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In This Edition:

• On-Demand Trainings
• Summer Fun with the Thorns and Timbers
• Discover and Discuss: Pride Month and Juneteenth
• Just For Youth: Maca and Abigail
• Dream Big Dreams: Thank you

Families, Youth, Allies, and Partners, 

Welcome to June... it’s time to CELEBRATE our graduates, take PRIDE in our diversity, and PLAN for summer fun and learning.

As another school year ends, let's highlight the advocacy of transition-aged youth in our community! 2023 graduates Maca Alvarez and Abigail McNatt, both participants of this spring’s Self-Determination and Financial Empowerment series, recently shared how they are furthering disability awareness and self-determination at our Dream Big Dreams Fund and Games Night. We are excited to walk alongside them and so many others as they represent the dreams, collective power, and action of their generation.

We also have a unique opportunity for FUN this summer. Attend a Thorns or Timbers game in July or August, and the teams will kick back $5 for every ticket purchased to FACT Oregon! We ALL can win when we come together!

In community,

Christy Reese, Executive Director

Our team is taking the summer to plan a chock-full year of virtual and in-person offerings in the 2023-24 academic year. But that does not mean the learning must end! FACT Oregon offers several on-demand trainings on popular topics. Sit back with some coffee, and watch and learn from home.

ABCs for Little Ones in EI/ECSE

English (caption language options)

Transition to Kindergarten

English | Spanish

The IEP: What You Need to Know

English | Spanish

Behaviors at School: Supports, Strategies, Success

English (caption language options)



The IEP: Middle/High School Years

English (caption language options)

Attend a home game in July or August, and Portland Thorns and Timbers FC will kick back $5 for every ticket purchased to FACT Oregon!

Tickets are already discounted! We ALL can win when we come together! Use the link below to order tickets:

Be Aware on Juneteenth

Juneteenth (6/19) recognizes the day when enslaved African American people in Texas were freed, a full two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet history has largely forgotten how many enslaved disabled people were also not liberated by the Emancipation Proclamation.

What is Asexuality?

Asexual identities are often forgotten in Pride celebrations. Learn more about asexuality in this short video and remember to celebrate asexual identities this June! 

Watch the video from Amaze.org.

Queer, able, visible and proud.

LGBTQ+ community members who have disabilities share their personal experiences.

Watch the video from ACON Health | QueerAbility.

AT FACT Oregon, it is an honor to watch young people grow into their own voices and leadership to solve the issues they are passionate about.

2023 graduates Maca and Abigail, who both participated in our Self-Determination and Financial Empowerment series this spring, recently shared their personal advocacy work with us:

Maca Alvarez is a youth ambassador for Oregon’s Youth Voice Youth Choice state team, seeking to share alternatives to guardianship.

Watch the video.

Abigail McNatt just completed a year-long Girl Scout capstone project to build awareness of disability and inclusion in her school district.

Watch the video.

Generosity is the word that best reflects the spirit of how our amazing community came together to Dream Big Dreams with FACT Oregon for youth with disabilities in May. 

At our in-person Fund and Games Happy Hour on May 11th, culminating 5 days of online bidding and giving, we played fun games, won prizes, and celebrated the impact of FACT Oregon’s work. We heard from two parent participants of the Activate Your Advocacy parent leadership program and two youth who are doing amazing things to promote supported decision-making and disability awareness in their communities. 

Together, we raised more than $43,000 in unrestricted support. Now, it is FACT Oregon's honor to apply the generosity shown to us towards efforts to ensure that youth with disabilities have the supports and opportunities they need to thrive at home, in school, and in community. 

Thank you, Sponsors: The Standard, Becker Capital Management, Multnomah County Intellectual and Developmental Disability Division, CareOregon, Palladio Consulting LLC, Dylan R. Karr, CFP at Edward Jones, Help Me Grow Oregon, and Mansfield Hall.