Partner Profile: HomePlate

In April of 2005, individuals from a youth group, social services agencies, the Hillsboro police department, and the community came together to develop a way to address the lack of services for homeless youth in Washington County. They came up with the idea of HomePlate, where youth ages 12-21 can come together on Thursday evenings for a hot meal, a shower, hygiene items, art supplies, games, and an open ear. HomePlate has continued to develop throughout the years, becoming a non-profit in December of 2007 and now serves between 20 and 50 youth every Thursday night.

In addition to its one part-time staff member, HomePlate relies heavily on volunteers. There is a Board of Directors and three core volunteers, who are part of the group that founded HomePlate. These volunteers have committed to being at HomePlate every Thursday evening. They have been able to provide familiarity to the youth, making HomePlate a welcoming and warm place.

Community volunteers are always welcome to participate in Thursday night activities. Volunteers bring a food item and as a group, they prepare a hot meal for the youth. After the meal, volunteers have the opportunity to interact with the youth and spend time listening, processing their situations, recognizing achievements, and providing guidance. The mission of HomePlate is to support the positive efforts of homeless youth through relationships and volunteers make this happen.

Jenny Reid is the heart of HomePlate. She is a two year volunteer with HomePlate, a newly elected board member, and a long time Hands On Greater Portland Volunteer Leader. As a volunteer, she helps to coordinate volunteers and plan the meal they will provide. When Jenny first began volunteering with HomePlate, she was impressed with the dedication of the core volunteers and the comfortable, safe place HomePlate is for youth. She was touched by how the youth take ownership in HomePlate and are so appreciative to have a safe place to have a hot meal and hang out with their friends. Jenny describes an evening at HomePlate as, “feeling like family getting together to enjoy each other’s company.”

HomePlate is always looking for volunteers who have a genuine interest and understanding of people of all backgrounds. Volunteers are welcome to join HomePlate to serve a meal and interact with youth. Click here to learn more about the Thursday night opportunity. With the numbers of homeless youth continuing to increase, HomePlate is always looking for new core volunteers that will make an ongoing commitment. Click here to learn more about becoming a core volunteer. To learn more about HomePlate, you can visit their website at www.homeplateyouth.com

Looking Forward to 2009

At Hands On Greater Portland, there’s nothing quite like the holiday season. That’s when we see an extraordinary spirit of giving, as volunteers reach out and offer their help in a big way. Even with our expanded calendar of projects and long list of referrals, we are overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity. It’s a great thing! But we’d be remiss if we didn’t use this opportunity to see if we could talk you into spreading the wealth of your volunteerism throughout 2009. By all means, volunteer with us this holiday season. But also consider staying involved the whole year through. Here are some ways to do that:

Sign our pledge to volunteer throughout the year. Provide your name and email address and we will contact you to remind you of your pledge to volunteer. You will hear from us twice during the year: once in March and once in July. Think of it as a reminder for your volunteer calendar.

Sign up for one or more of the 30+ projects over MLK Weekend developed in partnership with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette

Get your family out volunteering. Check out our family-friendly projects.

Are you a teen looking for something fun to do with friends, or needing to fulfill graduation requirements? Hands On now has TEEN-specific projects.

If you’re a member of the Boomer generation, have you checked out our Boomer Initiative?

Deepen your commitment. Become one of the Volunteer Leaders that Hands On relies on to keep our calendar projects going.

See you over the holidays, and again in 2009!

Boomer Initiative Update

Creating a meaningful holiday through community service! Updates from the Hands On Boomer Initiative…

Our Hands On Boomer Initiative, a partner in Life by Design NW, has organized a Holiday TeamWorks. This offering is so popular that it has already filled to capacity! Our holiday volunteer team will be gathering on December 4th for an orientation to assist us in setting our intentions for a meaningful holiday of service, followed by three service projects in which we will help connect low-income families to bikes, toys and food for the nourishment of body and heart.

In early November, a team of Hands On volunteers assisted with the presentation of a successful webcast of the National Conference on Positive Aging which was broadcast from the University of Minnesota, Center for Spirituality and Healing. Eighty participants gathered at Marylhurst University to view the conference locally and engage in group discussions about how our community can support vital living and longevity. It was an inspiring event that will spawn future related events and discussions. So, stay tuned!

We also have another Books-to-Action discussion group scheduled for February 24th at the Hillsdale Library and March 1st at the Hollywood Library. We will be reading and discussing Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam. Following the book discussion, our book group will be volunteering on a related service project. If interested, please email me and I will notify you as soon as it is posted on the project calendar.

Additionally, in January we will be offering a Boomer Affinity Group to assist you in finding your direction, focus and renewed identity through civic engagement. We will be presenting transformational tools and resources to help you deepen your understanding of yourself while creating a renewed and meaningful connection to the larger scheme of things. Sign-up here for our first gathering on January 15^th!

To stay up-dated on our 2009 projects check-out the volunteer opportunities on our Hands On Boomer Initiative webpage.

Karen Beal
Hands On Boomer Initiative
Program Manager

Volunteer Leader Profile: Ellie Gilbert

Knit for Newborns is a group of Hands On volunteers who come together once a month to knit blankets and clothing for newborns and premature babies, to be donated to the natal and prenatal wards at Virginia Garcia and Emanuel hospitals. Ellie Gilbert, Knit for Newborns Volunteer Leader, told us why she started working with Hands On and what this volunteer project means to her.

“I got involved with Hands On Portland because I needed to find a way to give back, have fun and feel good without spending money or having to commit tons of time. I have a demanding job but wanted an outlet beyond work that would benefit someone else. Hands On allows me that flexibility of time and fits into my already busy schedule."

“This project has brought so much fulfillment into my life already. I enjoy leading this group, helping them get excited about the difference we are making to moms and dads with their first child or a child who is in the hospital. I feel most passionately about providing for the premies and children who are ill or dying. Families go through so much during these times. Having something homemade that someone took the time to craft can mean a lot, especially if the family doesn't have much."

"What I carry away is the sense of our group accomplishment (aside from the fact that what we produce fills the entire backseat of my car). Our group feels really good about what we make and even better to think that we can brighten someone else's day and make a hard situation just a little bit better.”

National Family Volunteer Day

November 22nd is National Family Volunteer Day and to celebrate, Hands On Greater Portland has created a day filled with service opportunities designed to encourage your family to get out and volunteer together! This is a great opportunity for families to spend quality time together in a fun and positive learning environment to teach a new generation the importance of giving back to the community. Each opportunity is designed for families with children of all ages and interests.

Be sure to pay extra attention to the all the volunteer opportunities happening at Hosford Middle School on November 22nd. There is something age appropriate for everyone in the family and it’s all under one roof!

Can’t make it to any of the events on November 22nd? You are in luck! There are fantastic opportunities for families and youth of all ages throughout November. No training or experience is necessary, and volunteers are encouraged to sign-up for projects that interest them and fit their schedule. So sign-up, get involved, and make a difference today! To view the list of family opportunities and to sign up visit our family volunteer page.

Hands On Boomer Initiative Update

Boomer TeamWorks in December! This is the time of year when many of us want to reach out to help others, to serve our community and to connect with purpose and meaning. However, the many demands of this season can limit our ability to fulfill our deeper intent. To support you in creating a holiday season filled with heartfelt giving and thanksgiving, we are creating a team works that begins with an orientation and reflection on setting our holiday intentions, followed by service projects designed to support a meaningful holiday experience for you and others in our community.

More information will be posted on the project calendar soon. You can also check the Hands On Boomer Initiative webpage for up-coming details. Meanwhile, if you would like to express your interest in the December Boomer TeamWorks, please email Karen Beal.

On Nov. 2nd, we had an inspiring Books-to-Action discussion on The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, by Dan Buettner. Many of us who participated will also be volunteering at the November 12th National Conference on Positive Aging.

We encourage you to view our Hands On Boomer Initiative webpage for more information on our Books-To-Action series and the Positive Aging Conference.

Help Out For The Holidays

Looking to share some holiday cheer this season? Check out our holiday page for volunteer opportunities specific to this time of year! This list will be updated throughout the season, so keep checking back for more holiday opportunities. Regular volunteer opportunities can always be found on our Project Calendar or our Ongoing Opportunities List.

Change begins at home; at Hands On, in fact!

Donate now

By Andy Nelson, Executive Director

Babies born at the beginning of the presidential election campaign are now walking and talking, one of the presidential candidates pointed out. In other words, the national agenda has occupied the nation for months.

Now that it’s over, our focus returns home to the work of doing locally what we’ve talked about nationally for months. Both Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain laid out ambitious plans for change and improvement. Yet, like it so often has, the real work of change comes down to the local level.

That’s where you come in. Through Hands On Greater Portland, volunteers are doing the seminal work of building community. Volunteers care for homebound elders, tutor children, distribute food to families, and restore urban green spaces. Last year alone, Hands On made 15,000 volunteer connections – up from 5,000 just five years ago.

Hands On is at the center of change in the Portland area. We partner with 250 nonprofits, schools and community organizations a year. We build a bridge between people who want to help and organizations that need their help to meet important community needs. You might say that Hands On is helping to create a caring, supportive community for all the babies who are now walking and talking.

Please help Hands On build the bridge. Volunteer with us this holiday season. Join our Monthly Sustainers Club and help us connect even more people who want to help with the volunteer opportunities that go unfilled. I think that the Monthly Sustainers Club is a great way to leverage your donation throughout the year. A gift of $25 a month ($5 a week) amounts to more than $250 a year, for example. Here’s a great way to pool your resources with others who believe in the positive changes that Hands On creates.

To join the Monthly Sustainers Club, simply click here or call me at 503-200-3374.

Regardless of the outcome of the election, we can all agree that volunteering with Hands On works, makes lasting change, and provides a way for all of us to come together as a community.

Volunteer Profile--Per Olson

How did you get involved with Hands On Greater Portland?

Friends of mine were on the early Hands On Greater Portland board, and they got me involved. I joined the board in 1997. Early on, there was no staff so we just set
up committees that did all the work creating projects, the newsletter, fundraising, etc. We all wore many hats. I was the project coordinator on a couple projects and in charge of setting up projects. That was before we hired an executive director.

What's your favorite cause?

I think I like environmental projects the best, tree planting, ivy
removal, etc.

Why is it important to you to volunteer with your family?

My wife and I started having kids 5 years ago, and so, with the exception of the big Hands On Greater Portland projects, we really haven't volunteered much over the last 5 years, until this last Spring and Summer when Hands On Greater Portland started offering the family friendly projects. The kids are old enough to at least attend and get some benefit out of it (they don't really do much actual volunteering). It's a great family activity. It's healthy, keeps us active, and it's educational for the kids.

What do you see as the benefit of encouraging kids to volunteer?

It's all about instilling values in them at a young age: just the fact that they're outdoors or doing productive work on a day where they might otherwise be sitting in front of the tv or going at one another; also, the value of community, and helping others; I hope they also see it as a fun thing to do, and a chance to meet new people.