Volunteer In Portland

Junior League volunteers have been hard at work to make an impact in our community this past quarter:

The Stop Human Trafficking committee worked diligently to plan and execute their first annual Delicates
Drive to directly benefit survivors of human trafficking and commercial sexual
exploitation of children.  Many people are not aware that survivors’ undergarments are often taken into evidence when theyare first rescued and, consequently, undergarments are one of the most needed
but least donated items.  The Stop HumanTrafficking Committee procured donations of over 1400 undergarments and almost $1200 in gift cards to purchase additional undergarments.  These donations
support Janus Youth, LifeWorks NW and Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC),
organizations providing immediate and long-term assistance to survivors of
human trafficking/child exploitation.   Up to 1500 survivors will be impacted directly through the donations drive. Stop Human Trafficking Committee also is working diligently to wrap up production of a
short documentary film that will bring attention within the community to human
trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of children in
Portland.  Watch for film debut events around the Portland area this spring.  Click here to view the teaser now.

The Volunteer in Portland committee has coordinated over 20 community service events with six community partners
including Raphael House, Bradley Angle House, Children’s Relief Nursery
(Lifeworks NW), Peninsula Children’s Center, Children’s Book Bank, and Girls
Inc.  Since June 2012, 91 Junior League
of Portland members have volunteered over 200 hours during these events,
impacting over 300 families in the community. 
Recently, committee members coordinated a book-cleaning event benefitting Children’s Book
Bank in which approximately 560 books were cleaned.  This event will provide book bundles for
about 50 children in the Portland area who otherwise would not have access to
books. 

Volunteer in Portland Committee members currently are planning a crock-pot cooking class for residents of
Raphael House who are survivors of domestic abuse.  Volunteers will be providing a nutritious meal for the women and their children while hosting a crock-pot recipe demonstration. Each resident will
leave with a brand new crock-pot and donated items to get their households
started once they leave the shelter.

Healthy Habits Healthy Kids committee assisted Bridger elementary in securing a $1000 grant for their
community wellness event.  Committee members currently are working with Bridger to plan this spring event that will spread the message of making positive choices for healthy eating and living. 

The Junior League of Portland appreciates your support that enables us to help people in our community in
truly meaningful ways!

Our community committees have been hard at work to make an impact in our local community this past quarter. 

Our Stop Human Trafficking committee worked with Multnomah County CSEC and other community partners to organize and execute Connect PDX, an amazingly successful educational conference to engage existing
organizations in a collective impact model to end human trafficking in the Northwest. Collective impact involves a structured process that leads to a common agenda, shared measurement, continuous communication and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants,building and utilizing a dedicated backbone organization.  The net result of Connect PDX is the potential to create an area-wide focused effort among all organizations working in collaboration with one another to maximize our combined resources. The conference brought together 71 members of diverse organizations in the Portland area that work to end human trafficking.

The Volunteer in Portland committee has been developing a job skills training workshop to be used with many populations, including survivors of domestic violence at our community partners Raphael House and
Bradley Angle House.  The goal is to help these women regain confidence and to articulate their skills within a job
search as they rebuild their lives.  We held our first training with Raphael House in October that was very well
received.  We also kicked off a new partnership with Children’s Book Bank. Our volunteers collectively logged 22 hours toward preparing book bundles for children in need within the Portland public school system.  We also assisted our other non-profit community partners, Children’s Relief Nursery and Girls Inc., by providing volunteer hours for their fundraising events. 

Healthy Habits Healthy Kids helped to execute a successful community fair at Reedville elementary with over 150 families in attendance to spread the message of making positive choices for healthy eating and
living.  They are currently coordinating with 4-H and Alpenrose to plan the Christmas in Dairyville event, which will
have a focus on education and leadership opportunities for kids.