Trina Brodsky, last year’s liaison to Impact Partner North by Northeast Community Health Center, welcomes anyone who might want to join in on the joyful experience of their annual Community Supper! Taking place on April 3, this event is more than just a fundraiser; it’s an opportunity to gather community, hear from patients, and learn about the center’s visions for the future. Find more information on the event website.
ELSO
Are you connected to youth who have an interest in design? Share information about ELSO’s online spring cohort, Studio Justice. Registration has just opened. The program is a paid opportunity, offering after-school programs and outreach events for learners ages 14-20 to learn about design as a tool that enables leadership and agency for youth. ELSO has more information on their website. Please share the application with potential participants. Registration closes Wednesday, April 2!
Working Theory Farm
Henney, development director of Working Theory Farm, took liaisons Holly Van-Edmonds and Barbara Long for a great tour of the farm, along with his dog Bagel. It may be late winter, but there is a lot of work going on, including winter crops, pruning, seed propagation, and prep for the summer’s garden. They learned more about the youth development /mentoring that is central to the farm’s mission, food distribution, and important community partnerships (such as Centro Cultural, another Impact Partner). Working Theory Farm has partnered with Harkins House since 2019 to welcome adjudicated youth to the farm once a week and provide paid internships throughout the summer. Henney considers this a different model of workforce development.
Support opportunity: Sign up for a CSA share at https://workingtheoryfarm.org.
Tickets on sale for April Fundraiser
Path Home is one of few family-oriented shelters in Multnomah County. They invite Girlfriends to their Family Reunion fundraiser on April 3rd. Families are among the fastest growing groups experiencing homelessness in Oregon, shares Path Home’s executive director, Brandi Tuck, in a recent KPTV news article.
ELSO camp registration is open
ELSO is dedicated to closing the STEAMED achievement gap while fostering a sense of belonging for Black and Brown communities in both natural and built environments. Their Wayfinders' four-day Spring Break Camp (March 25-28) engages youth (K-8th grade) in exploring the scientific method through hands-on experiments in apparel design science, environmental studies, and life sciences. Registration is open. Check out their program director, Jamie Newsome, describing the program.
Sign up for Working Theory Farm’s CSA!
Are you looking to eat with the seasons in 2025? Do you live on the west side of Portland? Consider signing up for 2024 Impact Partner Working Theory Farm's CSA! By purchasing a CSA (community-supported agriculture) share, members commit to a weekly share of the farm's bounty between June and October. They offer a buffet-style selection of seasonal produce every Thursday afternoon onsite in Hillsboro. Their payment model is based on household size: $25 for a single person, plus $10 per additional household member over 12. They also accept SNAP benefits for shares at a reduced-rate thanks to Double Up Food Bucks. For more details, visit their website.
Path Home featured on OPB and is accepting in-kind donations
Earlier this month, 2024 Impact Partner Path Home was featured in OPB's "At Work With" series, highlighting family housing navigator Yovana Benancio and her vital work connecting homeless families with housing and essential resources. The feature showcases the organization's hands-on approach to addressing homelessness.
Path Home welcomes donations. Visit their in-kind page to learn more about their most-needed items.
FinAbility gets airtime
2024 Impact Partner FinAbility was recently featured on KGW’s Hello Rose City, where Executive Director Stacy Sawin highlighted their programs. Their new Savings Matching Program, launching in 2025, will provide $500 savings matches and financial mentorship to help survivors build economic independence. Check out the segment here!
Listen to heartwarming lullabies this Holiday Season
2024 Impact Partner Path Home has collaborated with the Oregon Symphony for the inspiring Lullaby Project for six years. This initiative, conceived by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, helps parents experiencing housing insecurity create personal lullabies for their children, strengthening bonds and sharing dreams for the future. These lovely songs, crafted with local singer-songwriters and symphony musicians, offer a moving soundtrack for the season. You can find the latest installment on their SoundCloud page!
Impact Partners Make the Give Guide
Nineteen of our Impact Partners are featured in this year’s Give Guide, creating an opportunity for many of them to get more donors’ eyes on them and more donations. We share this list with you in the event that you’d like to support them further.
Ecology in Classrooms and Outdoors
North by Northeast Community Health
Liason Report on North by Northeast Community Health Center
Recently, our Impact Partner Liaison Trina Brodsky met up with North by Northeast Community Health Center to catch up on their activities. If you are interested in learning more about being a liaison to an impact partner, please contact Van Pham.
Executive Director Suzy Jeffreys was very welcoming and appreciative of ninety-nine girlfriends’ commitment to the health center and especially grateful for our trust-based philanthropy approach.
North by Northeast Community Health Center is a primary care clinic in Northeast Portland, caring for local, primarily Black residents, although all are welcome. They are looking for a new medical director as their founding medical director has retired. They are also seeking a clinical social worker to help with screening for social determinants of health, providing resources and referrals, and offering integrated behavioral health visits. They have noticed an increased demand for mental health services post-pandemic.
The clinic offers blood pressure monitoring in local barber shops, although the area has fewer barber shops since the pandemic. They are hoping to obtain home blood pressure and glucose monitoring equipment and expand their clinic hours.
The clinic offers additional services, sometimes through a partnership with Metro. For example, “Safe Homes! Healthy Homes!,” 24-hour sharps disposal, paint recycling, mold and hazard cleanup, home fire extinguishers, and monthly fresh produce boxes. They’ve also hosted a backpack with school supplies giveaway, a bike and bike helmet giveaway, and a summer safety program. Together with Portland Parks and Rec, they offer a summer water safety program.
It’s an honor to be a liaison for this wonderful impact partner and to see their wonderful work. I plan to volunteer at their annual fundraiser on April 3, 2025. ~ Trina
Community Energy Project
This year, our 2023 Impact Partner Community Energy Project (CEP) collected detailed demographic data to ensure their services reached Portland's most vulnerable communities. They also launched a strategic plan to support growth and deepen their impact. They released some key highlights from their equity report in their latest newsletter:
56% of their clients are people of color
63% earn at or below 50% of Median Family Income
80% of their staff have experienced being low-income
67% of their board members identify as women
North by Northeast Community Healthcare
On August 22, North by Northeast Community Health Center held their Safe Homes, Healthy Homes: Back to School Edition event, handing out over 70 backpacks to students getting ready to return to school! If you need a little midweek pick me up, check out this fun video from the NxNE staff after their annual fundraiser (very pleased to report this is not their first video inspired by top hits).
Oregon Tradeswomen
Oregon Tradeswomen, 2023 Impact Partner, is seeking sponsors, guests, or volunteers for their annual Blue-Collar Fundraising Gala and Industry Awards,coming up on September 13 at the Melody Event Center. The event will raise funds for the organization’s compelling work and honor exemplary tradespeople. Their Woman on the Rise Award recognizes women in the skilled trades who are rising as leaders in their careers, industry or communities, and the Wanda Hall Legacy Award recognizes a worker who champions others and serves as a role model and mentor s. The gala also features a raffle for two round-trip airfare tickets from Alaska Airlines.
Community Energy Project
Earlier this month, 2023 Impact Partner, Community Energy Project, revealed its new mission statement: “Community Energy Project partners with low-income families on the front lines of climate change to create more resilient, efficient and healthy homes. We transform homes, share skills and community wisdom and advocate for energy justice.” Read more about their vision for a just and sustainable, clean energy future in their newsletter, linked above.
Friends of Noise
Friends of Noise (FoN) is thrilled to once again partner with the Waterfront Blues Festival, which will be held Thursday, July 4 through Sunday, July 7.
Through our partnership, FoN is able to connect its teen sound engineers with opportunities to shadow backstage. Musicians from the FoN community will perform onstage as well! This year they are proud to present the following bands at the Crossroads Stage:
Red Strings: Thurs, 7/4 at 5:00
Blvk Harmony: Thurs, 7/4 at 5:30
Earl Gracious: Sat, 7/6 at 1:00
Jack 10: Sat, 7/6 at 1:30
They will also have an info table all four days, so be sure to stop by and say hello!
Trash for Peace
Trash for Peace
KOIN6 recently profiled the work of Ground Score Association, a peer-led initiative of 2021 Impact Partner Trash for Peace. In an article and video segment, their impact in providing stability and meaningful work to community members experiencing homelessness was highlighted.
Friends of Noise
Friends of Noise
2023 Impact Partner Friends of Noise provides fun, engaging professional development opportunities for local youth and young adults in the arts and creative sectors. On Saturday, June 15, FoN will host their Find Your Future Fest – a one-day career fair and live concert aimed at participants ages 16-25. Taking place at Parkrose Middle School, this free event gathers more than 15 exhibitors from local employers, entrepreneurs, educational resources, community organizations, and life coaches to help youth discover career possibilities! Know a young person who might like to participate? Pass this opportunity along and make sure they register for their free spot!
KSMoCA
KSMoCA
You are invited to hear Intisar Abioto, 2022 Impact Partner KSMoCA’s Spring 2024 artist in residence, speak. The lecture takes place on Thursday, June 6 from 10:00-11:30 AM at KSMoCA (at King Elementary, 4906 NE 6th Ave).
Intisar Abioto is an artist and explorer working across photography, dance, and writing. As a storyteller, her works capture the many narratives of peoples of African descent across various geographic regions. She is also the curator of the monumental exhibition, Black Artists of Oregon, recently shown at the Portland Museum of Art. For her KSMoCA exhibition, Abioto will showcase a photography series that focuses on Black and Indigenous stewards of the land across various landscapes—family farms, gardens, and other rural domains.
If you would like to register for one of our 15 spots, email Van, Impact Team Co-Lead, by Sunday, June 2 – please provide your full name for the guest list, and we’ll respond with more details!
Liaison Report on WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center
Elizabeth Fraser, liaison to 2022 Impact Partner WomenFirst Transition & Referral Center, recently shared some exciting updates from the organization. WomenFirst has significantly enhanced its housing preparation classes within its life skills training program. This has resulted in a notable increase in participants becoming dependable tenants. This improvement is substantiated by positive feedback from landlords. Building on this success, WomenFirst has expanded its support infrastructure by securing a new residential facility in Southeast Portland. This facility will accommodate women for up to a year, supporting them as they engage in employment and continue with life skills management classes. Read more here
In addition, WomenFirst recently organized a leadership skills class led by former Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty. This initiative is designed to equip women to effectively advocate before county and state government officials. Encouraged by the success of this program, plans are already in place to offer it again.
Further boosting their efforts, WomenFirst is the recipient of a three-year, $210,000 Dream Big Grant from the Women’s Foundation of Oregon! This grant will enable the expansion and enhancement of their programs, ensuring continued support and empowerment for women in the community. The organization is growing and recruiting as well – seeking a broad range of roles including a housing retention specialist, financial manager. See their job listings here and spread the word!