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Portland Children's Levy Newsletter
NOVEMBER 2018
Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner
Lisa Pellegrino, Director
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SAVE THE DATE: A celebration to thank Dan Saltzman
Come and thank PCL Allocation Chair and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman for being a champion for Portland children as he leaves office next month after serving 20 years on Portland City Council.
We will celebrate in the City Hall Atrium from 3-5 p.m., Monday, Dec. 10th. There will be student performances, a tribute video, refreshments and time to chat with colleagues, Levy staff and others. Mark your calendar and be on the lookout for more details coming in the next few weeks!
PCL sponsorships available beginning Friday, Nov. 30th
PCL has a limited number of sponsorships available through its Event Sponsorship program to help underwrite event costs in areas related to Levy funding areas. The Levy will award 10 $500 sponsorships for events from January through June 2019, Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Friday, Nov. 30th and go quickly;
read the details here or on the
Levy website. Questions: marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
Join the conversation -- your voice matters
The Levy has embarked upon two initiatives to help inform priorities, strategies and processes for the next funding round planned for 2019-2020: one focused on Community Engagement, and one on Levy Grantmaking Improvement. Summaries of both can be found here.
We
recognize that in order to address the diverse needs of Portland's children, youth and their families we need to engage the broad diversity of the community -- especially people who have not been engaged in the past. We would especially like to reach families with disabilities (children or parents); youth who identify as LGBTQ; foster parents; youth in foster care/previously in foster care; immigrants and refugees; families experiencing homelessness; families who live in East Portland; and parents/caregivers and youth who identify as any of the following: Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, American-Indian/Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latinx.
Parents/Caregivers, youth and staff who serve these communities are invited to complete the interest
questionnaire.
By Mid-November the questionnaire, accessible through the same link, will be available in Spanish, Vietnamese and Russian.
Please pass along the SurveyMonkey link to
parents, foster parents and youth
from traditionally marginalized communities and service providers who serve those communities. Please share with your networks.
Thank you!
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The City of Portland's 2018-19 Fix-it Fairs
Fairs are scheduled for the following Saturdays:
*Nov. 17, 2018
Madison High School
2735 NE 82nd Ave., Portland
*Jan. 26, 2019
Ockley Green Middle School
6031 N Montana Ave., Portland
*Feb. 23, 2019
Floyd Light Middle School
10800 SE Washington St., Portland
The fairs are a free event where people can learn simple ways to save money and connect with community resources, with many workshops available in Spanish. Go here for more info.
The Levy has several tables at the fairs: if your organization is interested in attending any or all of the fairs to spread the word about your services, please contact
marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
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PCL Programs Making a Difference:
IRCO's Refugee & Immigrant Mentoring Program |
Joana, a senior at Roosevelt High School, is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She lived in Nairobi, Kenya as a refugee and came to the U.S. through an asylum process in 2016 with her mother and two sisters. As she was struggling in school, she was happy to enroll in IRCO's Refugee & Immigrant Mentoring program. Joana started to come to IRCO's Africa House on Saturdays for homework help and then was assigned a mentor. In addition to language and cultural barriers, her family also faced financial challenges so
RIM staff connected them with resources such as energy and rental assistance, as well as an ESL class for her mom. Now, Joana and her family are getting the community support they need. After Joana graduates in the spring, she plans to get a degree in civil engineering; for the time being, she is enjoying school and working part-time to support her family. In addition, she volunteers to teach free citizenship classes because she said obtaining citizenship is the greatest achievement for any immigrant who comes to America. Joana is always willing to give back to the refugee community, and says her mother inspires her because she went through so many hardships and sacrificed so much for the family. RIM staff say they look forward to witnessing more of Joana's accomplishments in the future!
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| Allocation Committee News |
If you missed the, Monday, Oct. 22nd AC meeting at City Hall Council, check out the meeting below.
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Children's' Levy Allocation Meeting
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The next meeting will likely be in early 2019. Notices/agenda will be sent to the Levy database and posted on Levy social media platforms.
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City of Portland wins legal fight with White House
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington recently ruled the Trump's Administration's Executive Order attempting to withhold federal funding from the sanctuary jurisdiction of Portland is unconstitutional. The court's ruling was based on the Ninth Circuit's decision a few weeks ago, holding in another case that the Executive Order violated the constitutional principle of separation of powers because "there is no reasonable argument that the President has not exceeded his authority" and "the Executive Order violates the constitutional principle of the Separation of Powers."
"This is a clear victory for the City of Portland and the rule of law," said Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, noting that the judge's ruling "provides further evidence that President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions lack a basic understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and constitutional boundaries of their offices. As Mayor of the City of Portland, we will continue to work with our partner cities to protect our residents and build stronger relationships with the immigrant community."
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Click
here to check out PCL's newly updated website!
Go
here to read the 2018 PCL Community Report!
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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 $21 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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