The holidays are a time for charity toward the community we live in as well as to our families and friends. Portland is fortunate to have many service organizations that work to help our citizens and institutions as well as those in need. Â
Below are a number of non-profit organizations that do this work in SE Portland and elsewhere year round. Please consider helping them with your support of time and resources so they may assist with the many needs in our community.
• Fish Emergency Services helps all persons who find themselves in difficulties because their basic needs cannot be met.
They assist, encourage and develop connections for people to take action when help is needed because of illness, loneliness, old age, blindness, family disintegration, loss of employment, and lack of educational opportunity. Fish is a neighbor helping our neighbors in need. www.fishemergencyservice.org – 503.233.5533
• Portland Youth Builders offers a challenging academic and vocational training curriculum to prepare low-income high school dropouts for college, apprenticeship or the workforce placement. www.pybpdx.org – 503.286.9350
• Oregon Humane Society facilitates over 11,000 pet adoptions a year and assists families who can no longer care for their pets. OHS rescues neglected pets, offers advice to keep pets in homes, and subsidizes spay and neuter services. www.oregonhumane.org – 503.285.7722
• Miracle Theater Group creates high-quality Latino theater, culture and arts-education experiences for the enrichment of all members of our communities. www.milagro.org– 503.236.7253Â
• West Women’s and Children’s Shelter serves women and children by providing emergency housing, answering crisis-line calls, providing childcare, distributing food boxes, and serving meals. This is a Salvation Army program. www.salvationarmyportland.org – 503.731.3900
• Metropolitan Family Services delivers proven programs to help people succeed at home, in school and in the community. MFS supports parents, students, seniors and working families in finding and using needed resources. MFS energizes volunteers and inspires future generations. www.metfamily.org – 503.232.0007, ext. 107 Â
• Childrens Book Bank nourishes the minds of Portland’s children by providing personal collections of books, free of charge, to children in need. www.childrensbookbank.org 503.616.3981
• Portland Tool Libraries- Southeast , North and Northeast loaning a wide variety of tools to members free of charge, in the support of livable neighborhoods, establishing community pride, and building social ties among members. Each contribution will be split among the three centers. www.septl.org – 503.539.1756
• Reach Community Development providing quality, affordable housing for individuals, families and communities. REACH has pioneered affordable housing and supportive programs that address complex the challenges to difficult issues facing communities. For over thirty years, REACH has provided new and renovated apartment buildings and mixed-use developments located in SE and across the area. A healthy community begins at home. www.reachcdc.org 503.231.0682Â
• Impact Northwest works to help people through a community of support. Annually, over 60,000 individuals participate in Impact NW’s anti-poverty services for children, school-aged youth, families, seniors and adults with disabilities. www.impactnw.org – 503.988.6887
• Farmers Market Fund  improves the access of underserved communities to food grown by local farmers. They help to put fresh food on the tables of families in need and leverage federal dollars to support small family farms. www.farmersmarketfund.org – 503.241.0032
• JOIN supports the efforts of homeless people to transition from the streets and into permanent housing. JOIN has helped over 7,000 people into housing since 1998. www.joinpdx.com 503.232.7052Â
• Community Warehouse helps provide basic household furnishings to vulnerable populations to help them become self-sufficient and to improve the quality of their lives. www.communitywarehouse.org 503.235.8786
• Portland Fruit Tree Project brings people together to harvest fruit that might otherwise go to waste from the many uncared-for fruit trees around the city. The bounty is then distributed to families in need. PFTP also cultivates community orchards, and provides education in treecare and food preservation. www.portlandfruit.org – 503.284.6106
• SE Uplift provides an organizational structure and forum to empower citizens to effectively resolve livability and community development challenges. They assist citizens and neighborhood associations of SE Portland to create communities that are livable, safe and sustainable. www.southeastuplift.org 503.232.0010
Please remember our neighborhood associations, business associations, and local churches all work for the benefit of the local community too. They are deserving of support and assistance.
Best wishes for a merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!