Portland Children's Levy Newsletter

APRIL 2018

Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner | Lisa Pellegrino, Director 
Pass it On
The 2018 Portland Children's Levy Community Report
The new PCL report, "Our Year in Profile" is hot off the press! This year, we asked children, students and families at six different programs to let us draw their profile and then they filled them with images representing who they are -- or who they hope to become. Thanks to our amazing artists who showed through their colorful profiles the empowering impact of PCL-funded programs.



Click here to view the report online. To request hard copies, email marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
       
PBS highlights Friends of the Children in national program
Visionaries, the award-winning public television series hosted by actor Sam Waterston, will feature Friends of the Children. This new documentary will air nationwide as the nonprofit celebrates 25 years and expands nationally. Click here to view.

       
$15 million in funding available in Meyer's 2018 Funding Opp
       
Rip City Race for the Roses includes 1K Kids and Family Walk
       
Interrupting Hate in Public Spaces
       
PCL Making a Difference:
Bravo Youth Orchestras
PCL-supported Bravo Youth Orchestras is an after-school program for youth in grades 2 - 5 at elementary schools in North and NE Portland. Check out this video which highlights its recent "Crossing Borders" concert, bringing professional musicians to work with Bravo students on music from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. 

Crossing Borders with BRAVO, 2017 - a StoryMind Production by Dan Sadowsky
Crossing Borders with BRAVO, 2017 - a StoryMind Production by Dan Sadowsky

There's also a more in-depth profile of Bravo's programs and the students it serves which aired on OPB here.
Featured Video
Meals on Wheels People's "Meals 4 Kids" Program
Big thanks to Maritza and the team at Meals on Wheels People for all their work to address food insecurity in our community. The "Meals 4 Kids" program delivers around 3,400 meals every week to children and caregivers with barriers accessing other sources of emergency food throughout the city.
Feel like helping spread the word about the Children's Levy? Introduce us to your own social networks by resharing and retweeting this video:

Do you have a story about a PCL-funded program which might make a great featured video or photo gallery? If so, contact  John Coghlan  with the details.
Allocation Committee News
The PCL Allocation Committee will next meet 3 - 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 12th . Stay tuned for meeting location. At the last AC meeting, staff presented 
highlights from its annual date report  "Investment Expectations, Results and Implications, 2016-17." The  highlights can be viewed here , and the full report is available here .
Here are some quick takeaways:


Early Childhood Updates
Help promote kindergarten sign-up campaign
A series of "blurbs" were developed to support the "Register for Kindergarten by June" campaign to promote the campaign and the need for families to sign up their incoming kindergarten student. Help get the word out by using this language in your organization's newsletters and e-mails, and through social media. For maximum impact, please post something on social media on three specific days leading up to the campaign: April 11th, May 7th and May 22nd. An important detail to note, while still referring to this campaign as "Register for Kindergarten by June," organizers are intentionally moving away from using the word "register" throughout campaign materials. Instead, using variations of "sign up." 

Here is a blurb for your org's newsletter or mailing:
5 years old by September 1st? Sign up for kindergarten by June 1st!
If your child will be 5 years old by September 1st, he or she can start kindergarten this fall. Sign up at your neighborhood school by June 1st to give your child a good start, connect to summer activities, and get access to free resources. School offices close for the summer, so don't wait! When you sign up by June 1st, you have time to get to know your school and your teacher, and they have time to prepare the classroom for your child. To identify your school, call 2-1-1 or email  health@211info.org. Help is available in many languages.

ALSO, click here for a bevy of early childhood resources to help you, your clients and families. 
PCL News
Article highlights plight of hungry kids in Portland 
The state is ranked 13th for food insecurity. Read the Portland Monthly story here.
       
PCL Helps Nonprofits Recruit Volunteers

I t's a good idea to be listed on our Volunteer Opportunities page.  If you are an org that accepts volunteers, please  email us  with: 
  1.  A link: either to your website where volunteer information can be found, or the email and/or phone number of the name of the person responsible for volunteers.
  2. A short blurb about what you are looking for from volunteers.
  3. If you would like to include any specific wording about outreach to older and/or retired potential volunteers.
PCL Staff Contacts
Director, After School & Hunger grants:
Assistant Director and Early Childhood & Mentoring grants:
Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention & Foster Care Grants Manager:
Communications Director:

Community Outreach and Information Assistant
Fiscal Specialist:
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 latest five-year Levy began July 1, 2014, with program investments made through June 2019.

The Levy is supported through a property tax paid by City of Portland homeowners that generates $17.8 million toward investments in proven programs in areas of Early Childhood, After School, Mentoring, Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention, Foster Care and Hunger Relief. The Levy reaches over 8,000 children and their families annually; in addition, Levy-funded hunger relief services provide food to over 11,000 children and 9,167 parents/caregivers annually.

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-mail
See our website at www.portlandchildrenslevy.org

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