Portland, November 1st, 2013. More than 520 celebrated success at the Central City Concern at the nonprofit’s “Compassion in Action” Benefit. Thriving clients Danielle & Jerry were featured in video shown at the event and pictured with CCC Executive Director Ed Blackburn. (photo credit, Andie Petkus) The event took place at the Portland Art Museum. Central City Concern serves single adults and families in the Portland metro area who are impacted by homelessness, poverty and addictions.
Past staff member Jeanne Rivers with current board member Pauline Anderson.
CCC Board member Ben Berry, CCC Board chair Rob Teach and CCC Executive Director Ed Blackburn.
State treasurer Ted Wheeler talked about his father’s addiction history and the importance of housing and support for lasting health.
Sam Naito, who helped develop Central City Concern in the late 1970s, with Larry Naito, current CCC board member.
Central City Concern was founded in 1979, the agency has developed a comprehensive continuum of affordable housing options integrated with direct social services including healthcare, recovery and employment. CCC currently has a staff of 600+, an annual operating budget of $41 million and serves more than 13,000 individuals annually.
Beaverton, October 17th, 2013.NIKE, Inc. has announced grants totaling $300,000 to 26 local nonprofits and schools through the Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation (NEGF) for its Summer 2013 cycle.
The Nike Employee Grant Fund, which was established in 2010 and is administered in a unique partnership with The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF), supports projects that encourage physical activity in meaningful ways, especially those that create early positive experiences for children through physical education, sports and play. Since its launch, NEGF has provided 170 grants to organizations and schools that contribute to making Oregon and Southwest Washington great places to live and work.
The Summer 2013 award recipients feature a wide variety of organizations in greater Portland, including 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance, a local nonprofit that works to bridge the gap between first and fourth world children by bringing them together on the soccer field, and Northwest Dance Project, to support the dance troupe’s interactive dance education activities with underserved youth.
“From grassroots nonprofits to neighborhood schools, these 26 award recipients are shining examples of groups with innovative programs that improve our community through physical activity opportunities for young people,” said Kathy Webb, Nike Community Impact Manager and administrator of this program.
“We are proud to support these local projects and connect Nike employees with our communities, not only through the grant making process but through their continued volunteerism efforts with these important organizations.”
Nike employees are integrally involved with the Nike Employee Grant Fund grant-making process. With OCF oversight, a Nike employee advisory committee develops grant recommendations. Employees at Nike World Headquarters continue their involvement by volunteering their time and professional experience to help the winning nonprofits achieve their overall objectives.
“We are very excited about our grant from the Nike Employee Grant Fund, which will allow us to expand our programming to help more immigrant and refugee youth participate in organized soccer,” said Mark Verna, President and Founder of 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance. “Opportunity does not come often or easily to these kids, and through soccer, they gain confidence in their skills and increased self worth. With Nike’s generous support, 4 Worlds United will be able to help enhance the lives of more children, and bridge the gap between first and fourth world children by bringing them together on the soccer field.”
Next Funding Cycle Open Now
The next Nike awards cycle is now open, with $250,000 in cash grants being offered to nonprofits and schools in the greater Portland area (Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia counties in Oregon and Clark County in southwest Washington). Grants are one-year awards totaling between $5,000 and $20,000 each. 80 percent of grant awards support organizations and projects that are creating a world where physical activity, play and sports are highly valued, and 20 percent support organizations and projects that address community challenges through innovative community-based solutions.
Applications are due December 1, 2013, and are available online at www.oregoncf.org/nike.
Summer 2013 Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Awardees
The following 26 organizations received Summer 2013 grants:
Create a safe, inclusive and environmentally friendly outdoor play area for children who reside with their mothers being treated for addictions at the Letty Owings Center.
Expand existing program that equips under served families with the education, skills and tools needed to access and prepare fresh, healthy meals on a limited budget.
Provide soccer and nutrition programming for students in the Expresiones After School Program by utilizing Hacienda CDC’s newly constructed Futsal court.
Provide support for physical activities and healthy lifestyle skills development during the Student Alliance Project’s Winter, Spring and Summer Leadership Camps.
Create an innovative after-school recreation program while teaching youth the essentials of health and wellness based on a culturally specific service delivery model.
Improve school climate & increase the physical/emotional health of Portland area kids in low-income schools through inclusive and positive recesses and intramural sports.
Enhance a recreational trail network at Pleasant Valley School, providing student, family and community access, increasing recreation onsite, while protecting the habitat.
Introduce a new play environment at Whitman School, where all children can be active, imaginative and encourage health and play as a part of their learning environment.
Reduce disproportionate minority student referrals for school discipline and to juvenile justice by disrupting traditional exclusionary discipline practices.
Provide additional Aquine Therapy, which is a proven method of play that builds strength, balance, sensory integration and spatial awareness for youth with developmental disabilities (DD).
Provide bicycle transportation to low-income children and adults in Yamhill County.
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned NIKE subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikeinc.com and follow @Nike.
The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awarded more than $66 million in grants and scholarships in 2012. Information at oregoncf.org.
Portland, April 11th, 2013. The “We are Family” event honored Nancy Anderson, co-founder of Letty Owings Center, and benefited Central City Concern‘s programs for children and families. Nancy Anderson, is pictured with Central City Concern Executive Director Ed Blackburn and Holly Redeau, CCC Program Manager of Family Housing. We are Family 2013 – A Tribute to Nancy Anderson raised over $52,000 for the Letty Owings Center and Family Housing at Central City Concern. The Letty Owings Center was created in 1989 and provides residential drug treatment facility for pregnant or parenting women. (It became a Central City Concern program in 1997.) Central City Concern provides housing, healthcare, employment and peer support to upwards of 13,000 people yearly.
Leah Hall, graduate of Letty Owings Center, addresses a crowd of 200+
Robert Church, a resident of Letty Owings Center many years ago, thanks Nancy Anderson for the impact the program has had on his life.
Carol Graven and Claudia Krueger, Central City Concern staff, sold raffle tickets for chance to win signed Blazer ball and tickets to a game next season. Proceeds from raffle will help children in our housing attend summer HOOPS camp.
CCC Board Chair Dean Gisvold, CCC Founding Board Member, Sally McCracken and current board member Pauline Anderson.
Central City Concern meets its mission through innovative outcome based strategies which support personal and community transformation.
Direct access to housing which supports lifestyle change.
Integrated healthcare services that are highly effective in engaging people who are often alienated from mainstream systems.
The development of peer relationships that nurture and support personal transformation and recovery.
Attainment of income through employment or accessing benefits.
The success of these four elements results in an transformation of world view and self image from a negative to a positive outlook, enabling people to become productive citizens who want to “give something back” to the community.
Central City Concern (CCC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency serving single adults and families in the Portland metro area who are impacted by homelessness, poverty and addictions. Founded in 1979, the agency has developed a comprehensive continuum of affordable housing options integrated with direct social services including healthcare, recovery and employment. CCC currently has a staff of 600+, an annual operating budget of $41 million and serves more than 13,000 individuals annually.
In the early 1970s Portland’s Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood was populated largely by older men living in shabby, crime-ridden single room occupancy (SRO) buildings. The rent was cheap, the drug of choice was alcohol and Portland’s street inebriate problem was one of the worst in the nation. In 1979, in response to this growing problem, the City of Portland and Multnomah County together created the Burnside Consortium (now known as Central City Concern) to administer a National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) Public Inebriate grant.
CCC’s initial work involved alcohol recovery treatment as well as affordable housing management and rehabilitation. Early on, it was clear to CCC leaders that safe housing was of paramount importance to those in recovery and to the neighborhood at large. CCC’s work in rennovating urban, SRO housing became a standard for other nonprofit housing organizations and attracted national attention.
In the 1980s, “recovery” extended to those addicted to crack cocaine and heroin and CCC adapted its programs. Its portfolio of affordable housing units increased and it began offering alcohol and drug free housing to support those in recovery as well as their families. To further support clients’ transformations to full self sufficiency, CCC added employment training and work opportunity program in the early 1990s.
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