Portland, April 11th. Supporters of the youth program, Elevate Oregon, gathered at Waverley Country Club to mark a series of important successes. The up-and-coming nonprofit offers a comprehensive program for grades 1-12 in one of the most under-served areas of NE Portland.
Some of the exciting news for the nonprofit includes:
-Bank of America, a founding funder of Elevate Oregon, awarded a gift of $25,000.
-A 100% graduation rate with its first graduating class. All students are moving onto some form of post secondary education.
-An Elevate senior, Bre’Shay was chosen as Rose Festival Princess.
-The M.J. Murdock Trust recently awarded a grant that allowed Elevate to complete its first two pipelines at Parkrose, allowing Elevate to serve 900+ students in its first district.
The nonprofit is located at: 12730 NE Marx St Portland, OR 97230
Here’s more information from Elevate Oregon:
Founded in 2010, Elevate Oregon consistently delivers the tools necessary to change the trajectories of the lives of students served, implementing year round support with full-time staff to youth in need. The organization operates on the premise that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, leveraging a robust partnership with the 30 year proven model of the nationally renowned Colorado UpLift.
Portland, April 12th. The spring tradition of planting of cherry trees originated in 1912 as a gift of friendship from the people of Japan to the people of the United States. Those trees were planted around the Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin, but this week the tradition was carried out in cities around the country. In Portland, Mayor Sam Adams and Consulate-General of Japan in Portland, Takamichi Okabe, planted a tree in the Japanese Garden in front of the garden’s Heavenly Falls.
Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Consulate-General of Japan in Portland, Takamichi Okabe, participate in commemorative cherry tree planting
Tea ceremony celebrating commemorative tree planting
Takamichi Okabe, Consulate-General of Japan in Portland, deliver remarks during the cherry tree planting ceremony at the Portland Japanese Garden as part of the nationwide centennial celebration of the National Cherry Blossom Festival
In Japan, the flowering cherry tree, or “Sakura,” is an exalted flowering plant. The beauty of the cherry blossom is a potent symbol equated with the evanescence of human life and epitomizes the transformation of Japanese culture throughout the ages.
Photographers shooting cherry blossoms along the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C. on April 4, 1922. National Photo Company via Library of Congress
The 5.5 acre Japanese Garden is composed of five distinct garden styles. When we enter a Japanese garden, the desired effect is to realize a sense of peace, harmony, and tranquility and to experience the feeling of being a part of nature. In a deep sense, the Japanese garden is a living reflection of the long history and traditional culture of Japan. Influenced by Shinto, Buddhist, and Taoist philosophies, there is always “something more” in these compositions of stone, water, and plants than meets the eye.
Portland, March 24th. The BodyVox “Director’s Cut” Ball raised $62,000 for the dance company’s creative fund. The benefit was a memorable evening and guests were encouraged to wear vintage Hollywood-style attire. The night included a silent & live auctions, live music by Swing Papillon & a special performance by BodyVox.
Anna Marra, Daniel Kirk and event co-chair Sara McCausland enjoyed the evening.
The event committee included: Michelle Neal – Co-Chair, Sara McCausland, Co-Chair, Kara Bertolucci, Rene Contakos, Anne Egan, James Fossen, Susan Gendein-Marshall, Lisa Redden, Susie Schwalge, MyKim Tran, and Marcie Westreich.
Mary Overgaard and Dave Cook cut a rug at the BodyVox Ball and BodyVox dancers bring a little Bollywood to Hollywood
Supporters also took to the dancefloor
About BodyVox:
The company blends contemporary dance with dance theater, and often makes use of humor and other performance art form such as live music. In addition to their performances, the company has worked extensively with film and multi-media.
The company’s upcoming production is:
The Cutting Room
MAY 3-19, 2012
Building on its fruitful history of working in film, this spring BodyVox will embark on a new approach to its unique brand of dance theater. Utilizing a mash up of cinematic scenes from classic films and cutting edge independent productions, action films will blend with comedy, drama and sci-fi to create an architecture for movement motifs that reinterpret the scenes, adding layers of dramatic context. Including a new film from Mitchell Rose, this original production will journey to an intersection of nostalgia, performance and innovation, where we find movies and memories at the heart of our shared experiences.
Dates:
Thu, May 3 7:30pm Opening Night Club
Fri, May 4 7:30pm
Sat, May 5 7:30pm
Thu, May 10 7:30pm
Fri, May 11 7:30pm
Sat, May 12 2:00pm Family Matinee
Sat, May 12 7:30pm
Thu, May 17 7:30pm
Fri, May 18 7:30pm
Sat, May 19 2:00pm
Sat, May 19 7:30pm
Portland, March 20th. The third annual Bridges to Health Care benefit offered a platform for Project Access NOW (PA NOW) to honor six medical clinics. Emcee Kimberlee Jo Buckingham, Jaileene Eubanks, Mrs. Oregon International 2012, and Linda Nilsen-Solares, executive director of PA NOW thanked guests for supporting the organization. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus) The event drew over 400 people and recognized providers for the volunteer medical care of thousands of low income and uninsured families. The event at the Hilton raised over $43,000.
A light moment came when football favorite, and good sport, Joey Harrington donned a crown and sash to help raise money for the nonprofit.
Trent Green congratulates Honoree Robert Quintos
Honorees included: The Oregon Clinic, Pacific Heart Associates, Urologic Consultants, NW Rheumatology Associates, NW Gastroenterology Clinic, and Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon. These six clinics provided services for 500 distinct referrals for specialty care.
In 2011, more than $12 million in health care was donated to PA NOW clients at no cost to them. More than 3,500 cases were managed by local medical volunteers.
“It was a very difficult process to select our honorees,” said Linda Nilsen-Solares, executive director of PA NOW. “There are nearly 3,000 medical providers working through well over 100 individual clinics that provide critical services to the most vulnerable among us. We have enough worthy clinics to honor for many years to come!” Award winners were recognized for clinic size, number of referrals accepted per provider and exceptional generosity by specialty.
Project Access NOW is supported significantly by a number of health care stakeholders, the United Way of the Columbia Willamette as a strategic partner, philanthropic foundations and generous individual donors.
Sharon Meieran, Joy Conklin and Betsy Boyd-Flynn
Emily Harrington, Kimberlee Jo Buckingham and Joey Harrington
Those health care providers honored included:
The Oregon Clinic–the largest clinic that volunteers with PA NOW, provided care for more than 250 cases in 2011. The Oregon Clinic was also the first multi-specialty clinic to sign up with Project Access NOW. All physicians volunteer.
Pacific Heart Associates is the medium sized clinic honored this year. Every physician at PHA is available to accept one referral per month from PA NOW, resulting in more than 80 cases donated in 2011
Urologic Consultants and NW Rheumatology Associates round out awards based on clinic size with seven and five providers in each of these clinics respectively. Both provided critically needed specialty services to 40 clients in 2011. Urology and Rheumatology are high need specialties among the population served by PA NOW and have relatively few volunteers participating in these specialty areas, we are especially grateful for the generosity of these clinics in areas of scarce resource.
The final award category for exceptional generosity was given to the gastroenterology provider community. Nearly 200 referrals were made to GI specialists in the tri-county area last year—the highest volume of referrals by specialty. More than half of these referrals were accepted by two clinics: NW Gastroenterology Clinic and Gastroenterology Specialists of Oregon.
Each of these clinics has pledged to accept more than 100 cases per year. The Oregon Clinic was also a major provider of these services.
About Project Access NOW:
Project Access NOW is a broad based community initiative that builds access to health care for low-income and uninsured people in the Portland metropolitan area by coordinating a network of volunteer physicians, clinics, hospitals, and other health care providers. By helping people navigate the healthcare system, we can get them the care they need – today.
Project Access NOW (Northwest Oregon & Washington) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization which facilitates collaboration for local Project Access initiatives in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington, including those in Clackamas, Clark, Multnomah, and Washington Counties. Project Access NOW and its participating local initiatives are part of a nationally-proven model of care.
Portland, April 7th. Leaders of the Portland Rose Society, Royal Rosarians and Portland Rose Festival gathered for the annual Rosarian Rose Planting at the Rose Building in Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Living History characters representing the early 1900’s included “Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “Silas Christofferson” who posed with a Rose Festival Court Car from 1938. (Photo Credit, Brenda Moore)
Rose Society President Gretchen Humphrey, Royal Rosarian Prime Minister Rob Hungerford, Portland Rose Festival President Sue Bunday
The Portland Rose Festival hosted an open house in the national historic John Yeon building. Visitors toured the building and looked at memorabilia.
The Rose Festival was the winner of the International Festivals & Events Association Grand Pinnacle Award: 2011 & 2007
Displays of the Rose Festival’s rich historical memorabilia accompanied remembrances of important Centennial milestones, which include: the founding of the Royal Rosarians, the right for women to vote in Oregon, the daring flight by Silas Christofferson off the roof of the Multnomah Hotel to Vancouver, the opening of Terwilliger Parkway, the installation of the first Benson bubblers, the sinking of the Titanic and even the beginning of one of the world’s most popular cookie, the OREO!
Part of Portland’s popular culture for the past 105 years, the Rose Festival has its roots in tradition while its programming is both contemporary and nostalgic. With dozens of events spotlighting the diverse interests and culture of the community, the Rose Festival makes a positive impact on hundreds of thousands of lives annually.
This years Grand Floral Parade is scheduled for Saturday, June 9, 2012.
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