Save the Date!

For the third year in a row, United Way and Hands On Greater Portland are organizing volunteer projects throughout the four-county Portland-Vancouver metro area for the 2010 MLK Weekend of Service, to be held Friday through Monday, January 15-18, 2010.

Holiday volunteering. Sign up now!

The holidays are a wonderful time to volunteer. But sign up now because opportunities fill fast!

Visit our holiday volunteer page to find a variety of meaningful holiday opportunities over the next 50 days!

Is your favorite project full? We’ll need you in January. Make a commitment this holiday season to volunteer with us early in the new year!

Our holiday volunteering program is sponsored by the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.

Spotlighted Ongoing Opportunities for October

Besides offering Hands On calendar projects, we also encourage our partners to post ongoing volunteer opportunities in need of a longer term commitment. If you're interested in getting engaged in the community on an ongoing basis and want to use or hone your skills set, check out some of our new and updated volunteer opportunities below!

Be a Lead Volunteer for Portland’s First Pet Food Bank
The Pongo Fund – NE Portland
Portland is fortunate to have a number of organizations providing food for the homeless; however, almost none of them provide food for the animal companions of the homeless. This Fall, the Pongo Fund is opening Portland's First Pet Food Bank! This is a big effort, and we can't do it alone. We need motivated, compassionate volunteers to take on an on-going leadership role, 1-2 sundays per month, to help us manage and oversee small groups of one-time volunteers that will be helping to distribute the food.

Field Trip Leaders on Sauvie Island
Sauvie Island Center – Sauvie Island
Join us in educating local youth about food, farming and the land! By joining our field trip leader team, you will gain experience in teaching and leadership, gain a basic understanding of Organic Farming Systems, and hone your naturalist skills.

All great change in America begins at the dinner table
The Wallace Medical Concern - Gresham
This is a great volunteer opportunity if you like to cook and prepare your favorite dishes for others. It involves a short time commitment but you still make a big difference. Once a month, prepare a simple meal for 8-10 people and deliver it to the amazing volunteer doctors and nurses at our Gresham clinic.

Greet teachers and assist their free shopping at the free store for teachers
Schoolhouse Supplies – NE Portland
Join Schoolhouse Supplies as we welcome Portland teachers to the free school supply store! We need a team of enthusiastic volunteers to ensure that teachers have a successful and excellent shopping experience!

Tutors for Children of Farmworkers
Bienestar - Hillsboro
Tutors are needed to help children of farmworkers with reading and math. Bienestar has identified elementary school age children who are at risk of school failure due to inability to read.

Churches, schools, organizations, corporations, WE NEED YOU!
The Children’s Book Bank – NE Portland
Help place books in the hands of children! The Children's Book Bank needs individuals and organizations alike to lend a hand by hosting book drives in their neighborhoods, offices, churches, schools, etc.

Attention Retired Bankers and Other Finance Professionals – Portland
Easter Seals Oregon – SE Portland
The Multnomah County Money Management Program is seeking a volunteer with strong leadership, organizational and team-building skills to fill a part-time volunteer Program Coordinator position.

Court Tour Guide
Classroom Law Project - Portland
Would you like a good excuse to hang out in the courthouse and observe judges and other attorneys practice their craft? Can you spare one morning a month? Would you like to tell students about what goes on in the Multnomah County Courthouse and Justice Center?

Overnight Shelter Volunteers Welcome!
Family Bridge - Hillsboro
Are you interested in helping homeless families with children but are not available during daytime hours? Volunteering as an "overnight host" at a local church (Hillsboro, Aloha, Forest Grove) for homeless families in the Family Bridge shelter program.

Provide community referrals on 2-1-1 phone line!
211info - Portland
Provide phone-based social service referrals to community members in need of food, medical assistance, housing, shelter, and other basic needs.

Make a difference for SE Portland youth at Marshall High!
Marshall SUN School
Interested in making a difference in the lives of SE Portland youth? Be a class leader or mentor with the Marshall High School SUN program! The SUN program (Schools Uniting Neighborhoods) seeks to improve the lives of children, families, and community by providing extended-day classes for students, and family events for the community.

Guide Tours at Pittock Mansion
Pittock Mansion – NW Portland
Interested in history, meeting people, and sharing one of Portland's premier attractions with visitors? Pittock Mansion is seeking enthusiastic volunteers to guide tours or greet visitors! Both long-term and holiday season volunteers are welcome.

Love to look at Art? Be a gallery-sitter at Disjecta!
Disjecta Arts Center – N Portland
This is an awesome opportunity to work in the Portland art world, sit among interesting contemporary art, and talk with patrons.

Lend A Hand to Those Less Able
REACH Community Development – SE Portland
Residents in affordable housing have many barriers to keeping their home healthy and safe. A compassionate volunteer is sought to help our residents complete basic tasks to ensure their health and stability.

Be an After-school Tutor or Class Assistant at Hall Elementary
Hall Elementary SUN Community School - Gresham
Be a Homework Club tutor or Teaching assistant in after-school classes, which may include sports, dance, visual arts, and science, as well as many other types of classes.

Grocery Order Takers Needed
Store to Door – NW Portland
We need help in our office on NW 21st & Raleigh on Tuesdays calling our clients each week to check in and take their grocery orders. Since most of our clients are homebound, this might be one of the few calls they get and they will look forward to hearing from you.

Reach Out to McKay's Spanish-Speaking Families as a Translator
McKay Elementary School – Beaverton/Aloha
Help McKay Elementary reach out to Spanish-speaking families! We need translators to help us make information accessible to all of the families at our school. Translate informational flyers or the Parent Teacher Club website.

Family Recovery Support Volunteer
Volunteers of America Oregon – SE Portland
Volunteer needed to assist staff during drop-in hours for organization that works with families in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. Located in SE Portland, VOAOR Family Recovery Support offers counseling, resources, and support groups.

Volunteer to help people get around

By Melia Tichenor

Growing up in the Bay Area, I could get anywhere on public transit. My hometown of Albany, California was small and safe enough that my 10-year-old self could explore its nooks and crannies by bike. Though I learned to drive as soon as I hit 15, getting a car was not in the cards, and I wondered how long I could stave off that first auto purchase.

Nearly ten years later, a lot has changed in my life. I now call Portland my home, and am excited to officially join the Hands On Greater Portland staff this summer, after serving two years of national service as an AmeriCorps member. But some things haven’t changed. The only set of wheels I’ve ever bought belong to my new bicycle. And accessible transportation remains a passion of mine, in all its many forms.

That’s why I am excited to have organized September’s Focus On Transportation, during which we’re highlighting all the ways you can volunteer with us to help people meet critical needs for transportation. Drive a van. Deliver meals. Support bike commute workshops. Whether you love driving, rely on two wheels, or take public transit, you have the perfect tools to help connect others with the transportation alternatives they need and deserve.

When I first moved to Portland for college, I found a city criss-crossed with public transportation. Zipcars seemed to be at every major intersection. And the city’s distinction of being one of the most bike-friendly cities in America encouraged my first bike purchase. It was easy for me to stand by my decision not to own a car and consider myself lucky to live in such an accessible place.

What I have grown to understand, however, is that I am fortunate to have the physical ability to get around. Not everyone does. The convenience of public transit is only as convenient as your ability to get yourself to a stop, and assumes you can figure it out from there. Cost-saving car share options still require that one is able to drive themselves, which is a barrier for many with physical and mental limitations.

Realizing that transportation continues to be a critical need in the community, I decided to give some of my own time to help connect others with ways to get around. Since my personal passion is for the bicycle, I found my niche volunteering with the Community Cycling Center, empowering kids with the skills, knowledge and confidence to bike, while strengthening their street-savvy and problem solving skills. The experience was unforgettable, watching those shy first-timers turn into confident two-wheelers.

This month, I am fortunate to have had this chance to turn my passion and volunteer experience into Hands On’s Focus on Transportation. I hope that you will feel inspired to join with me and give the gift of mobility.

Melia Tichenor is Hands On Greater Portland’s Eastside Program Manager. When she’s not working with nonprofit partners to set up volunteer projects, she’s rallying her coworkers to earn 100% participation in this September’s Bike Commute Challenge, sponsored by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

Remember September 11th with Service

Volunteer during the weekend of Sept. 11 and you will help create a fitting and enduring legacy in the name of those lost and injured. Throughout the Sept. 11 weekend, you can volunteer on a variety of service projects that Hands On has created to commemorate the National Day of Service and Remembrance, created this year by President Obama.

Ready for a deeper volunteer experience?

Like many people between jobs, Rick Baurer wants to stay active and connected with others these days. So he reached out to Hands On Greater Portland, looking for an opportunity to volunteer for a while.

Beyond Hands On’s calendar of one-time volunteer projects, Rick found opportunities on the website to make a longer-term time commitment. That’s what Rick is looking for. He selected opportunities to match his interests and schedule and build upon his experience. Within a couple days, he had heard back from Easter Seals and Operation Hope.

Easter Seals seeks volunteers for its Oregon Money Management Program advisory council. In this role, members provide support, guidance and direction to Easter Seals staff to help grow this statewide program that helps low-income individuals with financial education and money management services

Operation Hope seeks volunteers for its Operation Hope program. Volunteers teach youth about the basics of banking, budgeting, checking and savings, credit and investment. Volunteers are trained to present the material in a fun, engaging and relevant program.

These are among just two of the dozens of ongoing volunteer opportunities that Hands On Greater Portland is promoting this month. These opportunities are ideal for people, such as Rick, who can make a deeper time commitment. The rewards are also deep. Rick looks forward to not only helping out, but to expanding his network and building his resume.

This month is a great opportunity to connect through Hands On with an ongoing opportunity. This summer, the President is calling on all Americans to participate in our nation’s recovery and renewal by serving in our communities. Ongoing volunteers are ideal opportunities to answer this call. There are many ways to get involved. Just check our website for a complete list of ongoing opportunities. Who knows, maybe you’ll run into Rick.

Help Us Spread the Word

By reaching out to others, you can help us connect volunteers

Meet two dedicated volunteers that contributed to Portland's ranking of second in the nation in volunteering.

When we think of the time of year when volunteer services are most needed, summer doesn’t usually come to mind. But this summer is different. Deepening economic troubles have increased the demand for basic services, and each individual’s contribution is more important than ever. And with a new national call to service by President Obama, it is clear that our national attention continues to focus on how to solve problems from the ground up.

At times like these, many of us wonder what we can do. Many of us are volunteering and donating money. But how can we expand our impact now when it is needed most? One way is to help Hands On Greater Portland spread the word. Reaching out to people you know and asking them to get involved is a very effective way to help. Each of us can communicate about the power of volunteering and recruit new volunteers; as a result, we automatically become much more powerful change-makers for the community.

One such change-maker is Brenda Bowling, who has been volunteering through Hands On at the Union Gospel Mission for the past ten years. Brenda has found that the best way to recruit others is to show them how fun volunteering can be: “The best advice is to be sincere,” Brenda says. “The enthusiasm is contagious. If volunteers see how excited you are about a project, they cannot help but want to be a part of that energy and excitement.” The enthusiasm that Brenda brings to her work is well-known and inspires “one-time” volunteers to return for more. Many of these volunteers arrive at her projects after being ordered by the court system, and become regulars when they see their impact and how fulfilling the work can be.

Kaylen Miller, another long-time Hands On volunteer and leader of a monthly Hands On orientation project, identifies with this experience. She often works with teens who volunteer at her projects to fulfill school requirements, and doesn’t expect that they will return. But more often than not, Kaylen’s impact is greater than she expects. “They tell me how much fun they had and then I see them again many more times, not for school, AND they bring friends when they come back,” Kaylen says. She also finds great success in talking about her projects with anyone and everyone. “If I just mention to someone that I have a volunteer event coming up, they will ask me about it and it opens the door for me to introduce them to Hands On. I walk away knowing that I might have just helped guide someone to volunteer.”

So get out there and start talking! Tell your friends about all the interesting people you meet and experiences you have. Tell your loved ones or your co-workers about Love Letters at Lunch Time and Hands On Orientation and Project at the Oregon Food Bank. You may end up doubling your impact by getting someone involved for the first time, and when that happens, the ripple effects are endless. As Brenda says, “You just never know what’s going to happen when you volunteer. You never know how you are touching other people’s lives.”