Portland, March 12th, 2015. Serendipity Center hosted it’s annual benefit dinner and auction, Pearls of Hope, at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland. Pearls of Hope master of ceremonies Tony Martinez of Good Day Oregon celebrated with Serendipity Center graduate speaker Mariah Roelfs. (photo credit Julianna Patrick)
Serendipity Center board secretary Jeff Austin with Phanna Pich.
The 230 guests in attendance raised their paddles to generously support Oregon’s oldest and largest therapeutic school. Located in southeast Portland, since 1979 Serendipity Center has served children and young adults with severe cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Board member Wendy Ricketts charied this year’s event, which raised $133,000 to continue supporting Serendipity Center’s mission of providing the best environment for students to heal, learn, and become productive members of their communities.
MC Tony Martinez kept the Pearls of Hope attendees in good spirits throughout the silent and live auction portion of the evening. The event culminated after dinner with a stirring, emotional speech from Serendipity graduate Mariah Rolefs. The powerful speech earned her a well-deserved standing ovation that left many in the audience searching for a tissue and thinking about how they could do more to support the kids.
Portland, March 20th, 2015. The Grand Opening Celebration for PNCA’s Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design at 511 NW Broadway went off without a hitch. It was an opportunity to officially preview the new Center for Art and Design. Through a $34 million transformation of a nearly century-old post office, the College is positioned at the heart of the city’s burgeoning creative corridor. Community leaders say the opening of the center will usher in a new era of art and design education in the Pacific Northwest. The expansion is expected to bring vitality to the North Park Blocks as well as the Old Town and Chinatown neighborhoods. (Photo credit, Mario Gallucci)
Senator Ron Wyden
Governor Kate Brown catches up with Congressman Earl Blumenauer
About PNCA:
Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is a leading West Coast art and design college. Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1909, PNCA has helped shape the region’s visual art and design landscape for more than a century. PNCA students study with award-winning faculty in small classes. In the last seven years, the College has doubled both the student body and full-time faculty, quadrupled its endowment, and added innovative undergraduate and graduate programs. With the opening on the $32 million Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design in 2015, Portland’s North Park Blocks becomes its new campus, which also encompasses its Museum of Contemporary Craft and ArtHouse student housing. This Portland creative corridor will now be home to hundreds of PNCA students, teachers, and staff.
Portland, March 14th, 2015. The nonprofit SnowCap set a record for seats sold for its 13th annual action. 356 guests joined State Rep. Carla Piluso who served as emcee, and auctioneer JillMarie Wiles at the Holiday Inn Portland Airport. Brian and Noah Bean enjoy the revelry with Alisa Karin-Bean, who serves on SnowCap’s board of directors. (Photos: LeeAnn Gauthier)
Victoria Purvine admires a glass bowl made by presenting sponsor Alyson Huntting. Huntting bought an outdoor address base mount donated by Purvine’s company Evergreen Remodeling, Inc.
The dinner and auction raised $119,000 for food, diapers and clothing to help low-income families in east Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale, Parkrose and Wood Village. In 2014, SnowCap distributed nearly 1.2 million pounds of food. Because of community support and the Oregon Food Bank, SnowCap will be able to double the number of visits allowed per family, per year from six to 12.
OnPoint Credit Union was a golden sponsor of SnowCap’s 13th Annual Dinner and Auction. OnPointe staff Rene Wolfe was so excited by the handmade quilts, that she just wanted to kiss someone. Luckily, her husband, Craig Wolfe walked straight into it.
The flames were as high as the auction bidding thanks to SnowCap board vice-chair Jim Mahnke’s mastery of the bananas foster. This dessert dash prize served by Goldie Hohnstein (not shown) at SnowCap’s auction.
Sponsors included: Les Schwab Tire Centers, Boeing, Pacific Power, PGE, Parkrose Community United Church of Christ and Sally Gaudina, with RE/MAX Equity Group. More than 8,000 residents depend on SnowCap for food or clothing each month, and a multigenerational crew of volunteers helps the nonprofit organization run smoothly.
From SnowCap:
SnowCap volunteers make a difference for their neighbors in need. They feed over 8,000 people per month. This involves food drives, picking up and delivering food, sorting food donations, stocking shelves, packing bags. It also means driving trucks, weeding the garden, working on committees and interviewing clients. There is also administrative work to do; data entry, writing newsletter articles, thank you letters and sending reminder postcards.
Thanks to this network of over 1,000 volunteers children go to bed with full tummies, seniors are not forced to choose between heating or eating and families can gather around a dinner table to share their day.
Portland, February 28th, 2015. The theme for the annual Club Cabaret was Denim and Diamonds. Over 300 supporters enjoyed the night at the Portland Art Museum benefiting the Northwest Academy. Fans donated $190,000 to support NWA’s Scholarship Fund by bidding on silent and live auction items. The highlight of the evening featured a spirited show with vintage western music that had guests tapping the toes of their cowboy boots. Produced by theater director Wade Willis, the performance included Northwest Academy dancers, vocalists and musicians. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus)
Jock Nelson, John Ripper, Will Vinton, Mary Vinton Folberg, Trista Nelson
Denim and Diamonds Performance by Northwest Academy students
Event Chair Betsy Meier and Head of School Mary Vinton Folberg
From Northwest Academy:
PROFICIENCY-BASED LEARNING
At Northwest Academy, knowledge, skill, and academic maturity – rather than chronological age – determine a student’s placement. Appropriate placement is critical to the school’s proficiency-based program. Proper placement positively affects a student’s motivation, initiative, and risk-taking, and it also impacts a student’s ability to succeed in subsequent years of study in a subject.
STRONG ACADEMIC AND ARTS PARTNERSHIP
Our arts and academic partnership promotes an environment in both arts and academic classes where a student’s multiple intelligences can flourish. Through their arts experiences, our students acquire skills and strategies–such as attention to detail, self-discipline, self-awareness, and risk-taking–that help them succeed in their academic classes.
SMALL CLASS SIZES AND PASSIONATE FACULTY
Northwest Academy’s commitment to small class sizes and access to faculty help students succeed at high levels. In our classrooms, no student can disappear or remain passive about his or her learning. Combined with an environment that encourages free and open inquiry, our teachers’ passion for their subject areas motivates student interest in learning and creative thinking.
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND CAMPUS
Northwest Academy’s campus is located in downtown Portland’s cultural district, near its public transportation hub. Surrounded by the Portland Art Museum, the Central Library, the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Northwest Film Center, and Portland State University, Northwest Academy students and faculty participate in the cultural and academic offerings near campus.
Portland, March 14th, 2015. “I Have a Dream” Oregon hosted its largest Bowl-a-Thon to date, raising more than $11,000 to support out-of-school and summer programs for Dreamer students from low-income communities. In its 25th anniversary year, 15 teams and 160 guests came out for a night of bowling, pizza, and fun at Interstate Lanes. The fundraiser helps provide more than 1,500 students from low-income communities with a high-income shot at success in school, college and careers. The organization’s Young Leaders Collective (YLC), an associate board of young professionals, played a key role in the event’s success. The top fundraisers were YLC members Zach Putnam, Calvin Bair and Jude Lieberman, who raised nearly $4,000 combined.
Dreamers Thadeus and Lidia, with mom Daphne, bowled strikes at the family-friendly portion of the event.
Team theme contest winners, “Pin and Tonic” and “Bowlin’ with the Homies” show off their winning costume swag.
More than half of the achievement gap between lower and high income youth can be explained by the unequal access to summer learning opportunities.
“I Have a Dream” Oregon expressed its special thanks to the event’s sponsors:
M Realty
Metro Metals NW, Inc.
D Wright Way Foundation
Lawn Chair
Mollet Printing
Timmco Insurance, Inc.
The Rock Wood Fired Pizza & Spirits
The Mississippi Pizza Pub
Sizzle Pie
Hot Lips
Domino’s
BACKGROUND:
ABOUT “I HAVE A DREAM” OREGON
Since 1990, “I Have a Dream” Oregon has helped students in low-income communities with three proven core services: long-term relationships with caring adult mentors; access to wraparound services; and creating a “culture of college and career” within schools and Dreamer families. Their mission is to empower students from low-income communities to thrive in school, college and career. In Oregon, there have been more than 869 student Dreamers served since the first student class was ‘adopted’ in 1990, with more than 1,000 additional Dreamers currently served at the Nation’s first Dreamer School in outer SE Portland.
Portland, March 14th, 2015. There were lots of excited ALS supporters at the nonprofit’s gala. The event drew over 600 people who had the chance to bid on live auction packages such as a trip for two to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. The benefit raised $345,000 to continue the fight against ALS. Patrons also had the exclusive opportunity to hear from Barbara Newhouse, President and CEO of The National ALS Association as well as Nancy Frates, mother to Pete Frates, one of the young men who helped initiate the Ice Bucket Challenge out of Beverly, Massachusetts. At the event Claudia and Molly McClure had fun capturing the auctioneer’s attention.
Executive Director, Lance Christian, shares his gratitude with the Fylan family for their attendance and participation in the evening’s festivities.
Barbara Newhouse, CEO and President of The ALS Association, addressed the crowd with an update on ALS research and the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge influence.
Nancy Frates, mother of Pete Frates, one of the inspirations behind the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, addressed the crowd after accepting the ALS Hope Award.
In just over six months since the Ice Bucket Challenge soaked the nation, The ALS Association has made considerable progress in developing and executing strategies to put the incredible financial support to immediate use in the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Last summer, 15 million people in the U.S. participated in the Ice Bucket Challenge—or roughly five percent of the population—and donated over $115 million to The ALS Association. Since that time, The Association has laid out a strategy to triple the amount it spends on research every year.
“Ice Bucket Challenge donations have enabled us to reinforce and reenergize our efforts to find treatments for this disease,” said Barbara J. Newhouse, President and CEO of The ALS Association. “We are so profoundly grateful and are committed to making the biggest impact in the fight against ALS.”
Right here in Oregon and SW Washington, the local chapter of The ALS Association has enhanced its Care Services programs by increasing participation in its In-Home Caregiving Program, expanding its Assistive Technology Support Program, and growing their supports for children who have a parent or grandparent living with ALS. ALS occurs every 90 minutes in the United States which means that every day, there are newly diagnosed people who need the supports of this local chapter, headquartered in Portland, Oregon with satellite staff in Central Oregon, Southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley.
“Until there is a treatment and a cure for this deadly disease, we are committed to enhancing the quality of life for all families living with ALS,” said Christian. “The Ice Bucket Challenge has proven that ALS hits remarkable people and it’s our sincere honor to serve them.”
Just what is ALS?
ALS was first found in 1869 by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, but it wasn’t until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the disease. Ending the career of one of the most beloved baseball players of all time, the disease is still most closely associated with his name. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.
Most commonly, ALS strikes people between the ages of 40 and 70, and as many as 30,000 Americans have the disease at any given time. ALS has cut short the lives of other such notable and courageous individuals as Hall of Fame pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Senator Jacob Javits, actors Michael Zaslow and David Niven, creator of Sesame Street Jon Stone, television producer Scott Brazil, boxing champion Ezzard Charles, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player George Yardley, pro football player Glenn Montgomery, golfer Jeff Julian, golf caddie Bruce Edwards, British soccer player Jimmy Johnstone, musician Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), photographer Eddie Adams, entertainer Dennis Day, jazz musician Charles Mingus, former vice president of the United States Henry A. Wallace and U.S. Army General Maxwell Taylor.
Portland, March 6th, 2015. Power of the Purse 2015 featured 15 local celebrities (“Purse-o-nalities”) who were matched with 15 hand-picked local designers to create one-of-a-kind purses that were auctioned off during the event. The unique designs helped to tell the stories of each strong, smart and bold Purse-o-nality and how their purse-everance lead them to where they are today. Presented by LifeMap, the Power of the Purse benefit for Girl’s Inc. took place on at the Portland Hilton. Girls Council member, Salma, walked the runway with Nike Bags Team purse for Vanessa Garcia-Brito, Senior Director, Partnerships & Strategic Communications for the Nike Foundation and 2015 Purse-o-nality. (Photo credit: Jennifer Alyse Photography)
Each year, Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest invites local women and men to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Power of the Purse, a fundraiser to benefit Girls Inc. programs created from research-based curricula that equip girls with the confidence and self-esteem to drive toward a bright and economically-independent future.
The gala included both a live auction and silent auction, boutique shopping, a fashion show featuring Girls Inc. girls modeling specially-designed purses, and dinner and drinks.
Some of the Purse-o-nalities included: the von Trapps, musical group; Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon’s 1st Congressional District; Chris McGowan, President and CEO of Portland Trail Blazers; Mike Golub and his wife Sam Shelhorse, President of Portland Timbers and Thorns; Tracy Curtis, Regional Vice President of Wells Fargo; and Heather Killough, philanthropist and owner of Lucky Limousine, along with 9 other inspiring women and men.
Girls Inc. girl, Alexis, shows off the purse designed by Christina Castillo Designs for Purse-o-nality Aneshka Dickson.
Tracy Curtis, Regional VP for Wells Fargo and one of the 2015 Purse-o-nalities, poses with Timber Joey.
Rukaiyah Adams, Chief Investment Officer at Meyer Memorial Trust and 2015 Purse-o-nality, poses with her guests.
The 2015 Power of the Purse designers tasked with representing the remarkable Purse-o-nalities included the Ellington Handbags, Spooltown, the Nike Bags team, Christina Castillo Designs, E. Jerome Piece, Minou-Minou, and others.
Ellington Handbags designed for Helen Raptis, co-host of AM Northwest on KATU and 2015 Purse-o-nality.
Girls Council members take the runway to the delight of the crowd.
Beth Andersen, President & CEO of LifeMap, stops for applause with designer Ahmed Abidine of Elkarti and Girls Inc. girl Litea.
Girls Council member, Salma, walks the runway with Nike Bags Team purse for Vanessa Garcia-Brito, Senior Director, Partnerships & Strategic Communications for the Nike Foundation and 2015 Purse-o-nality.
Girls Inc. girl, Rowan, sings with the von Trapps (2015 Purse-o-nalities).
The Purse-o-nalities were each matched with one Girls Council girl, providing a unique opportunity to expand her world, learn about various careers, and develop relationships with successful women and men in the community. This mentor relationship allows the Girls Council girl to further develop her leadership skills and build confidence in her bright future.
Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest would like to thank its 2015 Power of the Purse sponsors: LifeMap, Wells Fargo, The Standard, Heather Killough, Knowledge Universe, Comcast, Ernst & Young, Hanna Andersson, Kaiser, Walsh Construction, Trail Blazers, Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, TBIB Creative, Cindy Thompson Event Productions and Portland Monthly.
Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest offers programs for girls 6-18 around the greater Portland area. Girls Inc. programs focus on developing healthy behaviors, adopting new life skills, and encouraging girls to reach higher. Our proven curriculum provides age-appropriate, research-based, and culturally relevant content for girls to explore. Girls have the opportunity to develop the following skills:
Create meaningful, supportive peer groups that encourage female solidarity
Grow self-esteem that carries over to home, school, and the community
Develop sound decision-making and communication skills
Assert themselves as confident individuals throughout their lives
Build key leadership skills and strong work ethics
Portland, March 19th, 2015. For hundreds of endangered butterflies raised at the Oregon Zoo during the past year, naptime is over. In an effort to to reestablish dwindling checkerspot populations in central Washington, in February, zoo conservationists roused more than 500 Taylor’s checkerspot larvae from their winter dormancy, transferring these very hungry caterpillars into rearing cups at the zoo’s Imperiled Butterfly Conservation Lab, where they munched on narrowleaf plantain following a 7-month snooze.
Newly awakened Taylor’s checkerspot caterpillars munch on narrowleaf plantain in the Oregon Zoo’s butterfly lab. Zoo conservationists recently woke hundreds of the caterpillars from their winter dormancy in preparation for release into the wild. Photo by Melinda Holland, courtesy of the Oregon Zoo.
Last week, zoo staffers joined biologists from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to release the growing caterpillars on prairies in central Washington, where some of the region’s best checkerspot habitat remains.
“Releasing caterpillars reared at the zoo is part of our ongoing effort to reestablish this imperiled species at sites where it was once abundant,” explained Mary Linders, a species recovery biologist with WDFW. “Without large, connected populations, the butterflies struggle to survive.”
The zoo-reared caterpillars will complete their development in the wild, first turning into chrysalides and then emerging as adult butterflies, helping to stabilize declining populations of this species.
Though once abundant across the inland prairies of the Pacific Northwest, the Taylor’s checkerspot has now lost 99 percent of its grassland habitat to agriculture and urban development. The species is listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and, according to Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, is in imminent danger of extinction.
The Oregon Zoo has raised nearly 19,000 checkerspots for release since joining the recovery effort in 2004. After more than a decade of working to increase the endangered butterfly’s numbers, Linders says the effects are becoming noticeable.
“We’ve started seeing Taylor’s checkerspots at locations where they haven’t been documented in years,” Linders said. “It gives us hope for a species that is very close to disappearing completely.”
Committed to butterfly conservation, the Oregon Zoo is a charter member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Butterfly Conservation Initiative, a collaborative effort among nearly 50 zoos and aquariums. The zoo works in partnership with and receives funding from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Joint Base Lewis-McChord and its Army Compatible Use Buffer program to rear checkerspots and release them into the wild. Additional project partners include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Xerces Society and the Sustainability in Prisons Project administered through The Evergreen State College and Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women.
The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission of inspiring the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is also working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Oregon spotted frogs. Other projects include studies on Asian elephants, polar bears, orangutans and giant pandas.
Support from the Oregon Zoo Foundation enhances and expands the zoo’s efforts in conservation, education and animal welfare. Members, donors and corporate and foundation partners help the zoo make a difference across the region and around the world.
The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.
General zoo admission is $11.50 (ages 12-64), $10 for seniors (65 and up), $8.50 for children (ages 3-11) and free for those 2 and younger. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.
Portland, March 16th, 2015. For the first time Exceed Enterprises, a nonprofit that invests in the success of persons with disabilities through the creation of service and business ventures, is working with Impact NW. Impact NW works with schools, businesses, faith communities, other community-based organizations and governmental agencies to help community members improve their quality of life and achieve independence. Exceed Enterprises consumers worked at Impact NW this week to help elementary age students learn about science. Volunteers counted, sorted and bundled supplies for the AKA Science (All Kids Are Scientists) “Cool Chemistry” classes this spring. The supplies will be compiled into kits. The kits are used to facilitate a variety of inquiry-based science activities with elementary-aged students.
Ashley works with Kathy
“The AKA Science package we provide to each site includes field-tested curriculum, a full kit of supplies, and hands-on training of the site’s chosen instructor,” said Jill Morrow Impact NW marketing and communications manager. “We offer AKA Science classes at 50+ sites per school term.”
Ashley works with Michael Faust
It is a great fit for the volunteers who are used to this type of work. Impact NW builds kits three times a year so Exceed Enterprises might have other opportunities in the future.
“My goal is to get our folks more involved in these types of opportunities,” said Ashley Lunsford vocational skills coordinator with Exceed. “These valuable experiences not only get individuals out into the community but they help build confidence and self esteem.”
Volunteers are key in helping to sort, count and bundle items for the science kits and Impact NW appreciates the assistance.
“We look forward to inviting Exceed to return for the next round of volunteer opportunities,” said Morrow. “We can’t thank them enough for the help they provided us today.”
Established in 1968, Exceed Enterprises is a non-profit organization that excels in providing vocational and personal development services for people with disabilities. Exceed serves the Portland metropolitan area offering a variety of options and opportunities through rehabilitation services, community-based & on-site business environments, personal services and community activities.
Our community and business partnerships enable people with disabilities to contribute to society through meaningful employment and increased independence, self-confidence, and dignity.
Impact NW is a private non-profit organization that began in 1966 as Portland Action Committees Together, Inc. (PACT). Four neighborhoods came together and created the agency to address the growing problems associated with poverty in the area.
Since 1966, Impact NW has been a leader in providing individuals of all ages with the skills and resources necessary to achieve success and to advocate for themselves and their communities. Annually, over 36,000 low-income children, youth, families, seniors, and adults with disabilities participate in Impact NW’s comprehensive anti-poverty programs.
Portland, February 27th, 2015. More than 300 guests attended The Freshwater Trust’s 32nd Annual Gala and Auction. Held at the Portland Art Museum, the event raised $325,000. The Freshwater Trust, an Oregon-based water conservation non-profit, will use these funds to increase the pace and scale of river restoration throughout the state and region. The Freshwater Trust president Joe Whitworth caught up with with World Resource Institute senior associate Todd Gartner and Equilibrium Capital founder and president David Chen during cocktail hour.
Guests raised their paddles to raise more than $325,000, a single-night record for the event.
Pacific Power CEO and president Pat Reiten and his wife Randi served as the event’s co-chairs.
Guests bid on packages during the silent auction held in the Sunken Ballroom of the Portland Art Museum.
“Because of our guests’ generosity, we reached our fundraising goal for this event and increased our net income significantly over previous years,” said Joe Whitworth, president of The Freshwater Trust. “We want to thank our donors and sponsors for making this incredible night of fundraising possible.”
After dinner, guests enjoyed after-dinner drinks, desserts and dancing at the after-party in the Sunken Ballroom.
The Freshwater Trust is a501(c)(3) not-for-profit that restores rivers and streams throughout the Pacific Northwest using technology, data, and cooperative, market-based solutions that benefit rivers, working lands and local communities. The organization is dedicated to accelerating the pace and scale of quantified environmental restoration in order to achieve environmental gains on a timeline that matters. For more information visit www.thefreshwatertrust.org.
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