Woodlawn Neighborhood Association Achievements

November 2018 to October 2019

1. We contributed $200 to this year’s Black Santa at Woodlawn Multicultural Impact Center (MIC) held Friday Dec 7^th and attended by over 300 people. Liz and Nancy volunteered.
2. In December and January, we distributed around 600 thank you notes to every house/business in Woodlawn that sported holiday lights/festive directions over the winter holidays.

3. We donated $200 to support the formation of a new Lego League Junior, a team to learn about science and engineering through Legos at Woodlawn School. This is a partnership with the SUN program.

4. In January, we participated in “A Month for Woodlawn” at the Oregon Public House. Woodlawn Elementary PTA, Woodlawn Farmers’ Market, Woodlawn Community Garden, NET, and the neighborhood association all had events and received donations. We also hosted a first-ever Woodlawn Trivia Night at OPH on January 26^th.
5. We received a $500 Communications Grant received from NECN Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods) for WNA Outreach efforts.
6. The NECN Newsletter Hey Neighbor! Winter 2019 Issue featured two articles about Woodlawn.  (1) “Picking Up for Woodlawn & Wildlife” about Rick Reynolds and his trash cleanup project and (2) “Growing Food and Community—One Carrot, Beet, and Tomato at a Time!” about the 4 community gardens located in NECN neighborhoods.

7. 7. We held a February Social with food from Woodlawn eateries before our regular monthly meeting and had over 50 attendees. We did outreach to new renters, homeowners, and apartment buildings for this event, too.
8. We contributed $200 for supplies and other incidentals needed to support the awesome neighborhood cleanup efforts led by Rick Reynolds and Johnmark Larson. They have been picking up trash at various locations on a volunteer basis.
9. In April, we held our annual Easter egg hunt in Woodlawn Park. It was well-attended and delighted hundreds of Woodlawn kids and filled their baskets with candy and other goodies.

10.  We raised over $300 for Meals on Wheels Stride for Seniors and sent a walking team to their fundraising walk at Portland International Raceway on April 20^th.

11. 11. NECN and NET volunteers as well as other Woodlawn residents volunteered at the new Walnut Park seasonal shelter for the homeless run by Transitions, Inc.

12. We were the fiscal sponsor for the Woodlawn Neighborhood Farmer’s Market now in its 5th year.
13. The Woodlawn Farmers’ Market received an NECN grant to fund kids programming at the farmers’ market for the summer.
14. In May, we held another successful Woodlawn “Community Collection Event” thanks to our two amazing volunteer coordinators, Shelly and Francisco! We made just under $2000 this year. We filled six dumpsters and donations came from 48 cars, 71 SUVs. Other numbers: We took in 16 tires, 27 mattresses, 12 bikes, 71 electronics; we sent 2 1/2 truckloads to Free Geek and a big load of styrofoam went to the processing facility in Tigard; and we did lots of re-use “freecycling” thanks to participating volunteers and neighbors.

15. We were a sponsor (along with NECN, the Alberta Food Co-op, Vernon Neighborhood Association and Sabin CDC) of two showings of the documentary, “Priced Out: 15 Year of Gentrification in Portland, Oregon” — in May at the Salt & Light Lutheran Church and in August during Last Thursday in the Alberta Food Co-op parking lot.  Anjala was a featured speaker at the May event which had over 100 attendees.

16. Commissioner Chloe Eudaly was a featured speaker at our June meeting. The board and community compiled a list of potential topics to discuss during a discussion at the May WNA meeting. These were sent to Commissioner Eudaly in advance of the meeting so she could prepare some comments.

17. We submitted a formal letter opposing the expansion of Zenith Energy Oil Trains through Woodlawn and adjoining neighborhoods and Woodlawn residents attended a July hearing on the topic.

18. In July and August, two paintings of the Woodlawn Community Garden—featuring the communal raspberries and the fig tree— by Anna Keyes were exhibited in the Neighborhood Associations Rock! Art Exhibit at the Elisabeth Jones Gallery in the Pearl District; WNA’s role in the founding of the garden was featured next to each painting.

19. We raised money to fund our free summer events including National Night Out and Sunday Parkways from neighborhood businesses and eateries. Personal thank-you notes were sent to acknowledge all of this generosity.

20. On August 4^th, we held an amazing National Night Out event in Woodlawn Park featuring music by Horns of Soul, free food, Tamale Boy, face-painting, a baking contest to benefit Woodlawn School (Robyn of Classic Foods was a winner!), local nonprofits, OHSU nurses, and lots of neighbors!

21. Portland Parks held another free movie night in Woodlawn Park on August 6^th. The movie this year was the delightful Coco. It was attended by hundreds of neighbors and had a great live music performance by Grand 5 before the movie screening.

22. Woodlawn Park and the Woodlawn Community Garden were chosen to be the sites of 2019 annual community gardens volunteer appreciation dinner funded by the Phillips Family Foundation with food catered by Holdfast. It was held on August 14^th and Shirley and Nancy attended.

23. Shirley, Liz, and Nancy represented WNA with a table at a rainy NE Sunday Parkways at Woodlawn Park on September 22^nd. Thanks to Keith and the Woodlawn Farmers’ Market for loaning us tables and pop-up tents.

24. We were a sponsor/co-host of the NE Neighborhood Associations Meetup at Alberta Abbey on September 26^th. The meeting also included representatives and neighbors from Humboldt, King, and Vernon neighborhood associations.

25. We had numerous presentations at our monthly meetings including from the school, non-profits, and assorted businesses including: Girls, Inc. of the Pacific Northwest; Zenith Oil Energy/Trains Opposition; Lime Scooters; Retro Game Bar; Woodlawn School’s Plant Sale; the US Census jobs recruiter; Historic Resources Code Project; and Woodlawn Elementary School Site Council.

26. Another trash can has been installed and adopted by the Woodlawn Neighborhood Association at the bus stop near the secondhand shop on NE Dekum.

27. We held monthly WNA Land Use Committee meetings and discussed a wide range of issues, including more new apartments, demolitions, historic preservation, pedestrian crossings, and a new greenway coming to Woodlawn.

28. We had a strong online presence: we shared regular updates and events with our 1,300+ fans on Facebook, posted updates to Twitter and nextdoor.com, and maintained our awesome webpage at gowoodlawn.com

29. We continued to be the BEST neighborhood in Portland!