Sunday, March 1, 2015

Pass it On

Scholarships available for kindergarten readiness program at Friendly House this summer. New, engaging themes each week, lots of outside play and focus on the social and academic skills needed to start kindergarten. The preschool summer program for 5-year-olds entering kindergarten in fall 2015 is Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon, June 22 – July 31.  Children who qualify for scholarships must attend all six weeks of the program.  For more information and for registration and scholarship forms, go here. Friendly House is located at 1737 NW 26th Ave. Inquiries? Contact ilombardozzi@friendlyhouseinc.org.

Ethos 2015 Gala is April 9th. For tickets or more information go here.

Oregon Mentors introduces the Youth Work Methods Training Series. These 10 trainings build skills for people who work directly with youth in out-of-school-time programs. The trainings cover a wide variety of information and are designed to help nonprofits have exceptional programs. Learn more about the series at this link. Each training costs $60 per person and registration is required in advance. Oregon Mentors is committed to bringing the trainings to the rest of the state and will share dates as more trainings are scheduled.

The 10th Anniversary of “Power of the Purse” benefiting Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest is Friday, March 6th at the Portland Hilton.  There will be a boutique, silent auction, dinner and live auction. For more information and to purchase tickets visit here.  

Supporters of Portland OIC and Rosemary Anderson High School have created a GoFundMe homepage, with all proceeds going toward raising money to help put on a 2015 school prom. Tentative date is May 29th at Montgomery Park. A lack of financial resources caused the school to cancel last year’s prom and school staff hope to rally the community to make a difference this year. The site to donate is here, or for more info email BBrandts@portlandoic.org 

Sycamore Lane Therapeutic Riding Center is a non-profit organization located in Oregon City providing therapeutic horseback riding and recreation to the children and adults of the Portland metro area. Sycamore Lane changes the lives of individuals with mental and physical disabilities through the use of horses. From Feb. 1 through March 31 Sycamore Lane is having a  Drive To Ride fundraiser and would love help from the community. Go online to www.sycamorelane.org. for more info or to volunteer call503-593-7084.

The eighth annual SW HOPE: Feed the Hungry community food and fund-raising drive runs through March 29. The goal of the six-week drive is to collect 175,000 pounds of food or the cash equivalent to benefit the Neighborhood House Emergency Food Box Program. Each $1 donation is equivalent to almost four pounds of food. There will also be non-perishable food collection barrels available at participating sites across the SW Portland. Cash and food donations can be made at any of the churches displaying a SW HOPE banner or at the Neighborhood House office at 7780 SW Capitol Hwy. Participating local businesses will also have food donation boxes or coin canisters available for collections. 

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:

A recent Oregonian story reporting Portland with the third-highest food stamp rate among large metro areas illustrates why PCL’s hunger relief programs are so important. Read it here.

Resources for you and your staff: 211  

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that 211 info offers more than just basic information and referral. The organization also has specialists who focus primarily on specific programs, such as early childhood and family resources, maternal and children’s health, reproductive and sexual health, food and nutrition and military and veterans.

These specialists can offer an extra level of support and guidance in their respective areas of expertise, offering solutions that maybe you didn’t think of when trying to navigate the community resources landscape on your own. Contacts are:

Early Childhood & Family Resources
* Dial 211, ext. 5
* Text the word children to 898211
* Email children@211info.org

Maternal & Children’s Health or Reproductive & Sexual Health
* Dial 211, ext. 6
* Text the word health to 898211
* Email health@211info.org
 

Food & Nutrition/Military & Veterans
* Dial 211
* Text your zip code to 898211
* Email help@211info.org

 PCL Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention Programs Making a Difference: 
 –Catholic Charities    

Maria is a young single mother who enrolled in Catholic Charities’ Parent-Child Involvement Project. At the age of 12 she had been sold by her father to human traffickers in northern Guatemala and over several years was brought further and further north by the people who “owned” her.

At the age of 20, she had 4 children under the age of 5, was illiterate, unemployed and living with her abusers. She was finally able to flee from the abuse and make contact with human trafficking advocates who connected her to the Catholic Charities program.

Through assistance and support from her case manager and her therapist, this young woman has obtained her T Visa, has become literate, has learned extensive parenting skills, has secured long-term subsidized housing, has enrolled her oldest children in age appropriate education and has started the long road to recovery from trauma and abuse. 

PCL Allocation Committee meeting news

The Allocation Committee will next meet from 3 – 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 31st in City Hall Council Chambers. Agendas will be posted on the PCL website prior to the meeting and emailed to the PCL database as well.

In other news, two reports are now available: an audit of PCL completed by the City of Portland Auditor’s Office here and the PCL 2013-14 annual services and outcomes data report here.

“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.

 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

marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov   

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 503-823-2947 or e-mailmarygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
See our website at www.portlandchildrenslevy.org