Portland, December 14th. Nearly 1,000 people packed the Oregon Convention Center to raise money for seven different local nonprofits including the United Way and Project Clean Slate. The benefit, which raised over $250,000, was organized by civic leader, Roy Jay. He explained the “Spam and Velveeta Holiday Event” title saying, “It reminds me of my upbringing as our family had to dine on Spam and Velveeta during my formative years. It also keeps me grounded to never forget where I come from.”
Metro Council President Tom Hughes and Portland Entrepreneur and civic leader, Roy Jay
Beneficiary, Project Clean Slate, is a program presented by the African American Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with numerous community business, social service and government partners. It helps people clear up decades of delinquent and uncollected fines and penalties so they can live productive lives. Local law enforcement officials support the groundbreaking program.
Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton and wife pose for photo with Motown Diva Mary Wilson
STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE — Audience participation with The Supremes Number One Hit Song
Mr. & Mrs. Robert McCellan from Medford were among nearly 1000 people on hand for Roy Jay’s annual Spam & Velveeta Holiday Event
Enterprise Car Rental brought their key management and sales team for the Supreme Evening
“If it is a Roy Jay event, you know that many people in Portland will be there” said David Saltzman Vice President of Bank of the West who was one of the major supporting sponsors.
Highlights of the evening included a tearful story from Melanie Powell who went from homeless to hopeful thanks to Project Clean Slate, the African American Chamber of Commerce and other local agencies and business entrepreneurs. Today she is not only gainfully employed at Legacy Emanuel Hospital, but also a 4.0 student at Oregon Health Sciences University.
Toyota Dealers of Portland teamed up with Roy to give away a Toyota Prius 2. The $50 per ticket raffle yielded a winner, Janelle Brown who purchased only one ticket from a representative of Delta Sigma Theta, one of nonprofit recipients of ticket sales that evening.
In past years, Jay held the event at his east Portland home but this year had to move to the Oregon Convention Center because the invitation list went from 250 to over 700 friends, associates, colleagues and business partners.
Jay and his staff are already looking forward to 2013. Nonprofit organizations which want to benefit should contact the African American Chamber eight months in advance to be considered.
Portland, January 3rd, 2013. The Red Cross, Oregon Trail Chapter is sending out a call for volunteers to help at an emergency warming shelter on Portland’s southeast side. Wednesday, Red Cross volunteers helped accommodate 63 people. As the only local shelter that allows pets, volunteers were also able to give six pets a warm place to sleep.
On Wednesday, volunteers work to get ready for pets at the emergency shelter.
Pets are kept in kennels and officials say if they didn’t allow the animals into the shelter, many homeless people would not take advantage of the service.
With overnight temperatures expected to be below 30-degrees it’s expected that the Red Cross Emergency shelters will be open for at least the next several days. To learn how to volunteer, visit www.redcross.org/or/portland/volunteer.
The video below has more information about volunteering.
Every winter, doors are opened to all.
The city of Portland funds the Red Cross efforts to save lives in the cold weather.
Guests come in from the cold with their pets.
The American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter serves as the regional hub for the Red Cross in the state of Oregon. The chapter is part of a nationwide network of nearly 600 chapters and blood collection sites across the nation. With 1,200 volunteers and 55 staff members statewide, the Oregon Region of the Red Cross is a leader in providing relief to victims of single-family and community emergencies; national and international disasters; and helping people to prevent, prepare for and respond to disasters.
The Oregon Trail Chapter covers a 16-county area in northern Oregon, from the Pacific Ocean to the Idaho border. We serve the residents of Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Gilliam, Hood River, Morrow, Multnomah, Sherman, Tillamook, Umatilla, Union, Wasco, Wallowa, Washington and Yamhill Counties.
If you live outside of the Oregon Trail Chapter area, you can find local Red Cross services at one of the other four chapters in the state.
Oregon Mountain River Chapter serves Crook, Deschutes, Grant, Harney, Jefferson and Wheeler Counties, and Warm Springs Reservation
Portland, January 3rd. Throughout the year, the biggest developing story at the zoo was the baby growing inside Rose-Tu. As the 18-year-old Asian elephant neared the end of her 22-month pregnancy, the zoo’s animal-care staff helped ensure a safe and healthy delivery by monitoring her weight, leading her through daily exercises, and creating a calming birth environment. On Nov. 30 at 2:17 a.m., Rose delivered a healthy, 300-pound female calf. Here’s a video of Lily now:
It’s been a big year for Oregon Zoo elephants, from the 50th birthday of Packy in April to the birth of the newest member of the herd, Lily, in November. As the zoo celebrates a half-century of working with elephants, it looks forward to breaking ground on a visionary expansion of the Asian elephant habitat next spring.
In a public vote on baby names selected by elephant keepers, more than 60 percent of the 50,000-plus voters chose the name Lily for the new calf — following the floral theme of her mom’s name (Rose-Tu, or Rose for short). But Lily is no wallflower — the youngster is proving a boisterous addition to the zoo’s Asian elephant herd, and is quickly bonding with her mother and the other elephants. Visitors can usually see her from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
“I love seeing the way visitors respond to Lily’s energy and spirit,” said Bob Lee, the zoo’s elephant curator. “When people connect with Lily and see the bond between Rose-Tu and her calf, it brings home what we’re doing every day to make a good life for elephants.”
The Oregon Zoo is recognized worldwide for its successful Asian elephant breeding program, which has now spanned 50 years. Rose-Tu’s mother, Me-Tu, was the second elephant born at the zoo (just months after Packy in 1962), and her grandmother, Rosy, was the first elephant ever to live in Oregon.
Packy turns 50
On April 14, the zoo celebrated the 50th birthday of Packy, the iconic pachyderm who kicked off a half-century of successful elephant breeding at the Oregon Zoo. Packy put Portland on the map in 1962, making international news as the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years. He’s held a special spot in his fans’ hearts ever since. Packy’s birth also helped scientists better understand elephants — his mother’s pregnancy established the length of elephant gestation, for example — and opened the door to a new era in elephant welfare.
Packy is now the oldest and tallest male Asian elephant in North America. The zoo celebrated Oregon’s biggest celebrity with a birthday bash featuring music, games and an enormous cake. Packy was also knighted by the Royal Rosarians and honored by the Rose Festival as grand marshal for the year’s Grand Floral Parade.
“The Oregon Zoo is world-renowned for its Asian elephant program,” said Kim Smith, zoo director, “and Packy’s birth was the cornerstone on which this program was built. He has been inspiring people to care about elephants for half a century.”
Zoo lays groundwork for visionary new Elephant Lands habitat
The Oregon Zoo is poised to begin construction in 2013 on Elephant Lands, an expansion of the elephant habitat that will quadruple the elephants’ space and dramatically enhance their experiences and daily routines. The herd will have access to a variety of habitats and terrain, from rolling meadow to hilly forest. Designed for elephant comfort, health and enjoyment, Elephant Lands will include scratching surfaces, elephant controlled showers, pools for bathing and mud wallows to cool and protect skin.
Elephant Lands puts into practice the zoo’s philosophy that all animals should have choices over how they spend their days and nights and access to the outdoors. Forest Hall, a multistory covered enclosure with natural flooring, will provide elephants with shelter from summer heat and winter cold, with wide-open doors to the meadows and forests, pools and wallows.
In addition, zoo visitors can expect completely new options for viewing these mighty and majestic animals.
In December, Metro Council directed Metro’s COO to exercise the option the agency holds on the former site of Roslyn Lake in rural Clackamas County and purchase the 260-acre parcel from Portland General Electric for development as a future remote elephant center. This allows the zoo to purchase the property at an agreed-upon price that is set to expire at the end of this year. The zoo anticipates that development may be several years in the future. With the purchase, the zoo can move forward on specific site development plans. In the mean time, zoo officials are exploring long-term strategies for funding the center’s operations.
Samudra gets life lessons from dad
In June, the zoo honored Tusko as its Father of the Year. The sire of both Lily and her 4-year-old brother Samudra, Tusko has been giving Sam life lessons in what it means to be a bull. Keepers believe that seeing male behavior modeled from an early age will have a positive effect on Samudra’s ability to socialize with the herd as he matures.
In the past year, Tusko has been teaching Samudra how male elephants, called bulls, interact with female elephants. The 40-year-old bull has also taught the youngster to respect him as the dominant male of the family grouping by, among other things, waiting to eat until after Tusko has eaten and not facing the impressive bull directly.
Keepers hope that by learning to be a docile male elephant in his youth, Samudra will mature more slowly and therefore remain with his mother and aunties for a longer time before separating from the herd, as males do in the wild.
Research aims to safeguard elephant welfare
This year, the zoo continued its leading role in research to understand Asian elephants and safeguard their welfare, both in human care and in the wild. The zoo is collaborating with the National Zoo on research to protect elephant health by identifying the causes of EEHV, the deadliest viral disease affecting Asian elephants both in zoos and in the wild. The Oregon Zoo is also supporting research into treatments such as the promising antiviral drug glancovir.
The zoo’s Asian elephant Chendra is also helping researchers protect her endangered subspecies of elephants on the island of Borneo. They’re examining the DNA of Chendra and other Borneo elephants in Malaysia to understand the pachyderm’s genome and protect the genetic diversity of Borneo pygmy elephants, which number only about 2,000 in the wild and are highly threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation.
Zoo works to protect elephants in the wild
As the Oregon Zoo worked to ensure the welfare of the elephants in its care, it also worked to protect elephants in the wild. Asian elephants are considered highly endangered in their range countries, threatened by habitat loss and conflict with humans. It is estimated that fewer than 40,000 elephants remain in fragmented populations from India to Borneo. Through the International Elephant Foundation and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the zoo supported a broad range of elephant conservation efforts to help wild elephants.
This year, the zoo continued to support work to address human-elephant coexistence issues, including the introduction of palmyra palm tree barriers in Sri Lanka as a sustainable, ecofriendly long-term tool for deterring crop-raiding elephants. Kids in Sri Lankan schools are also learning about safety around elephants and ways to coexist in harmony.
Oregon Zoo-supported projects also empower local communities to monitor and protect their neighboring elephants. In Myanmar, Chin villagers are trained to survey elephants and patrol for poachers. And in Sumatra, once-neglected captive elephants are participating in direct field based wildlife conservation.
Portland, December 29th. 2012 was an exciting year in Portland’s nonprofit community. We’ve scoured our archives to find the most viewed stories on PortlandSocietyPage.com over the past 12 months. Was it the OMSI gala? The Red Dress Party? A Portland Center Stage Bash?
Below are the top 10 most viewed stories, and links to check out the vibrant nonprofit benefits which captured your attention.
Portland, April 20th. Supporters of the Children’s Relief Nursery raised over $216,500 at their annual gala. The event featured an Iron Chef competition. Adam Sappington won the top honor for the fourth time by besting Adam Higgs. Higgs was the 2011 Peoples Choice Winner and is the Owner of Acadia Bistro. Schnitzer Steel was represented by: Jamie Wilson, Andy Rohling, Brenda Hein, Isla Wilson, Hasina Squires, Jennifer Hudson, and Pat Christopher
Portland, May 5th.Portland Center Stage hosted its annual gala and this year’s theme, Blue’s Rendezvous: A Night on the Bayou, was inspired by the soul and history of the blues. Guests included: Ryan Taylor, Angela Taylor, Zach Stepp, Dave Lofland, Briana Gonzales, and Tom Barreto. (Photo Credit, Joni Photo)
Portland, September 22nd. The Children’s Cancer Association’s Hero Gala was neon-bright at the Portland Art Museum. Founder, Regina Ellis, (pictured with KINK’s Sheila Hamilton and local fashion designer, Michelle DeCourcy) introduced a new upbeat program called Give Get Share. CCA parent Chunda Starr shared her personal experience with program and evening ended with a paddle raise, which raised $380,000. (Photo credit, Mariel Klein)
Portland, March 22nd. Friends and nonprofit leaders raised a glass in at Paragon Restaurant to toast the announcement of a special award to be given by PortlandSocietyPage.com. The “Bright Spot Award” is the heartfelt recognition of an event which captures the imagination of our PortlandSocietyPage.com readers. On hand for the announcement were Elizabeth English, Henry Hillman, Nancy Frisch, KINK’s Sheila Hamilton, Jill Schnitzer Edelson, and PortlandSocietyPage.com Editor, Elisa Klein.
Portland, April 14th. Over two-thousand devil-may-care Portlanders raised the roof on a Pearl District warehouse converted for one of the biggest charity benefits of the spring: The Red Dress Party. The massive event, organized by Red Dress PDX , had revelers on their feet dancing till the wee hours of the morning. Guy Bennette, Scott Ruben, Jan Bennette and Cameron Crook were all smiles at the party. Beneficiaries of the event include: Our House,The Cascades AIDS Project Kids’ Connection, The Quest Center for Integrative Health.
Portland, May 4th. OMSI supporters were invited to a Gala of surprises benefiting future generations of innovators and problem solvers. Gala Chairs, Lynn and Scottie Johnson celebrated with OMSI President, Nancy Stueber at the event. Their objective is to, “Light the path of learning for children and families throughout the Northwest.”
Ashland, February 24th. The Tony Award–winning Oregon Shakespeare Festival is off and running; watch out for flying pies because Animal Crackers is one of the eleven productions this season. It’s the 1930s vaudevillian musical farce made famous by the Marx Brothers. (Photo credit, Jenny Graham)
Here’s a photo to put you into the mood for Memorial Day weekend, it’s from a 1950′s beauty contest at Jantzen Beach. The photo, from our friends at the Oregon Historical Society, shows contestants Anne Lustavka, Kathleen Kinder, Jane Hoberg and Gloria Albertson. It’s typical of events held during the heyday of Jantzen Beach, on Hayden Island, when the location was an amusement park and and tourist destination (before it was the site of a shopping mall).
Portland, September 29th. Taking a page from P Diddy’s playbook, parents and community members converged on the newly-build home of Sheila Hamilton and Colin Maclean to raise money for their students. (Photo credit, Brian Black) The Riverdale School District Parent Teacher Club helped organize the party and white attire was a must.
Portland, December 7th. More than 800 supporters crowded the Left Bank Annex for Levé’s Ninth Annual Charity Ball. The grass-root charity created by young women in Portland selects a nonprofit each year and “I Have a Dream” Oregon was the fortunate recipient for 2012. The group is close to reaching its $50,000 fundraising goal. Levé board president, Megan Dobson (second from right), sells flair at the Ball to Abby Lee, marketing & communication chair Natasha Dagg and others.
Thank you for supporting PortlandSocietyPage.com this year. We look forward to covering hundreds of great nonprofit events in 2013. If you have an event, suggestion, or would like to advertise on Portland’s only nonprofit news website, please contact us at [email protected].
Portland, December 26th. It’s time to focus on year-end charitable donations! On the right-hand side of our PortlandSocietyPage.com website there are links to many worthy local charities. Please explore! The website, Charity Navigator is a research tool for donors and evaluates how charities use money. The organization also offers these tips for smart giving:
Be Proactive In Your Giving
Smart givers generally don’t give reactively in a knee-jerk fashion. They don’t respond to the first organization that appeals for help. They take the time to identify which causes are most important to their families and they are specific about the change they want to affect. For example, they don’t just support generic cancer charities, but instead have targeted goals for their giving, such as providing mammograms to at-risk women in their community.
Hang Up The Phone / Eliminate The Middleman
Informed donors recognize that for-profit fundraisers, those often used in charitable telemarketing campaigns, keep a large portion (in some cases all) of each dollar they collect (read our report about telemarketing for more specifics on the costs affiliated with this form of fundraising). Wise donors never give out their personal information – like credit card accounts, social security numbers – over the phone. If they like what they hear in the pitch, they’ll hang up, investigate the charity on-line and send their contribution directly to the charity, thereby cutting out the middleman and ensuring 100% of their donation reaches the charity. Taking it a step further, donors may want to reconsider supporting a charity that uses an inefficient telemarketing approach and instead identify a charity that does not use telemarketing to raise funds.
Be Careful Of Sound-Alike Names
Uninformed donors are easily confused by charities that have strikingly similar names to others. How many of us could tell the difference between an appeal from the Children’s Charity Fund and the Children’s Defense Fund? Their names sound the same, but their performances are vastly different. Would you be surprised to learn that the Children’s Charity Fund is a 0-star charity while the Children’s Defense Fund is a 3-star charity? Informed donors take the time to uncover the difference.
Confirm 501(c) (3) Status
Wise donors don’t drop money into canisters at the checkout counter or hand over cash to solicitors outside the supermarket. Situations like these are irresistible to scam artists who wish to take advantage of your goodwill. Smart givers only support groups granted tax-exempt status under section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All of the charities evaluated by Charity Navigator meet this basic requirement.
Check The Charity’s Commitment To Accountability & Transparency
In 2011, Charity Navigator added an Accountability & Transparency dimension to its rating system. It tracks metrics such as whether the charity used an objective process to determine their CEO’s salary, whether it has an effective governance structure, and whether it has a whistleblower policy. This data is critical because charities that follow good governance and transparency practices are less likely to engage in unethical or irresponsible activities. So, the risk that such charities would misuse donations is lower than for charities that don’t adopt such practices.
Obtain Copies Of Its Financial Records
Savvy donors know that the financial health of a charity is a strong indicator of the charity’s programmatic performance. They know that in most cause areas, the most efficient charities spend 75% or more of their budget on their programs and services and less than 25% on fundraising and administrative fees. However, they also understand that mid-to-large sized charities do require a strong infrastructure therefore a claim of zero fundraising and/or administrative fees is unlikely at best. They understand that a charity’s ability to sustain its programs over time is just as important as its short-term day-to-day spending practices. Therefore, savvy donors also seek out charities that are able to grow their revenue at least at the rate of inflation, that continue to invest in their programs and that have some money saved for a rainy day. All of this analysis is provided on Charity Navigator’s website for free, but when considering groups not found here, savvy donors ask the charity for copies of its three most recent Forms 990. Not only can the donor examine the charity’s finances, but the charity’s willingness to send the documents is a good way to assess its commitment to transparency.
Review Executive Compensation
Sophisticated donors realize that charities need to pay their top leaders a competitive salary in order to attract and retain the kind of talent needed to run a multi-million dollar organization and produce results. But they also don’t just take the CEO’s compensation at face value; they benchmark it against similar-sized organizations engaged in similar work and located in the same region of the country. To help you make your own decision, Charity Navigator’s analysis reveals that the average CEO’s compensation of the charities we evaluate is almost $150,000. In general, salaries tend to be higher in the northeast and at arts and education charities. Sophisticated donors also put the CEO’s salary into context by examining the overall performance of the organization. They know it is better to contribute to a charity with a well-paid CEO that is meeting its goals than to support a charity with an underpaid CEO that fails to deliver on its promises. (Check out our CEO Compensation Study for more benchmarking data.)
Start A Dialogue To Investigate Its Programmatic Results
Although it takes some effort on their part to assess a charity’s programmatic impact, donors who are committed to advancing real change believe that it is worth their time. Before they make a contribution, they talk with the charity to learn about its accomplishments, goals and challenges. These donors are prepared to walk away from any charity that is unable or unwilling to participate in this type of conversation.
Concentrate Your Giving
When it comes to financial investments, diversification is the key to reducing risk. The opposite is true for philanthropic investments. If you’ve really taken the time to identify a well-run charity that is engaged in a cause that you are passionate about, you should then feel confident in giving it a donation. Spreading your money among multiple organizations not only results in your mail box filling up with more appeals, it also diminishes the possibility of any of those groups bringing about substantive change as each charity is wasting a percentage of your gift on processing expenses for that gift.
Share Your Intentions And Make A Long-Term Commitment
Smart donors support their favorite charities for the long haul. They see themselves as a partner in the charity’s efforts to bring about change. They know that only with long-term, committed supporters can a charity be successful. And they don’t hesitate to tell the charity of their giving plans so that the organization knows it can rely on the donor and the charity doesn’t have to waste resources and harass the donor by sending numerous solicitations.
Portland, December 6th. Organizers for The B.U.L.L. Session celebrated big success this holiday season. The B.U.L.L. Session hosts one of Oregon’s largest auction and golfing events to help needy kids. Pictured are, Frank Wall, BULL Secretary-Treasurer; Homer Rathbun, Providence Child Center; Bill Schonely & Tim Gauthier, BULL President. (Photo Credit, Chris West, Pac/West Communications)
BULL Session charity recipients posed with a check for $4.6 million, the total amount raised over the past 22 years: Tim Gauthier, President BULL Session; Tom Tongue, March of Dimes; Gareth Duggan, Shriners; David Boxberger, Children’s Developmental Health Institute; Bill Schonely; Andrew Over, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital; Margie Hunt, Special Olympics Oregon; Frank Wall, Secretary/Treasurer BULL Session; Jill Foster, Wheel to Walk; Jeff Perala, Gales Creek Foundation; Ken Phillips and Randi Reiten, Randall Children’s Hospital. The B.U.L.L. Session Check Presentation Ceremony was held at Union Bank.
Tim Gauthier & Frank Wall, B.U.L.L. Board of Directors, present the total funds raised of $315,000 from the 2012 BULL Session Invitational Charity Events.
The B.U.L.L. Session is now one of Oregon’s largest charity events. The group is made up of Business, Union, and Labor Leaders collaborating to help needy children. Nonprofit recipients include: Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Randall Childrens Hospital Legacy Emanuel, Gales Creek Camp Foundation, Artz Center for Developmental Health and Audiology, March of Dimes, Providence Child Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children – Portland, Special Olympics Oregon, and Wheel to Walk Foundation.
BULL Session Board of Directors members Clif Davis, Dave Johnston, Tim Gauthier & Jim Moss.
Sandy Gutman, Jill Foster & Kelly Holboke of the Wheel to Walk Foundation.
In 2012 the group’s annual two-day fundraiser began Monday, September 10, 2012, with a dinner and auction gala at the Oregon Convention Center. Day two, was a golf tournament at the Reserve Vineyards Golf Club. The 2012 event raised $315,000.
Portland, November 9th. The 4th Annual Sip, Serve & Celebrate raised $116,000 for the Portland After-School Tennis & Education which helps at-risk students achieve academic and athletic success. Matt Felton got a big thank you hug from a scholar athlete in the ‘Felton Factor’ program while Executive Director Danice Brown looked on. Matt and his wife Jasmine generously funded the $23k annual costs of the program. (Photo credit, Team Photogenic)
PAST&E Scholar Athletes anxiously wait to make their debut and performance for the guests and patrons.
Organizers say, “This year past board member Matt Felton was honored for all his work and contributions to the program by the creation of ‘The Felton Factor’ which focuses on strengthening participants’ fundamental tennis skills, preparing them for competitive play, and encouraging sportsmanship. The program also strives to improve competitiveness against private-club players who generally have greater resources and training opportunities.
Shawn Menashe raises his auction number to support the PAST&E fund-a-need.
PAST&E Volunteer Wendy Nakatani and Board Member Judy Ma congratulate Kana Wakamatsu for placing the winning bid for the US Open Tennis package. Kana and her husband Jason will get to experience US Open 2013 from the Nike box!
Matt and Jasmine Felton arrive to enjoy the festivities of Sip, Serve & Celebrate!
The event was held at Castaway Portland and emcees were Kelley Day and Mike Chase.
About Portland After School Tennis & Education:
“Our program is located in the heart of one of the most socio-economically challenged areas of Portland and is changing the lives of these wonderful students,” says Danice Brown, Executive Director of PAST&E. “Portland After-School Tennis & Education operates almost entirely on the generosity of our volunteers and individual donors and the money raised from this event is paramount in being able to keep our program going.”
Portland After School Tennis & Education (PAST&E) is a nonprofit whose mission is to create partnerships with families, schools, and volunteers to help at-risk K-12 students achieve academic and athletic success. We accomplish this through one-on-one academic tutoring, tennis lessons, a nutrition/fitness curriculum, parent education, and a “Best in Class” development program serving junior players who excel at tennis. Located at North Portland’s St. Johns Racquet Center, PAST&E impacts the lives of more than 1,000 at-risk children and families every year. For more information, visit www.pastande.org.
Portland, December 7th. More than 800 supporters crowded the Left Bank Annex for Levé’s Ninth Annual Charity Ball. The grass-root charity created by young women in Portland selects a nonprofit each year and “I Have a Dream” Oregon was the fortunate recipient for 2012. Levé board, committee and advisory members posed for a photo before the ball. The group is close to reaching its $50,000 fundraising goal. The Levé’s auction alone raised a ground-breaking $12,000 with items like a tasting wine excursion and a wedding package.
Nonprofits Levé has supported in the past include: p:ear, Mercy Corps, YWCA Yolanda House, Friends of the Children—Portland, Schoolhouse Supplies, Growing Gardens, Children’s Cancer Association (CCA) and Loaves & Fishes Centers.
Advisory board members Hilary Colton and Lisa Wynn
Dave Murphy and past board member Vanessa Authier
Board member Courtney Francis Campbell and committee member Ali Murphy check in guests at Levé’s Ninth Annual Charity Ball.
Ashley Thomas-Pate, Tyler Colville, Gretchen Bennett & Craig Francis
Anne Lawrence
Megan Dobson
Denis O’Neill, Karen Sheppard, Bobbi O’Neill, Event Chair Maddie Andrews and Ian Smethurst
Board member Kiernan Doherty, Erin Russo Thompson and Dave Thompson
A group of girlfriends founded Levé out of a desire to actively make a difference in our local community. Portland has been our home for the majority of our lives, providing us with a deep connection and passion for keeping the Pacific Northwest’s most vital resources and programming vibrant and successful. For this reason, and the desire to bring together family, friends and the community for a celebration in support of a local nonprofit, Levé hosted its first Charity Ball in 2004.
After our first event, it became quickly apparent that we are in a unique position to catalyze support from a wider network. We feel fortunate to have enjoyed a supportive community in Portland and the consistent encouragement of family and friends in all of our endeavors. For that reason, we share the sentiment that it is our responsibility to give back to the community that has provided us with so much. As young girls, we watched our parents engage with and support the services of local nonprofits. Our action is modeled on their example.
Levé is a completely volunteer-run organization. Our board is made up of young, professional women who are sharing our time, resources and expertise with causes we value. We believe the work we do for Levé is not only making us better individuals and members of our community, but also better employees and students—mastering skills, building leadership and inspiring creativity.
We deliver a proven combination of core services to students: long-term relationships with caring adults, academic and personal/social support services, and creating a “culture of college” within schools and the students’ families.
Since 1990, ten entire 3rd grade classes have been “adopted” with supportive services to help student
dreamers succeed through college. Our organization has been able to more than double graduation rates for these students and impact the community through reduced discipline problems and juvenile delinquency. Nearly 900 students have benefited from “I Have a Dream” Foundation programs in Oregon through this model.
In 2010, we established the first “Dreamer School” in the nation. This bold new initiative will expand the impact from 300 to 3,000 kids per year, all within this decade. Our first Dreamer School, Alder Elementary, is one of the most poverty-stricken schools in the state and serves as a beacon of light for the community with its programs and services. “I Have a Dream” is partnering with over a dozen other non-profit organizations to transform the lives of every student in this school. Within the next several years, additional Dreamer Schools will be added throughout Oregon.
Portland, December 6th. Lewis & Clark President Barry Glassner and his wife, literary agent Betsy Amster, welcomed guest to their historic home for some holiday cheer. Michelle Dorman, Mark Dorman, Betsy Amster, Barry Glassner, Libby McCaslin, and James Richardson enjoyed the evening together. (Photo credit, Brian Foulkes)
Tuajuanda Jordan, Robert Klonoff
John Bates, Jordan Schnitzer, Barry Glassner
Liz Dahl, Peter Bhatia, Barry Glassner
James Richardson, Carol Timm, Geoff Owen
The halls of Cooley House were elegantly decorated and echoed with cool jazz of the popular Dan Balmer Trio
Dan Balmer, Randy Rollofson
Betsy Amster, Barry Glassner, Jennifer Putney, Chuck Putney
From Lewis & Clark:
A Lewis & Clark education isn’t like anything you could experience anywhere else. We’re a private institution with a public conscience, a residential campus with global reach. Students and faculty throughout all three of Lewis & Clark’s schools—the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education and Counseling, and the Law School—pursue new ways of knowing by combining classic liberal learning with pioneering collaboration.
Our students represent the next generation of global thinkers and leaders, unafraid to discard conventional thinking, civic complacency, and outmoded preconceptions. Yet they value what Lewis & Clark offers: an education built from the time-tested elements of careful study, original research, and spirited debate.
So what makes the experience of our students unique? How about the inspiring beauty of our natural setting, on 137 wooded acres in Portland’s southwest hills. Or our rich history and our diverse, multicultural present. Or our commitment to interdisciplinary academic learning, as well as community engagement here in Portland and around the world.
Add to this our well-stocked libraries, award-winning green buildings, and outstanding athletic facilities; our implementation of technology and the innovative research it allows; and above all our committed and engaged students, teachers, mentors, staff, alumni, donors, and friends. It all adds up to Lewis & Clark, a place where agile minds come to learn, to explore, and to work together.
Portland, December 11th. The Portland Opera’s Broadway Across America is gearing for the national touring company of the Tony Award Winning musical, The Book of Mormon. Its sold-out Portland run is scheduled for January 1st – 6th at the Keller Auditorium. We’re sharing a few production photos (photo credit, Joan Marcus) and some video excepts from the Broadway show when the stars performed at the Tony Awards.
Original Broadway Cast members Rema Webb, Andrew Rannells & Josh Gad
Winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, The Book of Mormon features book, music and lyrics byTrey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are the four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of the animated series, “South Park.” Tony Award-winner Lopez is co-creator of the long-running hit musical comedy, Avenue Q. The musical is choreographed by Tony Award-winnerCasey Nicholaw (Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone) and is directed by Nicholaw and Parker. The Original Broadway Cast Recording for THE BOOK OF MORMON, winner of the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, is available on Ghostlight Records. Contains explicit language.
Here are a few video excerpts from the show as seen on the Tony broadcasts from the past two years.
If you’ve got tickets, enjoy. They went mostly to season subscribers, the hit was an incentive to promote the whole series. The a the few remaining seats were snapped up in just a few minutes.
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]
Zoo works to protect elephants in the wild
