Portland, OR. After a few years’ hiatus, Playworks Pacific Northwest brought back a fan favorite, Footgolf. A combination of golf and soccer, the Footgolf event brought out close to 100 participants and 20 teams battling for the win while raising awareness about the organization’s impact on elementary schools across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.
The event took place at Glendoveer Golf Course on May 22nd. The winning team was a group of employees from The Standard (seen above). Raising a total of $23K, donations will help Playworks continue to create a space on the playground for every kid to feel included and build valuable social skills.
Playworks has supported schools by working to keep kids playing virtually and in hybrid settings while helping to prepare for when they return to full-time in-person instruction.
Playworks creates spaces for every kid to feel included and build valuable social skills by leveraging the power of play.
Footgolf is a family-friendly event to raise awareness of Playworks Pacific Northwest’s impact on elementary schools across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska.
FootGolf (sometimes referred to as, “soccer golf”) is a combination of the popular sports of soccer and golf. The game is played with a regulation #5 soccer ball at a golf course facility on shortened holes with 21-inch diameter cups. The rules largely correspond to the rules of golf. This sport is a relatively new concept (since 2008), and is being played at golf courses throughout the world.
Playworks Pacific Northwest, a leading non-profit organization founded in 1996, leverages the power of play to transform children’s social and emotional health throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho schools through year-round, and on-site support services, creating healthy environments for kids through recess. Through Playworks programs, they reduce bullying and enable social-emotional learning by leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. Creating a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills, Playworks is helping grow healthy and happy youth. Over the 2020/2021 school year, Playworks is providing two school districts-seven total schools, across Oregon and Washington, with direct services, impacting the lives of 3,150 kids daily. Additionally, the non-profit has impacted more than 18,450 kids in the past 8 months through professional development training and digital support services across the region. Plaworks has provided services in 15 school districts across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska and impacts over 21,850 students and more than 960 staff/teachers annually.Â
Portland, OR. Laasya Yenduri, a senior at Sunset High School and president of the nonprofit CyberBORN, has remained positive during COVID-19 by creating a mask initiative and offering virtual classes for young people as seen pictured above.
The organization was originally created as a high school club, but Yenduri found inspiration to take the club to the next level during a trip to India three years ago.
CyberBORN, is a student-led nonprofit, with its primary focus on fulfilling the academic dreams of less fortunate children around the globe. Students strive to improve the lifestyles of hundreds of children by fundraising to provide technology to impoverished children. They’re also raising awareness throughout communities, and opening up digital mentorship classrooms worldwide.
CyberBORN’s worldwide efforts became local, however, after COVID-19 hit back in March. Yenduri shares how online tutoring began. “I realized a lot of students since we had multiple events planned, but were canceled, especially younger students were really bored at home. They didn’t really have anything to do in school since they weren’t there. So that’s why I decided to start an initiative where we start tutoring kids for free.”
In one of the virtual classes, students learn how to make slime.
From these virtual classes, the hand-made mask initiative was born. CyberBORN, had goals to create and distribute 200 masks by April and 1,000 masks by August. Currently, they have donated 1,570 masks that were made from the students in these virtual workshops.
According to Yenduri, the thought process behind the mask initiative was finding a way to pay their respects to healthcare workers, but also realizing that older patients, were at a very high risk of contracting COVID-19. Efforts were focused on providing a platform where they could not only help one population but all sorts of people.
Yenduri explains, “This was actually a perfect way for us to stay connected and stay close to our nonprofit roots while also doing something beneficial for the community.”
Tutoring kids for free has seen a large growth in attendance since it began. The sessions started off being one hour every weekday. Usually, 10-12 students would join in. By the end of August, however, the organization had over 55 students joining every day with a growth of 500% since the initiative started, according to Yenduri.
Over the summer CyberBORN has held about 160 classes that varied in topics ranging from science to art, to graphic design and other general topics.
Members from CyberBORN distribute their first round of masks from the handmade mask initiative.
Looking towards the future, CyberBORN plans on hosting several other events. One of these events will be a virtual fundraising concert where kids can perform their musical talents such as singing, playing the piano, or playing other instruments that they haven’t been able to perform due to COVID-19. This encourages individuals to start practicing again and get back to the groove of whatever talent they possess.
Yenduri speaks about creating free virtual lessons. “This is the one part of my day that I really look forward to doing so it’s really great we’re still continuing our virtual lessons even during the school year but instead of doing like five times a week we’re doing three times a week so it’s good to see all the faces again and to see the students’ progress.”
CyberBORN is always looking for new volunteers and if interested, you can contact the nonprofit through this contact form online. The organization is also looking into opening up other high school chapters as well as always welcoming new students in their free virtual workshops.
From CyberBORN website: To improve education standards for hundreds of children worldwide by raising awareness throughout communities, fundraising to provide means of technology to impoverished children (currently donating to Indian girls), opening up digital mentorship classrooms worldwide, offering feminine hygiene products to low-income families and homeless shelters, and providing a means of removing the stigma around mental health.Â
Portland, OR. “Kids are at home, parents are home-schooling, and we believed we could help,” explains Norman Hunyh, the Associate Conductor of the Oregon Symphony. It was because of the dearth of summer activities for kids that Symphony Storytimewas born. In each episode of the new virtual series, a narrator reads a classic children’s book while members of the Oregon Symphony provide background music and sound effects. Assistant Principal Oboist Karen Wagner and host Amy Haroldson (seen in the photo above) tell the story of a “Top Cat” who doesn’t want to share his house and favorite things. (photo credit, Jacob Wade).Â
A lesson on the featured background instrument makes these 15-minute episodes both entertaining and educational. On June 25,  the first episodes of Symphony Storytime were released. One was called “Mole Music,” and features the Cello. When Mole finally learns to play the violin, his music has an effect more magical than he will ever know. Written by David McPhail. Hosted by Amy Haroldson and featuring Marilyn de Oliveira, assistant principal cello.
Assistant Principal Oboist Karen Wagner and host Amy Haroldson perform for the Oregon Symphony’s new children’s program, Symphony Storytime (Jacob Wade).
Hunyh provided the artistic vision for Symphony Storytime by setting educational objectives and establishing the flow of each piece, among other responsibilities. Hunyh described this project as “new and exciting territory”.Â
Assistant Principal Cellist Marilyn de Oliveira (Jacob Wade)
Each story was chosen because it meant something special to the musicians. Â
“I really like [Mole Music] because it talks about how music changes Mole’s life, and it also shows us how music can change the world around us,” says cellist Marilyn de Oliveira in the first episode.Â
Guitarist and vocalist Edna Vazquez and percussionist and host Sergio Carreno maintain social distance on set. Hunyh’s top priority was the health and safety of musicians and staff. (Jacob Wade)
Many participants in the project are native Spanish speakers, such as guitarist and vocalist Edna Vázquez who performs in the Symphony Storytime episode “Necesito un Abrazo”, which helped inspire the creation of unique Spanish episodes. The Spanish episodes are not translations of the English episodes, rather their own stories, intended to support and engage the Latinx community.Â
Symphony Storytime’s first release included “Mole Music”, “Top Cat”, and “Goodnight Bob” in English featuring cello, oboe, and percussion, respectively. “Necesito un Abrazo” and “Ve, Perro. ¡Ve!” were released in Spanish, featuring guitar and violin. More episodes will be released on July 2 and July 9.Â
The power of music to unite and inspire is boundless. Music lifts us higher on our most joyful days, and draws us together in challenging times. As soon as it’s safe, we’ll be back – performing for you in our concert hall and reaching out to children and adults across our region.
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