October 2015: Our First Newsletter

Oct 13

I am thrilled to share our first newsletter with you! You asked for monthly communications about Oregon’s women and girls, and we listened. Below you’ll find updates from the Foundation, compelling news items, upcoming community events, and our top social media posts from the past month. This is all for you – so please let us know what you love and what else you’d like to see in the future. Thank you for your ongoing engagement and support!

Warmly,
Emily Evans, Executive Director, Women’s Foundation of Oregon

FOUNDATION UPDATES

INVESTMENT UPDATE

Learn how our investment is making a difference for last year’s grant recipients...
This past May, our members voted to award our first grants -- $25,000 each to Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. and Innovative Changes. Earlier this month, we caught up with Terri Wiley, at Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. and Nancy Yuill, at Innovative Changes to hear about the impact of those grants six-months later.

Here’s what they had to say:

“The Legacy Award from the Women’s Foundation of Oregon has been tremendously helpful, both internally and externally. We have been able to hire a dynamic African-American woman of color, who also is a graduate of our program, to help with our outreach efforts in reaching communities of color and rural communities to inform them of trades careers options.

Internally, we are so grateful to have dedicated funds to enable our database to be a more effective tool for the organization. Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. gives our heartfelt thanks to the staff, board, and especially all the voting members of the Women’s Foundation of Oregon, for their investment and belief in our work to help change the lives of women and girls in Oregon. Thank you!”

--Terri Wiley, Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc.

“The grant from the Women's Foundation of Oregon has already helped us with both expansion and leverage. It enabled us to immediately start building women-friendly training modules that help women prepare to be financially resilient in retirement.

Additionally, the announcement of the support from the Women's Foundation of Oregon attracted the attention of other funders who had never heard of us before. To date, this has resulted in an unexpected grant of $4,800 that will go towards more women-focused programming. Thank you again!”

--Nancy Yuill, Innovative Changes

Both Terri and Nancy are also both members of the Foundation. We appreciate their support as much as they appreciate ours!

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Meet Portland's first woman Fire Chief and proud Women’s Foundation member, Erin Janssens...

Name: Erin Janssens Age: 51 Occupation: Fire Chief, Portland Fire & Rescue Member of the Women's Foundation since: April 2014

What’s your favorite spot in Oregon? Sherrard Point, Larch Mt.

What quality do you most admire in others? Humility, graciousness, selfless service.

Which talent would you most like to have? Does time travel count? Play an instrument or oil paint… well.

What was your first volunteer experience? Working as a volunteer firefighter with Boring Fire District in 1984.

What’s the best place to eat in our great state? Lincoln restaurant in North Portland.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? The opportunity and honor to serve others during their time of need and the ability to make a positive difference.

Which woman (living or dead) do you most admire? Both my grandmother and my mom.

What’s your most treasured possession? Things my mom made for me.

What is your personal motto? Be kind, work hard, stay humble, smile often, keep honest, stay loyal, travel when possible, never stop learning.

What’s your idea of perfect happiness? Sharing good conversation and dinner with dear friends.

Why are you a member of the Women’s Foundation? I’m a member of the Women’s Foundation of Oregon because we share the same vision:

Our state, our nation, the world, should be one where every woman is valued, respected as an equal, and safe. It should be one where every girl is no longer limited by others expectations, but instead imagines her potential freely, and can fulfill her greatest dreams.

One’s actions, interests, dress, career choice, or role in the family shouldn’t be directed, or confined by gender. Whether the dream is to be Governor, President, a teacher, tradesperson or firefighter… the Women’s Foundation of Oregon helps fund organizations that help women and girls to fulfill their potential.

The Foundation has an eye on the landscape of our state. They are figuring out what roadblocks we face so that things like being a woman fire chief are a norm and not a novelty. Thank you for working to make a difference.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Looking to clear out your old furniture and household items? Donate them to Community Warehouse

Community Warehouse is Portland’s local, nonprofit furniture bank. They collect and redistribute donated household goods and furnishings to folks in need. Community Warehouse serves women and girls as their largest population group.

Their mission is simple, yet incredibly powerful: household furnishings that you no longer need can help create a home for someone else in your community. Community Warehouse reaches families that can’t afford to purchase furnishings through other redistribution centers like Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Through partnerships with 180 social service agencies, faith communities, and public schools, Community Warehouse helps provide the comforts of home to over 7,000 neighbors in need each year. You can help! Consider donating items from the list below to the Warehouse. Please make sure that your items are gently-used and in clean, working condition.

Most Needed Items:

Pots & Pans
Silverware
Dishes
Microwaves
Toasters
Can Openers
Kitchen Tables & Chairs
Dressers
Lamps
Alarm Clocks
Clean Twin Mattresses
Pillows
Blankets/Comforters

Donations can be dropped off at two locations, or you can go online for a pick-up:

Community Warehouse (Tualatin), 503.347.2147, 8380 SW Nyberg St, Tualatin 97062, Open Mon – Fri, 10am - 4pm, Sat – Sun, 10:30am - 4pm

Community Warehouse (Portland), 503.235.8786, 3969 NE MLK Blvd, Portland 97212, Open Mon – Fri, 10am - 4pm, Sat – Sun, 10:30am - 4pm

For a complete list of acceptable items or to learn more, visit: communitywarehouse.org There are also fun and flexible volunteer opportunities seven days per week. Interested? Contact Jessica Thompson: jessica@communitywarehouse.org.