The Woodlawn Neighborhood, Portland, Oregon » Editorial Team

Woodlawn Children’s Garden Benefit

Editorial Team — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 03:39:50 +0000

What smells do you most associate with your childhood? My dad was, and still is, an obsessive gardener (I come by my addiction honestly), so the sharp smell of compost is pleasant to me – it reminds me of being a kid. And I can clearly recall the first time my leg brushed up against a tomato plant, and the pleasing odor that rose up making me salivate at the thought of the impending fruit. I learned so much in that garden – about science and food, about hard work and the joy of watching something I’ve toiled over grow and serve me well. It was a good childhood, made so much more so by the presence of a beautiful garden, and the bounty that it produced.

I grew up in an era when Fluffinutter sandwiches on Wonder bread were the lunch of choice, so I knew I was lucky, even then, to be surrounded by fresh food. Now, more than ever, there are plenty of kids who grow up without those experiences. Kids who see tomatoes as those things in grocery stores that sit on a Styrofoam tray, covered in plastic. Some of these kids live right here in our own neighborhood. I believe that kids – regardless of socio-economic background – deserve to delight in the smells of a childhood spent outside, in the dirt, getting to know where good food comes from.

Here in Portland, we pride ourselves on our green spaces. When the choice is available, we make an effort to eat locally produced foods, to spend time outside in this awe-inspiring part of the country, to preserve the wild places. The miles-long waiting list at most of the Portland Community Gardens is a testament to how much stock our community puts in the great privilege of growing one’s own food. My hope is that a new generation of Portlanders will grow up feeling this same compulsion. I hope that we can help grow the gardeners of tomorrow, through important programs like the Woodlawn Children’s Garden.

The Children’s Garden Program

The Children’s Gardening Program began in Portland in 1992. Providing free classes for the entirety of the growing season, this program is unique educational gardening opportunities for youth in Portland. Students get hands-on gardening experience, enjoy freshly-prepared snacks, and take home a share of the harvest. Remaining produce is donated to nearby food shelters, providing up to 400 pounds annually.

While it used to exist in three Community Gardens throughout the district, Woodlawn is the only active children’s garden site remaining. The program is co-sponsored by Portland Parks and Recreation and the Friends of Portland Community Gardens. However, the garden coordinator position, integral to the viability of the program, is reliant on grants and donations; without the coordinator, the future of the garden is grossly uncertain. “The garden is a vehicle for teaching life lessons as much as it is for teaching science, nutrition, or art,” program coordinator Mara Reynolds comments. “Spanning seasons as well as subjects, the garden bridges an educational gap that schools often struggle to fill on their own.”

The Firehouse Benefit Dinner

Just as they did last year, the Firehouse Restaurant is hosting a benefit dinner for the garden. The event will be held on Tuesday, May 11th, with a no-host cocktail hour beginning at 6:00pm, followed by a family-style supper featuring fruits and vegetables grown in the Children’s Garden. Tours of the garden will be held from 5:30pm – 6:00pm.The $50, tax deductible tickets include dinner with wine. Please contact Firehouse for tickets.

“We are dedicated to supporting this program,” says Matthew Busetto, chef and owner of The Firehouse. “Not only does the garden give these kids access to and education about organic food, but it also gives them a connection to the earth and their community.”

You can also help support the program through donations made to the Friends of Portland Community Gardens. You can learn more about them on the web:

http://www.friendspdxgardens.org/children.htm

or send them an email:

info@friendspdxgardens.org

There is always a need for volunteers with varying skills. Please contact:

Mara Reynolds, Children’s Gardening Coordinator
Alice Froehlich, Children’s Gardening Educator
childgard@ci.portland.or.us,
503.823.1617

Firehouse Restaurant Anniversary and Fundraiser

Editorial Team — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:09:30 +0000

As an update to this post, I wanted to share that over $1000 was raised for Sports4Kids at this event. Way to go!

How can you go wrong with delicious food and a great cause? The Firehouse Restaurant in Dekum Triangle will host an open house and fundraiser for Woodlawn Elementary School Sports4Kids this Sunday, June 28th from 4-8 pm. There will be a raffle and bluegrass music from the Josh Cole Band.

Why I Heart Woodlawn

Editorial Team — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:26:46 +0000

A few months ago I was planting seeds in the front of my house, hoping they would grow into something tasty. Neighbor Gina was walking by and stopped to chat with me and ask about the piles of wood chips in my yard, and some gardening methods… Being pretty new to gardening myself, we had a nice discussion about our hopes and dreams for eating good food we grew ourselves. Last week I came home to find a sweet note in my mailbox from Gina wanting to know my “secret” (um, neglect?) and letting me know she ate a snap pea! Well, we hadn’t even tried them ourselves, so she let us know they were ready! I love gardening in my front yard because so many people have stopped to talk – now I can offer them a snack! — Bethany, new Woodlawn resident

Why do YOU Heart Woodlawn? Email us at Website //at// GoWoodlawn.com and tell your story!

Go grow something!

Editorial Team — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:06:41 +0000

Henry V, located at 6360 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, has some large containters ready to be turned into edible wonderlands, and is offering Woodlawn neighbors the opportunity to grow food in them on site (and take it home and eat it!). Give Steve a call at (503) 232-6666 and go buy yourself some kale seeds. Yum.

Volunteers Needed!

Editorial Team — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:00:52 +0000

Do you have skills to share and a few hours to give to your community? Woodlawn is bursting with opportunities for our neighbors to get involved and help make events and programs that benefit everyone in our neighborhood even better than they already are! Interested in organizing a raffle to benefit programs helping schoolkids? Have a green thumb but no garden of your own? Enjoy helping organize fun events for the whole neighborhood to enjoy? There’s no reason to sit home when you can…

Help out with the Woodlawn Community Garden by gardening and/or fundraising – and read an awesome story about it by neighbor Jennifer Coughlin over at Neighborhood Notes!

Volunteer for the planning committee for Summer Fest, to be held August 4th (National Night Out) in Woodlawn Park. Woodlawn resident and Americorps superstar Melinda will be spearheading the event as her service project – aren’t we lucky? But she can’t do it all by herself so if you can volunteer to help out, get in touch with her at mbrummett //at//impactnw.org

Good Neighbor Pizza is living up to their name and pulling together a block party for August 22, so mark your calendar! This stuff doesn’t happen on it’s own and volunteer assistance would be gladly accepted, especially if you want to organize that raffle benefiting a (yet to be named) program for local school children. Call 503-285-7400 between 2-5 or text 503-327-1399 with your offers of help.

And this is a good time to give a shout-out to the small cadre of awesome volunteers who made the Woodlawn Spring Clean-up a success yet again and added some moolah to our bank account. Cha-ching! And thank you to our volunteers – and thank you to those of you who cleaned out your garage!

Hermandad Mexicana Forum Meeting

Editorial Team — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:36:15 +0000

On Saturday June 27, at 3:30 pm, will Hermandad Mexicana will hold a Forum Meeting at 1425 NE Dekum Street in the Woodlawn Community Resource Center. Information will be available on immigration and labor rights. All are welcome. Call 503-935-6141 for more information.

Intercultural Community Gathering

Editorial Team — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 20:05:43 +0000

Community Outreach of Our United Villages is hosting an Intercultural Community Gathering on Saturday, August 15th at Overlook Park from 11:00am-5:00pm. “Our hope is that this event will inspire people to celebrate and learn more about the richness of cultural diversity in our community,” says Linda Hunter, Community Outreach Manager. This free and family-friendly event will feature Interactive Villages, Cultural Sharing Conversations, music, food, raffle prizes, and opportunities to meet neighbors.

20 Villages will provide hands-on activities for community participation. Play an instrument, take a dance lesson, listen to a story, try on traditional clothing, and learn about cultural practices. Share your culture with others. At 1pm, 2pm, and 3pm community will gather for show and tell about one another’s cultural customs, family traditions and way of life.

Everyone will gather at 12pm for lunch on the lawn and is encouraged to bring a bag lunch and blankets/chairs to be comfortable. Snacks and drinks will be provided. DJs will spin music from around the world throughout the afternoon.

“We hope that folks will leave this event with more knowledge about how to reach out to neighbors cross-culturally and be more curious about learning and seeking cultural-specific information,” says Kate Erickson, Community Outreach Organizer.

Community Outreach of Our United Villages is a local, non-profit community building organization that is dedicated to inspiring people to value and discover existing resources to strengthen the social and environmental vitality of communities. For more information, visit www.ourunitedvillages.org.

Learn Cool Skills at ReBuilding Center Youth Camp

Editorial Team — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:38:02 +0000

The ReBuilding Center—North America’s largest non-profit center for used building materials—is offering four hands-on workshops this summer for youth ages 11-17.

SCHEDULE: July 6-9, 1-4pm (Sliding scale $55-$135 or $15-$35 per day)

Workshop topics include learning basic woodworking skills; create one of a kind curio cabinet; transforming salvaged materials into works of art; designing and creating a coat rack and a clock from recycled wood and hooks, knobs and all kinds of miscellaneous objects; crafting a racecar and other mobiles; learning to make curves on the bandsaw and how to shape wood by hand; and much more. The workshops focus on using found and salvaged objects available at the ReBuilding center

To register and for more information, see the ReBuilding Center website.

Bicycle Helmets Sale for Safety

Editorial Team — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 23:49:08 +0000

Discounted helmets provided by grants from Legacy Foundation, Legacy Portland Hospitals Medical Staff and Trauma Nurses Talk Tough through this annual sale. Helmets are $5.00 each, helmet fitting & adjustments available, sizes for toddlers to adults.

Legacy Emanuel Hospital (Atrium)
2801 N Gantenbein Ave – Portland, Oregon
June 18, 2009 + July 16, 2009 + August 20, 2009 – Thursdays, 3 to 5 pm

If you can’t make this event, check out other dates and locations by continuing to read this story.

Keep yourself and your kids safe on bikes! Stay tuned to GoWoodlawn for continual biking safety and fun updates.

Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center Healthy Kids Fair
2211 NE 139th St – Vancouver, WA
Saturday June 13, 2009
10 AM to 2 PM

Sunset Community Bike Safety Fair
14986 NW Cornell Rd – Portland, OR
(Exit 65- Cornell/Bethany exit from Hwy 26)
Saturday June 13, 2009
10 AM to 2 PM

Legacy Mt. Hood Medical Center Kids Fair
24800 SE Stark St. – Gresham, Oregon
Saturday, September 19, 2009
10 am to 2 pm

Legacy Meridian Park Kids Fair
19300 SW 65th – Tualatin, Oregon
Saturday, October 3, 2009
10 am to 2 pm

Emerging Leaders Summit for Youth

Editorial Team — Wed, 27 May 2009 21:12:16 +0000

A message from Tom Peavey, Policy Manager – Office of Youth Violence Prevention

Presented by:
Youth Employment Institute, Portland House of Umoja, Sabin Community Development Corporation, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. & Earth Flower Consulting, LLC

Event Location: Youth Employment Institute
1704 Northeast 26th Avenue 503-287-3496 x25

!!! FREE, FREE, FREE and ROOM IS STILL AVAILABLE….

This is just an FYI about an exciting end of school year event that’s open and free to community youth. Call to reserve your spot. This event is perfect for the middle and high school student looking to jump-start their summer.

MORE INFO
(503) 823-4180, TPeavey //at// ci.Portland.OR.us