Thursday, February 18, 2016

Pass it on

**The Monday, Feb. 8th PCL Allocation Committee meeting has been canceled. We will be back in touch soon with rescheduling details.

**If you have families with children entering a PPS kindergarten next fall, please provide them the district link here for more information about Connect to Kindergarten events along with details about school choice. Connect to Kindergarten is a great opportunity for families to meet school staff and other new parents, learn about school expectations and resources, and register early for school. PPS hopes every family will register for school by June 1, 2016, although earlier is better. Early registration allows school staff to contact families about open houses, the Early Kindergarten Transition program, home visits and more. 

**PCL is now on Twitter! Follow us here

** Prevent Child Abuse Oregon and the Children’s Trust Fund have launched the 2016 Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign to raise awareness for child abuse prevention/intervention. The goals are to distribute 20,000 pinwheels, help coordinate a Pinwheel Garden in every county and engage 100 partners, organizations and businesses in the Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign. Kits to get started on a Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign come with 100 pinwheels, printed pinwheel campaign guide, a yard sign and 100 prevention handouts. A limited number of free kits are available after which, they can be purchased to host a campaign. The Pinwheels for Prevention webpage can be found here for more information.

**Playworks can help providers working with children integrate safe, healthy and inclusive student play into existing school activities through a series of thorough and interactive workshops that highlight constructive tools and methods. The trainings are designed for before-, after- and out-of-school program staff.  Go here for more info. 

** The last City of Portland’s 2016 Fix-it Fair is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 20th at George Middle School (Spanish language fair). The fair is a free event where people can learn simple ways to save money and connect with community resources. The PCL has several tables at the fair: if your organization is interested in attending to spread the word about your services, please contact marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov

In the News

**Former PCL Allocation Committee member and current Oregon State Rep. Alissa Keny-Guyer is sponsor of a bill that would allow for creation of a permanent taxing district for children. State law now requires local voter approval of a levy, such as the PCL, every five years. Read the Willamette Week story here. 

**IRCO’s Refugee Immigrant Mentoring program, supported by PCL, was featured in the Portland Tribune recently and highlighted the great work the organization is doing reaching out to students in grades seven through 12. The article also noted that RIM is in need of mentors, as there are many children on a wait list. Read the story here.

**Good news for Oregon high school students, as graduation rates are on the upswing, including those in Portland Public Schools. The Oregonian detailed the latest trend in this story here, as well as how Jefferson High School in particular saw a marked graduation improvement rate, with the help of local partners such as SEI. 

**The YWCA offers high-quality and engaging social change trainings. All of the info can be found here.

PCL Programs Making  a Difference: Friends of the Children

Friends of the Children recently celebrated the grand opening of its Rockwood Facility at 424 NE 172nd to serve children living in high-poverty areas in East Multnomah County. The new facility will be a huge benefit to children living in East Portland, where community services are needed to accommodate increasing numbers of families moving there seeking affordable housing. 

The Portland Friends is the founding chapter a nationwide organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring as it selects the highest risk children and commits to working with them from kindergarten through graduation.

PCL supports two Friends programs in areas of mentoring and foster care.