Be The Bridge

Just like Kathleen Williams,
You can help families in need


Thanks to Kathleen Williams, families staying at the Family Bridge day shelter in Hillsboro receive an evening meal and a little camaraderie. Kathleen has been leading the Family Bridge project twice a month for over a year.

She could use a little help. If we could find another Volunteer Leader like Kathleen, we could make sure that we continue to help families twice a month at Family Bridge. Volunteer leaders act as Hands On Greater Portland’s representatives at projects. They welcome volunteers, sign them in, coordinate with the agency representative and make sure that the experience is high-quality and meaningful for the volunteers.

“I know that each volunteer comes away from the experience with the knowledge that they have made a difference in someone’s life,” Kathleen says of her experience. Kathleen isn’t going to abandon the Family Bridge project. But she would like to branch out and lead different projects in the Hillsboro area. Besides, the benefits of leading this project should offer more than enough incentive to a prospective Volunteer Leader.

At Family Bridge, volunteers prepare a meal together in the kitchen, serve the food to the families, and even sit down with the families to eat the dinner with them. Interacting with the guests, Kathleen says, is the highlight of the evening. “We get to know the families as we engage in conversation over dinner in a warm and laid back setting,” she says. “Just people talking to people.”

To find out about how you can lead the “Serve a Meal at Family Bridge” project, please contact Amelia Lamb at (503) 200-3355 or amelia@handsonportland.org.