Portland, OR. Music lovers at the Waterfront Blues Festival have donated more than 10 million dollars over the past 30 years. Since 1987, Oregon Food Bank has brought in headliners like Chris Isaak to raise funds and awareness to fight hunger in Oregon and Clark County, Washington. This year the Waterfront Blues Festival runs for five days, on four stages, and features more than 150 eclectic performances.
This is the Oregon Food Bank’s largest annual fundraising event, it is the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi, and the second-largest blues festival in the nation.
Susannah Morgan, Oregon Food Bank CEO, thanks the crowd for feeding the human spirit for 30 years.
Fantastic Negrito
Ty Curtis
LoveBomb Go-Go
Elvin Bishop
Festival Director Clay Fuller and Artistic Director Peter Dammann have been feeding the Human Spirit for 30 years.
Headliners include: Big Head Todd Blues Club, Chris Isaak, Joss Stone, Galactic, Elvin Bishop, Fantastic Negrito, Canned Heat, JD McPherson, Bokante, Pine Leaf Boys, MarchFourth, Pimps of Joytime, Booker T Stax Revue, Cedric Burnside Project, and Sonny Landreth
Additional acts include: Chubby Carrier, Southern Avenue, Greyhounds, The Revelers, Blynd, Jontavious Willis, Brother Yusef, Dirty Bourbon River Show, Donna Angelle, Dustbowl Revival, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Eric Gales, The Suffers, Chris Cain, Monkey Junk, Sons of the Soul Revivers
Our mission: To eliminate hunger and its root causes … because no one should be hungry. Since 1982, Oregon Food Bank has been leading the fight against hunger in Oregon and southwest Washington by collecting and distributing food through a network of four OFB branches and 16 independent regional food banks. The OFB Network helps nearly one in five households fend off hunger. OFB also leads statewide efforts to increase resources for hungry families and to eliminate the root causes of hunger through advocacy, nutrition education, garden education and helping communities strengthen local food systems.
Did you know …
For the first time ever, the Oregon Food Bank Network distributed more than 1 million food boxes to families in need – a 12% increase over last year.
Growing levels of long-term unemployment are forcing more and more people to fall into poverty and to seek emergency food.
33% of those receiving emergency food are children.
Children who are hungry get sick more often and have more trouble learning in school.
Cannon Beach, OR. SOLVE is organizing beach clean-ups over the holiday weekend. In past years, volunteers collected 850 pounds of debris after the 4th of July. Oregon Parks and Recreation has established 32 drop-offs locations for debris collected on the beach. Debris dropped off at the collection locations must be in official SOLVE bags, which can be picked up at any state park or transfer station in an Oregon coastal county. Here’s a list where you can help out.
Visitors flock to the tide-pools near Haystack Rock during low tide.
Fish, birds, and other aquatic life can mistake small bits of trash for food. This trash travels through the digestive system often resulting in malnutrition, entanglement, and strangulation.
Due to the increased use of plastic and other synthetic materials, marine debris is causing increasing damage to ocean ecosystems and wildlife. Scientists estimate that more than 5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean is covered with trash, and most of it is believed to be made up of plastic remnants from the world’s shorelines.
SOLVE helps keep Oregon Beaches beautiful.
SOLVE is working with the Oregon Tsunami Debris Task Force which includes representatives of State Police, Parks, Environmental Quality, Fish and Wildlife, Public Health, Transportation and the Marine Board, as well as local and tribal governments, state legislators, community organizations, and federal agencies.
For more information on how to handle beach debris, here’s a website:
SOLVE is a non-profit organization that brings together proud Oregonians (native and newly-transplanted) to improve the environment and to build a legacy of stewardship. By making connections between individuals, business groups, and service and conservation groups through volunteering and education, we are building a stronger tomorrow for this place we all love. This place that, let’s face it, is pretty much the biggest reason why we came (or stayed) here in the first place. We’ll take care of it, together.
The organization originally called S.O.L.V. (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism) was created by Governor Tom McCall and other community leaders in 1969 to address the need for community action in the ever-growing state. Today SOLVE is building on their vision with a strategic plan that will guide us as we work to improve the environment of Oregon and build a legacy of stewardship.
In response to what is becoming an unprecedented amount of marine debris in Oregon, SOLVE has taken a leading role with partners Surfrider Foundation, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, Oregon Sea Grant and Washed Ashore, in forming a plan for a coordinated response. Our group, collectively operating as the Oregon Marine Debris Team, is working in an effort to engage volunteers in cooperation with local, state and federal agencies in marine debris removal projects. A network of 32 drop-off sites on the Oregon coast are now ready to receive beach debris washing ashore from the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. The drop-off sites are free and are a combination of state parks and independent recycling and transfer stations located in every county. Visitors and residents can call 211 (or 1-800-SAFENET) to report tsunami debris they see on the beach. The drop-off sites will accept debris in official beach cleanup bags produced by SOLVE. Beach cleanup bags are available at state park campgrounds.There will also be an increased number of beach cleanups scheduled on the Oregon Coast. Join the Marine Debris Team volunteer list if you are interested in helping with this effort.
Pickup trash along the beach the next time you visit the beach. Bags are available at every state park and transfer station along the Oregon coast. Full bags can be left at beach debris drop-off points.
Organize a beach cleanup with SOLVE through the Project Oregon program.
Sign up to volunteer for ongoing beach cleanup efforts.
Portland, March 12th, 2016. The Bank of America Charitable Foundation announced Willamette West Habitat for Humanity as its newest Neighborhood Builder recipient. The award combines $200,000 in flexible funding with leadership training for high-performing nonprofits and their executives.
Willamette West Habitat will use this new investment to launch its Critical Home Repair (CHR) program which offers home improvements for a low cost. The program will help preserve and ensure safe, decent, and affordable housing in our community.
“For more than 15 years, Bank of America has been both a philanthropic and volunteer partner with Willamette West Habitat for Humanity. We first came to partner with them when we sponsored a house early on. Through that experience, we saw first-hand that access to affordable, stable housing is critical to a family’s financial well-being, and that’s important for our overall community,” said Roger Hinshaw, Bank of America Market President for Oregon and Southwest Washington. “We’re pleased to again be partnering with Willamette West Habitat with this significant six-figure investment, so they can continue carrying out their important work throughout Washington County.”
Monique Barton, senior vice president of corporate social responsibility at Bank of America, added: “Over the years that we’ve partnered with Willamette West Habitat for Humanity, our employees have donated thousands of hours helping them build houses and carry out their important mission locally, throughout Washington County. Based on the extreme need we know exists, we’re pleased to now be directing our support to their Critical Home Repair program, a very worthy cause that has the potential to make a real difference.”
Since its inception in 1988, Willamette West Habitat for Humanity has served more than 100 local families. To complement its traditional homebuilding programs, Habitat launched its Critical Home Repair program in Washington County, including Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard and Tualatin, and in parts of Clackamas County including Lake Oswego, West Linn and Wilsonville. Critical Home Repair helps individuals and families address critical needs in their homes by focusing on safety, accessibility and meeting municipal codes. By offering this program to several homes in a given community, it helps elevate an entire neighborhood in terms of revitalization efforts.
“We’re excited our new Critical Home Repair program will give people the opportunity to address longstanding repairs that were otherwise unattainable so they can safely live in their homes for a long time to come,” said Mark Forker, executive director of Willamette West Habitat for Humanity. “We’re very appreciative to have partners like Bank of America that share our vision and help provide the momentum to accomplish our goals for our Critical Home Repair program and engage more of our volunteers.”
A common misconception associated with the Habitat for Humanity organization is that the nonprofit simply gives houses away, when in fact homebuyers make modest, no-interest loan payments to Habitat and pay property taxes like any other homeowner. In 2015 alone, Willamette West Habitat families paid over $193,000 in property taxes and for every eight homes built in Washington County, over $1 million is added to the annual property tax base. Homeowners or “partners” as they are referred to by Habitat, work alongside volunteers to build their house, and others’ homes, and earn “sweat equity” along with the appreciation of seeing their dreams come to life.
Since 2004, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has invested $183 million to more than 900 nonprofit organizations and provided leadership resources to nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders through Neighborhood Builder and the Neighborhood Builders Leadership Program. This long-term investment in nonprofit leadership development and capacity building is the largest philanthropic investment of its kind in the country. Neighborhood Builders is just one example of the Bank’s broader corporate social responsibility efforts to build vibrant communities and economies. By advancing partnerships with nonprofits addressing needs related to community development, basic human services and workforce development and education, Bank of America is working to increase financial stability and help individuals and families find the pathways out of poverty.
About Willamette West Habitat for Humanity:
Willamette West Habitat for Humanity works to eliminate barriers to a better, healthier, more financially stable life. With our help, Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability and independence they need to build a better future for themselves and their families. To purchase a Habitat home, families must have a steady income, be in need of decent, affordable shelter and be willing to contribute 500 hours of their own labor building Habitat houses. All houses are sold at no profit with an affordable mortgage. Since 1988, Willamette West has served 106 families locally. To learn more, visit www.HabitatWest.org or follow us at www.facebook.com/habitatwest.
About Bank of America:
At Bank of America, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is critical to fulfilling our core purpose of making people’s financial lives better. A commitment to growing our business responsibly is embedded in every aspect of our company, from our policies and practices to our services, products, governance and employee benefits. An important part of that commitment is forming strong partnerships across sectors, including nonprofit organizations serving community needs, bringing our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. We’re proud of our employees’ volunteer efforts, support of diversity and inclusion, and environmental and social responsibility. Across our company, we’re focused on simplifying banking and investing, advancing better money habits and making an impact in communities around the world. Learn more at www.bankofamerica.com/about and follow us on Twitter at @BankofAmerica.
Portland, August 10th. Six large scale mural projects are recently completed or underway in Portland this summer – all recipients of grant funding from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. RACC’s public art mural program, financed by the City of Portland, provides funding for community murals that reflect diversity in style and media and encourages artists from diverse backgrounds and range of experience to apply. In the photo above, Korean-American artist, Una Kim, has been feverishly working on a mural on the east wall of the Keller Auditorium with the assistance of students from Portland State University who enrolled in a class to specifically work on this project. The mural is located on the bottom half of the east facing wall of the Keller Auditorium along SW 2nd Street between SW Clay and SW Columbia. The design is influenced and inspired by such works as Degas’ ballerinas, Mary Cassatt’s At the Opera, and Dufy’s The Yellow Violin. Also included are a modern dancer, two musicians in an orchestra, and a jazz musician along with an acrobat to represent the large scope of the theater. A celebration is scheduled for Friday, August 17th, 6:00 – 8:00 PM (on SW 2nd);
Antwoine Thomas, mural designer, puts finishing touches on the Rosewood Initiative Mural, one of six new murals being created around Portland this summer. The Rosewood Mural will have an opening celebration this Saturday, August 11, 1-4pm at 16150 SE Stark.
Rosewood Initiative – Antwoine Thomas, Artist 16150 SE Stark St (south wall of Union 76 Gas Station); RACC Funding: $3,000
In developing this fantastical design for a mural in the Rosewood Neighborhood, Antwoine Thomas, with the assistance and support of Addie Boswell, began collaborating months ago with local residents through The Rosewood Initiative community meetings and activities like Youth Night to create a design that represents the positive change occurring in the neighborhood. Throughout the energetic mural one can identify recognizable elements from Rosewood including roses, community gardens, diversity, and local businesses. There are also elements that link the neighborhood to the greater Portland metro area, honoring some of the neighborhoods from which many residents have relocated. While the mural contains these true elements, the design is also highly detailed and fantastical, meant to entice the senses and invite the eye to linger and keep discovering.
The People’s History of Hawthorne – Artist, Chris Haberman Fraternal Order of Eagles, SE 50th & Hawthorne; RACC Funding $2,400;
Work continues on this ambitious mural that extends along the north and west walls of the building that serves as the Portland headquarters for the Fraternal Order of Eagles. The mural’s theme, “The History of Hawthorne” – or the “people’s history” — celebrates this SE neighborhood, located between an extinct volcano (Mt. Tabor) and the 100 year old Hawthorne Bridge, both components of his design. Scattered throughout the mural are notable historical figures (such as Dr. Hawthorne), the asylum, pioneers, the street car line and the always changing figures that have been part of Hawthorne for 100 years. It is Haberman’s first mural grant and he is “very proud to have such a piece of art in public view and to have so much support for my crazy looking art in the city.” A celebration was held on July 1st. The west wall will be completed late summer/early fall.
Albina Maintenance Yard Building – Spacecraft Mission to the Arts 3150 N. Mississippi Ave.; RACC Funding: $10,000; 14’H x 177’L
Photo: Courtesy of SpaceCraft Mission to the Arts
Over the last several months, a mural has begun to take shape along the west side of the City’s Albina Yard Maintenance Building. Throughout the design development, community engagement has been the driving force—the Boise Neighborhood Association, community members, and the maintenance workers have all contributed their voices as to how they want themselves and their neighborhood depicted. More than a way to deter graffiti, it is a powerful, collaborative, self-reflective vision of the neighborhood created by those who live in it. The mural embraces a theme of “perpetual collaboration” through time. Community practices and industries that affected the local Portland-Albina neighborhood can be found among the local mountains, bridges, gardens, parks, icons of communities, and city workers behind the scenes that keep the city functioning. Included are symbols of the neighborhoods’ transitions of communities from the Native American, Volga German, Finn, Chinese, and African American communities. You can follow the project on https://www.facebook.com/spacecraft.missiontoarts.
Alberta Street Crossing – Loey Hargrove, Artist 4824 and 4905 NE 42nd Avenue; RACC Funding: $3,000; 11’H x 77’W and 13’H x 50’W
Photo: Courtesy of artist (proposed mural)
Finishing touches are underway on a pair of twin murals at NE 42nd & Alberta. Members of 42MSC began working on the project at the Alberta Court Crossing — one on the north-facing wall of the Morel Ink Building and another on the south-facing wall of Doggy Business. The murals aspire to invoke community through a “Tree of Life’ theme symbolizing process, change, the continuity and connectivity of life. Words submitted by members of the surrounding neighborhoods are being added to the mural and are intended to reinforce the symbiotic relationship between the commercial district and area residents.
Lutz Building – Mike Lawrence, Artist 4625-4639 SE Woodstock Blvd; RACC Funding: $6,000; 15’H x 60’L
Photo: Courtesy of artist (proposed mural)
This proposed mural is situated centrally in the Woodstock Neighborhood and is highly visible from the street. The mural aims to highlight the best of the neighborhood and instill a sense of community pride. Local artist Mike Lawrence designed a mural for the building’s west wall that celebrates commerce, education and the outdoors. The Lutz tavern wall that will host the mural is divided into three sections, as is the mural. A strong central figure grounds each section. Each figure is adorned with symbols of Greek Gods that represent the theme of each section. The project is still fundraising and hopes to begin the project next Spring.
For more information and a copy of the mural program guidelines, visit www.racc.org/public-art.
Story Submitted by Mary Bauer, Communications Associate, Regional Arts & Culture Council
Cannon Beach, July 7th. SOLVE organized an extra beach clean-up this summer to pick up garbage and any debris washing up on Oregon beaches from the 2011 Japanese Tsunami. 109 volunteers collected 850 pounds of debris including a very large Styrofoam cylinder. No hazardous waste was reported. SOLVE is helping clear any tsunami debris found by working with the Oregon Tsunami Debris Task Force. Oregon Parks and Recreation has established 32 drop-offs locations for debris collected on the beach. Debris dropped off at the collection locations must be in official SOLVE bags, which can be picked up at any state park or transfer station in an Oregon coastal county.
Bob Mushen and Carla Moya are SOLVE and City of Cannon Beach volunteers, Jenee Pearce-Mushen is the SOLVE Captain of Cannon Beach volunteers and Director at Pacific Alarm Systems. Charilyn Vantassel is with OBRC
SOLVE volunteers Gary Loveless, Nadine Nordquist and Lisa Habecker
Visitors flock to the tide-pools near Haystack Rock during low tide.
Volunteers Allison and Tess Kehoe, from the National Charity League, Inc., were two of the more than 100 SOLVE volunteers.
Fish, birds, and other aquatic life can mistake small bits of trash for food. This trash travels through the digestive system often resulting in malnutrition, entanglement, and strangulation.
Due to the increased use of plastic and other synthetic materials, marine debris is causing increasing damage to ocean ecosystems and wildlife. Scientists estimate that more than 5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean is covered with trash, and most of it is believed to be made up of plastic remnants from the world’s shorelines.
SOLVE helps keep Oregon Beaches beautiful.
SOLVE is working with the Oregon Tsunami Debris Task Force which includes representatives of State Police, Parks, Environmental Quality, Fish and Wildlife, Public Health, Transportation and the Marine Board, as well as local and tribal governments, state legislators, community organizations, and federal agencies.
For more information on how to handle beach debris, here’s a website:
SOLVE is a non-profit organization that brings together proud Oregonians (native and newly-transplanted) to improve the environment and to build a legacy of stewardship. By making connections between individuals, business groups, and service and conservation groups through volunteering and education, we are building a stronger tomorrow for this place we all love. This place that, let’s face it, is pretty much the biggest reason why we came (or stayed) here in the first place. We’ll take care of it, together.
The organization originally called S.O.L.V. (Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism) was created by Governor Tom McCall and other community leaders in 1969 to address the need for community action in the ever-growing state. Today SOLVE is building on their vision with a strategic plan that will guide us as we work to improve the environment of Oregon and build a legacy of stewardship.
In response to what is becoming an unprecedented amount of marine debris in Oregon, SOLVE has taken a leading role with partners Surfrider Foundation, Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, Oregon Sea Grant and Washed Ashore, in forming a plan for a coordinated response. Our group, collectively operating as the Oregon Marine Debris Team, is working in an effort to engage volunteers in cooperation with local, state and federal agencies in marine debris removal projects. A network of 32 drop-off sites on the Oregon coast are now ready to receive beach debris washing ashore from the tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011. The drop-off sites are free and are a combination of state parks and independent recycling and transfer stations located in every county. Visitors and residents can call 211 (or 1-800-SAFENET) to report tsunami debris they see on the beach. The drop-off sites will accept debris in official beach cleanup bags produced by SOLVE. Beach cleanup bags are available at state park campgrounds.There will also be an increased number of beach cleanups scheduled on the Oregon Coast. Join the Marine Debris Team volunteer list if you are interested in helping with this effort.
Pickup trash along the beach the next time you visit the beach. Bags are available at every state park and transfer station along the Oregon coast. Full bags can be left at beach debris drop-off points.
Organize a beach cleanup with SOLVE through the Project Oregon program.
Sign up to volunteer for ongoing beach cleanup efforts.
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]
