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Portland Children's Levy Newsletter
JUNE 2018
Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner | Lisa Pellegrino, Director
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Portland voters approve PCL renewal for five more years
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The "
Oregon Welcomes You" refugee service delivery map
This new resource is available to assist newly arrived and resettling families to navigate the local service system. This is an evolving tool, so service providers who use it are encouraged to also connect with the Refugee Emotional Health Task Force for additional assistance. Info on the map is
HERE and map is
HERE.
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PCL Making a Difference:
Metropolitan Family Service
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This is not your typical food pantry. Metropolitan Family Service (MFS) empowers people to create meal choices appropriate for their own families. Strongly supported by parent and community members, MFS
runs the Alder Elementary School Food Pantry where its program is designed with client input upfront in order to be culturally responsive.
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| MFS Volunteer and parent, Elizabeth Munoz, and Oregon Food Bank Child Hunger Capacity Coordinator, Adriana Cvitkovic, facilitating a cooking demo at the Alder Food Pantry. |
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Janus Youth Programs' Village Gardens
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Janus Youth Programs' Village Market is a neighborhood market with a commitment to affordable, fresh and local food for all people. The Portland Children's Levy supports their "Free Fruit for Kids" program as well a 30% discount on fruit & vegetables for all SNAP customers. The food discount initiative is one of six hunger relief programs funded by the Levy.
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NAYA Youth and Family Center's Sibling Family Visit Night
"It makes me feel spiritual inside."
Click to watch high school student, Tatum, share how important NAYA's Sibling Family Visit Night is to her family. The monthly, PCL-funded event provides cultural enrichment services for Native American youth in foster care.
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Want to help spread the word about the Portland Children's Levy? Introduce us to your own networks by resharing and retweeting this video:
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Do you have a story about a PCL-funded program which might make a great video or photo gallery? If so, contact
John Coghlan
with the details.
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Allocation Committee News
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The PCL Allocation Committee meets 3 - 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 12th at City Hall Council Chambers, 2nd floor, 1221 SW 4th Ave. An agenda is HERE.
ALSO, if you happen to be in City Hall that afternoon (or anytime through June 22nd), you can view the Dreamers of Oregon: Out of the Shadows photo
exhibit in the Atrium. There will be a reception from 4 to 6 p.m., June 12th to kick off the event, which tells the stories of local DREAMers through image and narrative.
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Early childhood resource for families
Click here for a set of PP slides that provide tips to help families apply for Head Start and Early Head Start. The guide includes contact information for each of the Head Start providers in Multnomah County and suggests other free/low-cost preschool options.
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Foster Plus: New collaborative effort to recruit foster parents
There is a new effort launched between foster care agencies focused on recruiting and certifying foster parents to support the state's most at-risk youth. The goal of
Foster Plus is to add 150 new foster beds over the next three years.
Using innovative research and storytelling, the Foster Plus campaign brings together the different efforts of each agency under one unified voice to raise awareness around the importance of fostering.
Oregon's foster care system needs more qualified foster homes. Lacking enough foster parents, children miss out on being in homes where they feel loved and supported.
With more than 7,500 children in Oregon's foster care system, there is a strong need for foster parents who can make meaningful connections. Foster Plus agencies serve youth with higher needs than the general foster care population.
With the additional attention, each Foster Plus agency has extra support to ensure foster parents are successful. The benefit of fostering through a Foster Plus agency is having a team of qualified foster care professionals. Foster parents receive specialized training to be prepared for kids with higher needs. They work with a local agency who will be there to provide frequent and regular visits to offer custom care. In times of crisis, there is 24/7 support from case managers and counselors. Go to their website for more info.
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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
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PCL Helps Nonprofits Recruit Volunteers
- 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.
- A short blurb about what you are looking for from volunteers.
- If you would like to include any specific wording about outreach to older and/or retired potential volunteers.
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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:
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Who We Are
The Portland Children's Levy was created by city voters in 2002 and overwhelmingly renewed for the third time by the electorate in May 2018. Funding for the new five-year Levy begins July 1, 2019 and runs through June 30, 2024.
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
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