Portland, OR. Focus on Youth is a nonprofit combining sustainable gardening and photography with hands-on learning. Homeless and at-risk youth learn leadership, responsibility, gardening, healthy eating, and photography as they “grow their own food” and photograph their achievements at Sunflower Organic Farm. The nonprofit grows and donates produce to local food pantries serving children and families to help alleviate community hunger.
Currently, Focus on Youth is operating a flower stand to raise needed funds. It’s located at 5901 SW Garden Home Road, Portland, OR 97219. The flower stand is open Saturday and Sunday, 8 am to noon. It’s selling small flower bouquets for $10 and large for $20.
By raising money, it is able to purchase essential equipment/supplies for the farm and expand to grow more produce. According to the advocates, “Covid-19 is putting thousands of people in our community at risk for food insecurity and as a result, making them vulnerable to malnutrition and serious illness. Closure of restaurants has reduced food donations to shelters and Food Pantries exactly when the need for food donations has increased.”
You can visit the flower stand any time because it has an ‘honesty box’, so supporters can purchase bouquets when flower stand volunteers aren’t present. Focus on Youth accepts both cash and digital payment for flowers.
The mission of Focus on Youth is to nurture creativity, promote self-esteem, cultivate leadership, foster independence, encourage success, and profoundly transform the lives of homeless and at-risk youth.
Participants take away positive experiences, food, pictures of what they have achieved, and a wealth of knowledge about sustainable gardening.
Volunteers man the flower stand.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, volunteers have spread 114 tons of organic compost and tripled the size of our garden with the help of our volunteers.
Focus on Youth works in partnership with youth shelters and Neighborhood House to put food on the tables of vulnerable community members.
Here’s a flyer with more info on the flower stand:
Below is a video about the program:
From Focus on Youth:
Our greatest need is for volunteers to help in our garden. Sunflower Farm is conveniently located on a one-acre parcel in Southwest Portland. If you would like to lend a hand with harvesting, planting, weeding, or mulching garden pathways please fill out the volunteer form (http://tiny.cc/Foy) or call/text 503-341-6878. We are open seven days a week and provide gloves and tools. No gardening experience is needed, we will teach you how to grow healthy, delicious organic fruit and vegetables.
You can also help by donating on our website using PayPal or through the Givebutter platform, (givebutter.com/foy). Thank you!
Don’t forget to support Focus on Youth this summer! Select Focus on Youth via Amazon Smile to turn a percentage of your purchases into a donation.
Since 2003, Focus on Youth has provided hands-on learning, sustainable gardening, healthy cooking classes, science and photography classes, and mentoring for over 16,000 at-risk and homeless youth. Hunger in Oregon has spiked 18% in the last two years, and one in five homeless youth report going hungry each week. Our program, Seeds of Hope is decreasing food insecurity and improving nutrition for homeless youth by teaching them where food comes from, how to grow food through hands-on activities, and the importance of eating fresh produce.
Our students grew over a ton of organic fruit and vegetables, plus they donated thousands of pounds of produce to low-income seniors through the Neighborhood House food pantry. Seeds of Hope connects youth with nature and the joy of growing their own food while giving them the ability to take on leadership roles within the community by donating food to help low-income seniors and families.
Focus on Youth is fostering community building through our partnerships with nonprofits such as New Avenues for Youth, Outside In, Neighborhood House, Community Legacy Program of Our United Villages, Hands-on Portland, Portland Service Program, and hundreds of community volunteers.
Portland, OR. Neighborhood House’s annual Fête Locale drew nearly 300 supporters to the Multnomah Athletic Center on May 5th. After a year of change at the long-standing social services agency the gala fundraiser called, Fête Locale: Ready, Set, Grow, was a celebration of the agency’s 110-year history of intergenerational work. The evening began with a silent auction and cocktail hour, the room draped in leaf garlands and awash in green. Guests, like Lori Alfonso and Valerie Hunter wore their best garden-party attire, sampled the margaritas and enjoyed the photo booth, then headed downstairs for a sit-down dinner and presentation which raised $171,113.
Marc Czornij, Kristy Duggan, Hannah Nordlie, Matt Duggan
Neighborhood House Executive Director Chris Chiacchierini learns to “floss” with Hayhurst Connect students Elijah and Issa.
Meera Batra and Mari Yerger
Neighborhood House’s new executive director, Chris Chiacchierini, kicked the evening off with a Q&A session with two Hayhurst Connect students, giving the audience an opportunity to get to know him a bit better. Hayhurst Connect is Neighborhood House’s afterschool program at Hayhurst Elementary for low-income and other struggling students. Auctioneer JillMarie Wiles and Emcee Rod Hill then auctioned off a number of fantastic items, before introducing client and honorary guest Takeena Servi.
Neighborhood House’s new executive director, Chris Chiacchierini, kicked the evening off with a Q&A session with two Hayhurst Connect students, giving the audience an opportunity to get to know him a bit better. Hayhurst Connect is Neighborhood House’s afterschool program at Hayhurst Elementary for low-income and other struggling students. Auctioneer JillMarie Wiles and Emcee Rod Hill then auctioned off a number of fantastic items, before introducing client and honorary guest Takeena Servi.
Takeena shared her story while holding her squealing daughter, Nova. Takeena, a veteran, got pregnant after years of trying; struggled through a complicated pregnancy, which left her unable to work; and then gave birth to an extremely premature baby. Nova weighed just 1.5 pounds at birth and spent 109 days in the hospital. Mere days after bringing Nova home, Takeena’s husband left. Takeena explained that Neighborhood House provided her with a home and resources as she and Nova rebuilt their lives; today, mother and daughter are healthy and happy. Following her speech, the special appeal raised a record-breaking $81,500 from attendees. Challenge grants were provided by the Helen and Richard Phillips Charitable Fund, Wells Fargo, and the Neighborhood House Board of Directors.
After auctioning off a few more items, Rod and JillMarie bid the guests goodnight and encouraged them to enjoy the dessert buffet and live piano music. The event grossed $171, 113, surpassing Neighborhood House’s $170,000 goal. All proceeds from the evening will benefit the agency’s programs, which provide comprehensive services for vulnerable Portlanders, including recent immigrants and refugees, low-income families, and local seniors. Through a variety of programs, clients are given the tools to attain stability and build stronger, more self-determined lives. Sponsors for the evening included Bullard Law, Hillsdale Farmer’s Market, NW Natural, US Bank, and Wyse Kadish.
From Neighborhood House:
With the right support, people can overcome serious challenges. Just ask the thousands of people Neighborhood House assists each year.
Neighborhood House is a leading Portland non-profit social service provider and delivers innovative, life-changing programs for low-income people of all ages. Our programs prepare children for success in school and life, help families move beyond poverty, and support seniors to continue living independently.
Who We Serve
Approximately 18,000 low-income children, families and seniors each year across the greater Portland area. Our clients represent a remarkably diverse mix of ethnicities and cultures, including many recent immigrants from Latin America, Africa, Russia and the Middle East.
Our Team
We currently have more than 150 regular staff and 500 volunteers, who give more than 20,000 hours of service each year.
Our History in the Community
Founded in 1905, Neighborhood House was the city’s first organization established to help the many immigrants who were arriving and settling in South Portland. For over a century, Neighborhood House has been the primary resource for people in need in South/Southwest Portland, its programs evolving to meet the changing needs of the surrounding community. In the last few years, Neighborhood House has grown dramatically, adding new programs and extending our services across the greater Portland area, with a concentration in North Portland. Read more about Neighborhood House’s impressive legacy of service to the community here.
Our Core Values
Neighborhood House is committed to offering innovative and high-quality education, anti-poverty and senior support services. Our core strengths are:
Client-focused services – Every neighbor’s different. We reach people where they are to effectively facilitate change.
Connection – We are connected to our neighbors. When we help people in need, our entire community is strengthened.
Results – Our programs make a measurable difference in the lives of our clients and in the community.
Portland, September 20th, 2013. Neighborhood House held its 7th annual Leadership Circle Dinner to honor top supporters including Pamela Kambur of Home Forward, Mari Yerger of Neighborhood House, and Harriet Cormack, Home Forward Board of Commissioners Chair. They toured the construction site of the new Children’s Center the agency is building in conjunction with Home Forward’s new Stephens Creek Crossing affordable housing site in Southwest Portland. Guests toured the site to view the early construction stages of what will become the Children’s Center and Opportunity Center. (Photo credit, Ann Rogers-Williams) They also had a chance to see a built-out version of both a standard and an ADA-compliant apartment. As one viewer said, “It is so great to see how nice and accessible these apartments will be.”
50 major donors and Neighborhood House staff celebrating together at the Opportunity Center site which will service low-income people.
Donors and Neighborhood House staff celebrating together in the Opportunity Center site.
Executive Director, Rick Nitti welcomes new Head Start Director, Nancy Perin.
After the tour, participants enjoyed a presentation and dinner in the partially-built Opportunity Center, next to the Children’s Center site. Executive Director Rich Nitti launched the event with highlights of the agency’s work in the last year and an update the Children’s Center Capital Campaign, which has raised more than $350,000 to date toward its goal of $900,000.
Mark Holloway, the Executive Director of Social Venture Partners, shared remarks on the importance of supporting early childhood education. Neighborhood House’s new Head Start Manager, Nancy Perin, spoke about how Head Start is addressing the vital educational and social needs of children during their critic first five years of development. The event wrapped up with Head Start parent Natalie Fisher sharing her first hand experiences and successes with her own child’s participation in the program. She explained how she had learned the value “of getting down on the floor with your children” and finding new ways to participate in their learning process.
About Neighborhood House: Across the Community and Across the Life-span Neighborhood House delivers innovative and life-changing programs for low-income people of all ages. Our highly-effective education and social support programs fall into the following core service areas:
Our dedicated staff and volunteers work in schools, community centers and public housing sites, as well as our own facilities, to serve more than 18,000 people each year across the greater Portland area.
Comprehensive Services
Neighborhood House’s wide array of programs provide comprehensive services that effectively meet the needs of our low-income and senior clients, many who struggle with not just one, but multiple challenges. We believe our wrap-around service model is the most efficient and compassionate way to help people in need.
Meeting the Needs of Diverse Communities
Neighborhood House’s clients represent a remarkably diverse mix of ethnicities and cultures. To meet the needs of these diverse communities, Neighborhood House offers culturally specific services for African, Latino, Middle Eastern, and Russian immigrants in various programs and requires cultural competency of all programs and staff. 38% of our program staff are bicultural from cultures served by Neighborhood House; 12% more are bilingual. Neighborhood House staff regularly provide diversity training for other organizations, including Multnomah County, Portland Public Schools and Home Forward (formerly Housing Authority of Portland).
Portland, May 4, 2013.Neighborhood House’s annual dinner-auction attracted nearly 330 supporters to the Multnomah Athletic Club, raising $125,000 to support the agency’s programs for low-income children, families and seniors.The storytelling event, “Hear My Story, Stand in My Shoes”, featured the poignant stories of several Neighborhood House clients, as well as ballet and drumming performances by youth participating in Neighborhood House school-based programs. (photo credit, LeeAnn Gauthier)
We believe that with the right support, people can overcome serious challenges. Just ask the thousands of people Neighborhood House assists each year.
A leading Portland non-profit social service provider, Neighborhood House delivers innovative and life-changing programs for low-income people of all ages. Our programs prepare children for success in school and life, help families move beyond poverty, and support seniors to continue living independently.
Who We Serve
Approximately 18,000 low-income children, families and seniors each year across the greater Portland area. Our clients represent a remarkably diverse mix of ethnicities and cultures, including many recent immigrants from Latin America, Africa, Russia and the Middle East.
Our Team
Currently 96 regular staff and 500 volunteers, who give more than 20,000 hours of service each year.
Our History in the Community
Founded in 1905, Neighborhood House was the city’s first organization established to help the many immigrants who were arriving and settling in South Portland. For over a century, Neighborhood House has been the primary resource for people in need in South/Southwest Portland, its programs evolving to meet the changing needs of the surrounding community. In the last few years, Neighborhood House has grown dramatically, adding new programs and extending our services across the greater Portland area, with a concentration in North Portland. Read more about Neighborhood House’s impressive legacy of service to the community here.
Our Core Values
Neighborhood House is committed to offering innovative and high-quality education, anti-poverty and senior support services. Our core strengths are:
Client-focused services – Every neighbor’s different. We reach people where they are, to effectively facilitate change.
Connection – We are connected to our neighbors. When we help people in need our entire community is strengthened.
Results – Our programs make a measurable difference in the lives of our clients and the community.
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