connectedness without the physical proximity?”
Several of the Bridge Meadows elders in North Portland started busily sewing masks to support local health care workers.
Bridge Meadows will be hosting its annual fall auction and gala, IMAGINE, on September 17th. The event will be hosted—as in previous years—by KGW anchor Drew Carney and Benefit Auction 360’s Johnna Wells. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event will be held virtually.
“We are aiming to do a very interesting, dynamic and short program,” said Bridge Meadows Director of Communications Lindsay Magnuson. “We really want it to be valuable because the event usually has this community reunion feel, and so we wanted to kind of try to replicate that as much as possible.”
“Though our event will be held online this year, we are excited to celebrate the resilience and power of intergenerational community with you in new ways. Hear stories from the community about the impact the Bridge Meadows Model has on the lives of children who have experienced foster care and how you can help us bring this solution to more communities.”
Bridge Meadows lawn prior to the pandemic.
Many of Bridge Meadows programs, such as check-ins with its members and therapeutic groups, have been adapted into virtual programs, and members have been hard at work figuring out how to help older members who are uncomfortable with newer technology and parents who are adjusting to homeschooling.
According to Lindsay, “We’ve also been brainstorming with the community about how—now that we kind of know a little bit more about how [Covid-19] is spread—figuring out how to safely connect in person with [social distancing].”
On top of the upcoming IMAGINE gala, Bridge Meadows has also been hosting virtual roundtables, where community members, partners, champions and donors get together to check in with one another and host Q&A sessions.
For those interested in supporting Bridge Meadows, Lindsay recommended signing up for their newsletter, attending their virtual events, and making financial contributions.
While the pandemic has created many challenges for Bridge Meadows, Lindsay noted that there has been some benefits: “I think that this experience has really made us become more comfortable with how you diversify your methods of maintaining community. We have learned how to do that very quickly, and we’re still learning,” Lindsay said.
About Bridge Meadows:
Bridge Meadows develops and sustains intergenerational neighborhoods for adoptive families of youth formerly in foster care that promote permanency, community and caring relationships while offering safety and meaningful purpose in the daily lives of older adults.
Portland, OR. Centro Latino Americano (“Centro”) is helping the Latino community connect to and navigate necessary resources such as healthcare, housing, food, mental health support, language accessibility, and anything else community members need during the pandemic. Executive Director David Saez said the organization has been working hard to address urgent needs of the community right now, and rent assistance has been a top priority. Centro has raised about $50,000 for households in need.
The organization called individuals to determine what exactly the community’s needs were. Using information from these calls, Centro published a report to inform leaders and legislators about the current situation. Furthermore, Centro is working with the Oregon Worker Relief Program to help individuals who don’t have access to unemployment benefits or federal relief checks.
The work is relentless, but gratifying.
Pre-covid activities in 2019.
“Community members know very well that the challenges faced right now are far bigger than any of the stability we’re able to secure through critical supports like rent assistance,” one staff member said. “They [Centro] fortify and strengthen the ability of the community as a whole to continue forward in spite of the terrible blows dealt it by the pandemic and resulting policies and/or lack thereof. The success is the relentlessness with which community members continue to meet each day.”
Another concern is the need for news and information about the pandemic communicated in Spanish.
“There was a lot of information going out early on, but it was not in Spanish, or it wasn’t getting to the community,” Saez said. “And we don’t have a significant Spanish language media source here in Lane County, so that makes it even more challenging.”
Centro has established a weekly briefing in Spanish with the Lane County Public Health Department, which is broadcast over Facebook Live and also texted to community members. Furthermore, the organization recently hired a speaker of Mam, an indigenous Guatemalan language, in order to reach those communities that don’t speak Spanish.
Mental health concerns are also greater than normal. Centro is offering a free initial therapy session for community members, and an addictions support group is starting back up, outdoors and with social distancing measures.
Community members graduating from a parent leadership training program
Centro has also worked with the Department of Public Health to provide COVID testing for Latino communities, and with a recent grant, they have been able to hire three new staff members to work on contact tracing and support for families of individuals who have the virus.
The Latino community has suffered disproportionately from the pandemic. Saez hopes this moment can shed light on the pressing racial disparities in health care.
“Despite all these really hard, difficult things, I really have hope that there’ll be some transformative outcome out of all of this, and I hope that it’s gonna make life better for Black, Indigenous, communities of color, the trans and LGBTQIA community,” he said. “It feels like we’re in a brilliant, critical moment socially. I think we have the opportunity to come out of it stronger if we follow the right leadership.”
From Centro Latino Americano: Centro Latino Americano empowers Latino families by providing opportunities and building bridges for a stronger community. Our vision is a thriving, connected community where all people are valued.
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