Thursday, January 1, 2015

Happy 2015

The PCL team hopes everyone had a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

Earlier this week, Portland City Commissioner and PCL Allocation Chair Dan Saltzman was sworn in for his fifth council term. The event at Bridge Meadows, a multi-generational community in the Portsmouth neighborhood designed to support foster children and families, brought out many well wishers, including firefighters from Station 8!

Join PCL at the upcoming 2015 Fix-it Fairs

Two City of Portland 2015 Fix-it Fairs are scheduled for the following Saturdays: Jan. 24th at Rosa Parks Elementary and Feb. 21st at David Douglas High School, which will have classes in Spanish. The fairs are a free event where people can learn simple ways to save money and connect with community resources. The PCL has several tables at the fairs: if your organization is interested in attending any or all of the fairs to spread the word about your services, please contactmarygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov

Pass it On

Children’s programs at IRCO benefitted from more than 500 toys donated from the KGW/Les Schwab holiday toy drive. Thank you Portland!
 
 
 
Meals 4 Kids, a PCL-funded program through Meals on Wheels People that delivers meals to children and their caregivers throughout Portland, is looking for volunteer drivers. Interested? Contact lynette.vicens@mealsonwheelspeople.org
 

In the News: New regs could affect cost/access of early childcare

New federal regulations are coming that will impact Oregon childcare providers. Read The Oregonian article here for details. 

Resources for you and your staff: 

*CARES NW Webinars
*ARC looking to partner with other nonprofits
*New Avenues for Youth’s “INK” enterprise  
*YWCA offers training 

CARES NW participates in national webinars on issues of interest to nonprofits. In January, the topics are: Jan. 22nd/Childhood Stress & Adversity: A Pathway to Illness; and Jan. 30th/Child Interviewing Update on Research and Practice. Webinars are available to watch online for up to 90 days after the original air date of any call. All links and info can be found here

The Arc of Multnomah-Clackamas is interested in partnering with organizations in the community to do fund raising clothing and cloth item drives. ARC pays per pound of cloth items collected along with getting the word out about services and advocacy for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Interested? Contact 

jkillen@thearcmult.org

Is your organization looking for quality screen printing at a competitive price for a good cause? New Avenues INK is a social enterprise owned and operated by New Avenues for Youth. Its mission is to be a leader in the the screen printing industry while helping young people become self-sufficient. The program provides job training for homeless and at-risk youth as they assist with every aspect of the business, from hand-printing apparel to marketing to graphic design. So with each order placed, youth are building the skills and experience to achieve their goals. For more info go here

The YWCA of Greater Portland offers a series of workshops that explore how modern day forms of oppression persist, as well as our role in dismantling or perpetuating them. Participants will work with knowledgeable and skilled facilitators to increase their own level of self-awareness and explore how they can operate in the world as part of the solution, rather than the problem. For schedules, go here

PCL Programs Making a Difference: 

Portland OIC/Rosemary Anderson High School

The Rosemary Anderson High School Mentor Program serves high school-aged teens at two alternative locales (North and East Portland). The program at RAHS East is new this year, launching at the end of November. Volunteer mentors are matched with individual mentees, participating in weekly meetings as well as monthly group activities.  

In November, RAHS EAST had its kick-off event, hosting 10 new mentees, 11 mentors (including eight newly trained mentors), 13 family members and several community members. Volunteer mentors include students from Lewis and Clark Law School and Mt. Hood Community College, as well as dedicated community members. RAHS is excited to support these matches as they start off with weekly meetings to get to know each other. 

“Like” us on our new FB page

The Portland Children’s Levy has a new, more dynamic FB page. Click on the link above to “like” it and please pass along to your colleagues, clients and board members as well.

Stay up-to-date on PCL Allocation Committee news 

While no date has been set yet, the Allocation Committee will be meeting in early 2015. Meetings are at City Hall Council Chambers and the public is welcome to attend. Notices are sent to the PCL list serve prior to the meeting and posted on the Levy website at www.portlandchildrenslevy.org   

Check out the PCL 2012-13 Progress Report

Take a look at the PCL 2012-13 Progress Report celebrating 10 years of serving Portland’s children! Click here to view the PDF online. Also, hard copies will be available at all  Allocation Committee meetings or by contacting

Online PCL Org Directory

We have published an online directory of PCL organizations, including program descriptions and contact info, that we hope is useful to your staff and their clients. It’s on the home page of our website in the “Spotlight” section atwww.portlandchildrenslevy.org  

 

Contact PCL Staff for the Following Areas

*Director, After School & Hunger grants: 
lisa.pellegrino@portlandoregon.gov
  
*Assistant Director and Early Childhood & Mentoring grants:
meg.mcelroy@portlandoregon.gov
  
*Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention & Foster Care Grants Manager:
lisa.hansell@portlandoregon.gov
  
*Communications Director:
marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
  
*Fiscal Specialist:
john.kelly@portlandoregon.gov
  

Who We Are

The Portland Children’s Levy was created by city voters in 2002 and overwhelmingly renewed by the electorate in Fall 2008 and Spring 2013. Funding for the new five-year Levy began July 1, 2014 and includes hunger relief as a new focus area.

 
The Levy is supported through a property tax paid by City of Portland homeowners that generates $11 million toward investments in proven programs serving 10,000 Portland children and their families in areas of Early Childhood, After School, Mentoring, Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention, Foster Care and Hunger Relief.
 
The Levy is annually audited and administrative costs do not exceed 5 percent. 
Questions? Contact: Call Mary Gay Broderick at 503-823-2947or e-mail marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
See our website at www.portlandchildrenslevy.org