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.
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. Community Warehouse raised a record $200,687 at its annual gala, “Chair Affair,” which was held on June 26th. The event was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Chair Affair 2020 was “a virtual affair to remember,” according to Community Warehouse Communications Manager Pua Trice, and featured “unique art, exciting auctions, and inspiring stories from people whose houses have been transformed into homes.”
“The event raised a record-setting net of $200,687 that will connect essential furnishings to neighbors in need throughout the region,” Trice said. Dale Johannes and Dunethcka Otero-Serrano, Community Warehouse’s Executive Director hosted the event, as shown in the photo above. “I want to start tonight’s Chair Affair with gratitude,” Otero-Serrano said. “These past few months have been so challenging for all of us, but we have been able to get creative and continue service to our community because of our partners.”
Children’s Chairs created by local artists and sponsored by wonderful supporters of Community Warehouse. These chairs go to children of families that visit the Warehouse in need of furnishings.
“These past few months have certainly been challenging,” Johannes said, “but your team of superheroes—and they are superheroes—they’ve been hard at work adapting to this change and creating some new ways to meet the needs of the community.”
The hosts emphasized how important a table or a bed can be throughout Covid-19’s disruptions to daily life, and that Community Warehouse has continued to serve their clients throughout the pandemic by supplying them with Home2Go essential item kits.
“These are kits that are essential items for every household, designed to give our clients an opportunity to cook their own meals, to have a safe place to sleep, a full set of dishes, and a full set of towels and bedsheets,” said Community Warehouse Program Director Joe Glode in a video.
Stories from various partners, volunteers and clients were spotlighted at the event. Partners like the Tigard-Tualatin School District detailed the impact that essential furnishings have on their students’ capabilities in the classroom, and Youth volunteers highlighted their understanding and proactivity towards Community Warehouse’s mission.
Matthew Mickles, Ben Garcia, and Priscilla Villanueva from the Tigard-Tualatin School District
“Well-being was encapsulated by the Espinoza family,” Trice said, “clients that can enjoy ‘family day’ in a warm and welcoming home.”
The Espinoza Family—Amelia, Alexander, Ailani, Steve, Sandra, and Sandy
According to Glode, at the beginning of the pandemic in March, Community Warehouse had to temporarily lay off most of its staff. “When city and state officials issued a stay at home order, we really were thinking, how do you stay at home if you have nothing at home?” Glode said.
That’s when Community Warehouse decided to start making essential item kits—called Home2Go kits—with items they had readily available in both their Portland and Tualitan warehouses.
Since March, Community Warehouse has been able to bring nearly all of their staff back to work in some capacity, and the organization is continuing to focus on providing their services to the Portland community.
“It means a lot to know that we have the support of everyone in the community to make sure that we can provide furniture in a safe place to live for everyone,” Glode said.
Joe Glode, Program Director at Community Warehouse, preparing a Home2Go Essential Item Kit.
About Community Warehouse:
We’re your friendly local furniture bank, serving the Portland area for over 15 years. How does a furniture bank work? In a nutshell, we collect donated home goods, and work with social service agencies to get those goods in the hands of those who need it most. The stuff you no longer need becomes the solution for a family in need. Pretty simple, huh? At Community Warehouse, it’s the simple stuff – the extra dishes, towels, beds, and more – that changes lives.
Portland, OR. Nearly 370 community members gathered to raise funds for Albertina Kerr during the 24 Hours of Kerr Country themed Gala. The 24 hours including a gala on September 15th, followed by a sold-out golf benefit at Columbia Edgewater Golf Course. David Wilson, Richard Codanti, and Bella Casa helped with a record-breaking fundraiser which brought in more than $500,000 for Kerr’s programs and services that support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and mental health challenges. (Country Gala photos by Andie Petkus, Golf Tournament photos by Dalton Davis)
During Kerr’s Country Gala, guests gave generously to the special appeal to support Kerr’s Behavior Specialists
Kerr Foundation Chair Miki Herman, Former Kerr Board Member Diane Gerard, and Carole Warneke from Pacific West Bank
The golf event included a helicopter ball drop where supporters paid to have a ball with their name on it dropped from a helicopter and the closest to the pin won.
T.J. McConville, from Becker Capital Management, was the winner of the Helicopter Golf Ball Drop. (Oregon Helicopters)
The winners of the 24 Hours of Kerr Golf Tournment, Jeff Gladheim (Left) and Matt Kline (Right) from Swagelok NW celebrate with Kerr CEO, Jeff Carr (center) and will advance to the Mercedes-Benz Amateur National Tournament, all expenses paid.
From Albertina Kerr:
Albertina Kerr empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other social barriers to reach their full potential. They want all people to thrive in a nurturing and inclusive community. Albertina Kerr has served the community for over 110 years by helping over 53% of the youth in IDD group homes in Oregon, operating the only standalone subacute children’s crisis psychiatric facility in Oregon, providing leadership in statewide policy discussions related to disability and mental health care, and more. Over the years, Albertina Kerr has expanded exponentially going from offering young children safe homes and treatment and creating community-based homes, to expanding their programs to fit the needs of children and adults alike. In more recent years, Albertina Kerr is committed to challenging norms about how to care for children and adults with mental health and developmental needs. Albertina Kerr will continue its efforts to provide top-notch programs and services for people to flourish in their day to day lives.
There’s a video about Albertina Kerr:
More about the history of Albertina Kerr:
For more than 100 years, Albertina Kerr has been caring for Oregon’s most vulnerable citizens. Over the decades, our services have evolved to meet the community’s needs. While these needs have changed, the values of our expert caregivers remain constant: compassion, commitment, collaboration, and advocacy. Today, Kerr empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), mental health challenges, and other social barriers to lead self-determined lives and reach their full potential. We provide comprehensive crisis and preventative mental health care for children and teens, as well as a full range of services for children and adults with IDD.
Portland, OR. A special celebration dinner and auction held at the Portland Hilton raised over $757,000 for the Maurice Lucas Foundation. The funds will support the foundation’s after-school programs for under-served students at Harriet Tubman Middle School and six high schools throughout the Portland area. A tradition at the gala is presenting the Maurice Lucas Enforcer Award. The recipient this year was the late Howard Hedinger, a philanthropist and friend of Maurice Lucas. His family members were on hand to accept the award. The award presentation photo included Bobby Gross, Bill Walton, Lionel Hollins, Zach Collins, Huston Hedinger, David Lucas, Barkley Hedinger and Hillary Hedinger. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus)
Foundation Academy students ranging from Sixth Grade through college had a chance to have their photo taken with Executive Director David Lucas and High School Program Manager Karen Barker. (Photo by Naim Hasan)
David Lucas with his daughter, Nahla Lucas; mother Pam Lucas; his nephew, Lucas Tiefenthaler; and his brother, Maurice Lucas II. Photo by Andie Petkus.
The gala included over 600 attendees who participated in activities like a paddle raise, silent auction and live auction to raise record-breaking numbers for the Maurice Lucas Foundation. Maurice Lucas was the leading scorer on the 1977 NBA champion Portland Trail Blazers, and an advocate for young people. Following in his father’s footsteps, David Lucas continues to to be involved with the organization in his father’s memory.
The dinner also included students who have benefited from the foundation’s programs. “Our students are hungry for the future, and they stand on the shoulders of so many of you in the room tonight to be able to pursue their dreams,” said David.
Terry Stotts helps auctioneer Brett Richards raise funds at the Maurice Lucas Foundation gala. Photo by Andie Petkus.
Joe Wiser from title sponsor Whittier Trust tells the gala attendees about his long relationship with the Lucas family. Photo by Andie Petkus.
Following in his father’s footsteps, David Lucas served as the gala’s master of ceremonies. Photo by Andie Petkus.
Our mission: Teaching life lessons through education and sport.
Maurice cared immensely for the Portland community. He sought to empower youth by creating opportunity, especially where little existed. He was devoted to helping kids learn, achieve, and grow through sport, helping them build positive values. The Maurice Lucas Foundation is carrying on Maurice’s work by creating these opportunities for inner-city middle school students by providing a combination of education and activity-based after-school programs. Through positive interactions with program coaches, team members, and community role models, we help youth develop their cognitive, emotional, intellectual and social skills in a fun environment. Our youth programs develop personal and life skills, positive adult and peer relationships, and create a supportive environment of learning, mastery, teamwork, and autonomy.
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