Volunteer In Portland

The Volunteer in Portland committee organized its first ever Harvest Dinner with community Partner, Raphael House, in November. This event was unique in that it not only required League members to attend the event, but also to spend time prior to the event shopping and cooking to provide the food, pre-made. The enthusiasm and eagerness to celebrate the spirit of the season with the Raphael House residents and staff was amazing. Despite the volunteers cooking in separate locations, The harvest meal of stuffing, mashed potatoes, rotisserie chicken, green salad, Polish vegetable salad, pies, and cookies blended perfectly together and was much appreciated by all of the guests. At the dinner JLP served approximately 20 women and children, not including the team of six volunteers. Raphael House has 11 rooms in he emergency shelter, and 3 rooms were vacant - so the attendance at the event far exceeded expectations! This type of event not only supports those families living in shelter, but also helps women and their families that are no longer in shelter to stay connected to Raphael House. By volunteering at the harvest dinner, members contributed to the core mission of the Raphael House Advocacy Center: building relationships and a sense of community for participants who are no longer living in the shelter. Not only was the event meaningful for the families of Raphael House, but also for the women of JLP. Here are just a few comments made by the volunteers " I learned so much more about RH, met some amazing League members and interacted with the participants in a way that made me feel my efforts were making a positive impact in someone's life." and "Such a rewarding and meaningful volunteer opportunity! Already looking forward to the next RH event!"

The VIP committee held planning meetings in July and August to prepare new committee members with all the information needed to work with our community partners for the League year. In August, committee members met with their community partner liaisons to plan events for the 2013-2014 year. September marked the true "kick off" of the VIP year with our first volunteer events. The League's first effort to support the our partners was by collecting $170 in gift cards to purchase school supplies for Raphael House shelter residents. Through this contribution to Raphael House, a number of their shelter children will be able to go back to school with sufficient supplies. VIP's first volunteer event of the year took place at Children's Book Bank on September 9th where League members spruced enough books to provide clean books to 1/2 a classroom of children. The second volunteer event of the year took place at Peninsula Children's Learning Center on September 15th. Volunteers assisted children and their families in craft activities and games at PCLC's 42nd birthday party! It is an important day at PCLC where teachers and families come together to celebrate. VIP has a number of volunteer events planned for the coming months, including more book cleanings at Children's Book Bank, support for CRN's Iron Chef fundraising event, and PCLC's Fall Festival.