Board Member Honored

The tambourines were shaking with joy as people came together to honor women of distinction with the annual Song of Miriam awards on June 7, 2009. Congregation Beth Israel Sisterhood honored Carole Barkley in recognition of her outstanding volunteer work with the sisterhood. Carole wrote and edited Sisterhood bulletin articles for five years. In the gift shop, she instituted the sale of Sisters of the Road meal coupons and collections of hygiene articles for the homeless. She organized food drives that distributed food to five neighborhood pantries, including Northwest Portland Ministries. She coordinated Congregation Beth Israel’s first community-wide Mitzvah Day, which placed 230 volunteers in 12 nonprofit organizations including NWPM.

Carole’s commitment to interfaith community activities includes serving on the board of NWPM—including two years as president—and volunteering at it’s Loaves & Fishes meal site. She involves Congregation Beth Israel in enriching the lives of residents of a Housing Authority building by organizing social activities through the Adopt-A-Highrise program. She coordinates the NWPM Christmas dinner at Congregation Beth Israel, where volunteers serve 500 low-income neighbors on Christmas Day.

High School Students Learn Philanthropy

Students from Jesuit High School’s Community 101 class spent the year learning how philanthropy works. PGE challenged the high school students to find a cause to champion and then come up with criteria for awarding $5,000 in grants. The cause they chose was fighting hunger. The Northwest Portland Ministries Food for Kids Backpack program was one of six recipients of grants and received $1,500. Not only did the students award the $5,000 provided by PGE, they matched that amount with funds they raised throughout the year.

Ride Home from Food Pantry

Is it difficult for you to carry bags home from the Food Pantry? NWPM now has volunteers available on Tuesdays to help drive you home from the Food Pantry with your groceries. Please call the office to let us know one day in advance that you’d like a ride home and we’ll have a volunteer ready for you. Please call Dave at 503-221-1224, ext. 100,

RideAbout Shopping Shuttle Launches

Shopping trips are made easier with weekly shopping trips provided by the lift equipped mini-bus. Thanks to our many dedicated partners, (HAP, Marshall Union Manor, Tri-Met, Rose Schnitzer Tower and Ride Connection); we were able to reconfigure the Senior Shuttle into a Shopping RideAbout. On Saturdays the Ride-About serves the downtown area from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., making a one-hour shopping loop with stops at Gretchen Kafoury Commons, Rose Schnitzer Tower, Elm Court Loaves & Fishes, Helen Swindells, Rosenbaum Plaza, The Morrison, and Fred Meyer. On Monday the shopping RideAbout is a 45-minute loop stopping at Marshall Union Manor, Gallagher Plaza, Medallion Apartments, Northwest Tower, Fred Meyer, and Trader Joes. Riders do not need to live at these locations to pick up the RideAbout. For schedules, please contact Dave at 503-221-1224, ext. 100.

Keep in the Loop: E-mails Requested

Do you know when the latest work parties are scheduled? When and where we need volunteers for specific tasks? What special events are coming up? What items have been donated to our auction? You will if you give us your e-mail address. Twice a month an informative message goes out to keep you in the loop. Because our newsletter comes out only three times a year, email is a cost-effective way for us to keep you informed of all the wonderful things happening at NWPM and how you can be part of that action. E-mail codi@nwpm.org or call in your e-mail address to 503-221-1224, ext. 103.

Board Develops New Key Messages

In April our energetic Board of Directors along with select community volunteers spent a productive morning updating our mission statement and key message. Our updated mission statement is: “Northwest Portland Ministries creates a caring community of volunteers who help neighbors in need.” Our key message is: “Northwest Portland Ministries inspires volunteers from congregations and the larger community to help neighbors live with dignity and purpose. We provide food, transportation, recreation and helping hands.” Our tag line is: “A caring community of volunteers.” You will be seeing our new messages throughout our publications.

A Kiss for $1

No it’s not the local community fair, but one of the many creative ways local businesses with Nob Hill Business Association raised money and food during the month of May to benefit the Emergency Food Box program. A total of more than $1,200 cash was collected from creative raffles, proceeds from a day, point of sale donations, and general food collection. Participating businesses were Food Front, ESCO, Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital, A Child’s Play, Blush Beauty Bar, Clearwire Uptown, Nob Hill Shoe Repair, Chown Hardware, Dragonfly Café, Dragontree Spa, Linfield College, Blooming Moon Spa, and Heron Haus B & B. For locations & websites, click here or scroll down.

Save The Date: NWPM Fourth Annual Dinner and Auction

Save October 24, 2009 for a great evening out. The dinner and auction will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Bid on some wonderful items, including weekend getaways, entertainment, an amazing bicycle, a specialty card-making party, restaurant meals, and a one-week rental at a 3,000 square-foot home in Kona, Hawaii that sleeps six. Gather your friends and join us. Cost: $50 per person.

Giving Made Easy

Northwest Portland Ministries needs ongoing donor support to help our neighbors live with dignity and purpose by providing food, transportation, recreation, and helping hands. Our new donor envelope enables you to give a gift in honor, in memory, or in celebration of someone. You can also use it to set up a monthly donation through electronic funds transfer (EFT). A monthly donation like this makes donating easy, saves you the cost of a stamp, and enables you to give a substantial gift over a period of time. For more information, please contact our Office Manager, Codi, at 503-221-1224, ext. 103.

May 2009 Emergeny Food Box Participating Businesses

The next time you visit these businesses/ participants, please thank them for supporting NWPM! Click "map" below for their location, or visit their websites.

Food Front: map, website

ESCO: map, website

Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital: map, website

A Child’s Play: map, website

Blush Beauty Bar: map, website

Clearwire Uptown: map, website

Nob Hill Shoe Repair: map

Chown Hardware: map, website

Dragonfly Café: map

Dragontree Spa: map, website

Linfield College: map, website

Blooming Moon Spa: map, website

Heron Haus B & B: map, website