 |
Portland Children's Levy Newsletter
DECEMBER 2018
Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner
Lisa Pellegrino, Director
|
|
You're invited: A celebration to thank Dan Saltzman
Come and thank Portland Children's Levy Allocation Chair and City Commissioner Dan Saltzman as he leaves office later this month after serving 20 years on City Council and leading the PCL since its inception in 2002.
The event in the Portland City Hall Atrium from 3 - 5 p.m., Monday, Dec. 10th, will feature student performances, a tribute video and speeches from Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Commission Chair Deborah Kafoury during the first hour, and time for refreshments and chatting with colleagues, community members and Levy staff during the second hour. We hope to see you then!
PCL sponsorships for first half of 2019 are now closed
PCL thanks all of the organizations who submitted sponsorship requests for events from January - June 2019. The next sponsorship round for events from July - December 2019 will open Friday, May 31st; see the details on the
Levy website. Questions: marygay.broderick@portlandoregon.gov
Join the conversation -- translated questionnaire now available!
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.
ALSO AVAILABLE NOW in through the same link 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!
|
The City of Portland's 2018-19 Fix-it Fairs
Fairs are scheduled for the following Saturdays:
*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
|
|
|
PCL Programs Making a Difference:
LifeWorks NW |
When I met Angie as her caseworker in the Lifeworks' Family and Community Alliance (FCA) program, she cried throughout several of the first home visits. She shared her loneliness as a single mom, and concerns about her youngest children ages 11 and 10. While she kept an organized house with structured days and children who were successful at school, she worried about her son not having an adult male role model and her ability to discipline them, fluctuating between being too lenient and losing her temper.
She was raised in foster care from 11 through 17 and dropped out of school to become an emancipated minor. At 18 she was convicted of a felony while attempting to take back items that had been stolen from her. She became a single mother at age 25. In her early 30s she married a man who had been her high school sweetheart and they had children. Physical abuse by her husband resulted in a brief removal of her children and she eventually found herself homeless with a 10 year old, a toddler and an infant.
In 2008 things began to turn around for Angie. With determination fueled by a love for her kids, she moved from the shelter into a home which she has kept to this day.
Winning the Soroptimists "
Live Your Dream Award" in 2013 and 2016, she steadily worked toward a degree in business administration.
|
|
| The emblem Angie created for her embroidery business |
She was one term away from completion when we met. Going to school full time made money extremely tight and she feared losing her housing. When her neighbors were moving and offered her their embroidery equipment used for a small business, Angie accepted and set her mind to learning how to use the machines and fulfill a first order. The equipment was crammed into her small unheated garage where she worked late into the night, listening to sermons that gave her hope and motivation. She showed her first attempts at her first order with me, asking for advice regarding the placement of the embroidered patch and font options. It was then that I realized all the decisions she had to quickly learn to make, from design to business accounting. She shared her concerns about where to meet her first client, fearing her home was too small and furniture too worn.
While Angie participated in FCA, she completed her final classes with high marks and gave a speech at a Soroptimist luncheon. She found a job in business administration and continued to build her embroidery business at the same time.
After a visit to Dress for Success we met at a nearby coffee shop to celebrate. It was then that I shared that a mentor had been found for her son. (The mentor's wife would become a role model for Angie as well.) At this moment, her eyes filled with tears: "These are tears of joy," she assured me. A woman at the adjacent table asked about our meeting and started to share her own struggles. Angie immediately began to encourage her and the conversation ended with the woman giving her a heartfelt thanks. In addition to her courage, resiliency and determination, Angie is a person who consistently gives back, actively caring for her community and those around her.
Here is what she wanted people to know:
"I was resilient and resourceful and sought the advocacy through FCA. I got the support I needed reaching several goals we discussed when we first met.
I am empowered now to continue working on my business and sharpening my skills as a working professional in a local nonprofit."
|
Watch Dan Saltzman's "Exit Interview" at the City Club
At a recent Friday Forum at City Club, the focus was on AC Chair Dan Saltzman as he reflected on 20 years of service as a Portland City Commissioner. He talked about challenges, lessons learned and offered other insight after two decades on the job. See the interview here.
|
|
| Friday Forum: Exit Interview City Commissioner Dan Saltzman |
|
Click
here to check out PCL's newly updated website!
Go
here to read the 2018 PCL Community Report!
|
|
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.
|
|
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 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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
