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Portland Children's Levy Newsletter
APRIL 2017
Dan Saltzman, Portland City Commissioner | Lisa Pellegrino, Director
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Diversity is our strength
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The city, county and state have been resolute in their determination to
unite against acts of bias, bigotry and racial intolerance by federal authorities.
Portland City Council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the city's commitment to support diversity, strengthen regional partnerships and encourage Portlanders to unite and work together to reject hatred and divisiveness.
Also, the city will develop and implement a training program within the next 90 days to inform city staff how to respond to interactions with ICE, including how to respond to and if appropriate, notify individuals about ICE personnel requesting information about city employees or residents, or attempts to enter city property.
In addition, state lawmakers have introduced a bill to protect places such as schools from immigration enforcement. Read more about it
here
.
PCL grantees speak out about how threats and actions by the federal government have energized the local community and spurred many to volunteer, committing time and money to orgs that support immigrants, refugees and undocumented residents.
IRCO reports that o
ver the past few months it has seen an unprecedented outpouring of generosity from donors and volunteers, as more than 650 people have signed up to volunteer and community members have given over
$150,000.
Latino Network said it c
ontinues to stand in solidarity with its communities despite ICE arrests. "These actions are unacceptable and we will not stop fighting to protect our families and communities. We know that immigrants are an integral part of the fabric of our nation," said ED Carmen Rubio.
Together with the Oregon Law Center, Latino Network staff produced a pamphlet for families on how to prepare for an emergency or deportation, which can be found on the website here.
Local Somalis have reacted to the government's revised travel ban with fear that it sends the wrong message, especially to teens. Read the story
here.
Teachers and parents struggle to make sense of these complicated issues for their students and children. See the story
here.
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Upcoming young parent fair
F
or a young parenting family, getting from one resource to another can be challenging. For the second year, Squires is bringing organizations together that provide assistance to young families.
When: May 11th, 2017, 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Where: KingPins, 3550 SE 92nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266
What: Young Parent Resource Fair
This conference is for educators, health personnel, administrators, counselors, social and youth service workers, parents, clergy, teen parent program staff, community members and others who wish to increase their knowledge and skills in addressing adolescent sexuality issues. Emphasis is on covering a wide spectrum of adolescent sexuality topics. To register go
here.
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YRJ luncheon and workshop
The nonprofit,
Youth, Rights & Justice
, is sponsoring a luncheon and continuing education workshop on Monday, May 15th at the Hilton Portland.
The topic for the luncheon is, "The Enduring Importance of In re Gault: A Look at Neuroscience, the Juvenile Brain, and the Law." The topic for the afternoon continuing education workshop is, "What Should Advocates Know About the Juvenile Brain?" The luncheon will appeal to a general audience, and the workshop will appeal to lawyers, doctors, social workers, psychologists and other specialists. Both CLE and CEU credits have been applied for.
Tickets for both the luncheon and workshop, as well as more detailed information about the events, can be found at www.youthrightsjustice.org, or by reaching out to Janeen Olsen, 503.232.2540 x231, janeen.o@youthrightsjustice.org.
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Visit the "Pinwheels for Prevention" page to learn more and download the Campaign Manual here.
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8th annual La
tino Conference
The 2017 Latino Health Equity Conference on Tuesday, June 20th at Portland State University will continue the theme of examining the unique health issues faced by Latino immigrant communities in the United States focusing specifically on aging. Latino elders and their family members draw upon cultural strengths including the importance of spirituality and family that can serve as resilience factors. However, elderly Latino immigrants face many obstacles that affect their overall health. There are cultural and systemic barriers in health care, disparities in chronic disease management, limited access to culturally appropriate community resources for eldercare and limited access to palliative and hospice care.
Additional conference details can be found on our Familias en Acción
website.
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YWCA Social Change Trainings
The YWCA offers high-quality and engaging social change trainings. Training info can be found
here. The org is also looking for women of color who want to work with other women of color for racial justice. More info
here.
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PCL Helps Nonprofits Recruit Volunteers
- A link: either to your website where volunteer information can be found, or the email and/or phone number of the name of the person responsible for volunteers.
- A short blurb about what you are looking for from volunteers.
- If you would like to include any specific wording about outreach to older and/or retired potential volunteers.
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Meals on Wheels making a difference
While a White House report said that the
Meals on Wheels
program is not showing results, research noted otherwise. Read the story
here.
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Rising number of hate speech at K-12 schools
Educators are worried about increasing incidents of hate speech in their schools. Read the story
here.
Related, PPS will begin tracking hate incidents against students. See the story
here.
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Schools can transform by facing up to some long-held beliefs
Meaningful change in public schools is possible. Read the story
here
.
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Showers, washing machines in schools make a difference
Utah schools help homeless students by providing them a place to shower and wash their clothes. See the story here.
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People who are poor aren't lazy and it's not because they're buying cell phones.
The reasons "don't reflect well on the US". Read the story here.
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Generations grand opening
NAYA
recently opened its Generations 40-unit housing development in Lents which provides affordable, inter-generational housing for foster youth and elders. See more here.
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Programs Making a Difference:
Albina Early Head Start and Head Start
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A thank you to Albina Early Head Start and Head Start and their wonderful staff and students, who recently hosted PCL and Portland City Commissioner Dan Saltzman to tour their classrooms and visit with teachers and children.
Also, congrats to Albina, which will be sending a delegation to the Guiyang Preschool Educational College in Guiyang, China. The college asked Albina to help develop a partnership/exchange agreement centered around Albina's Mandarin program. The college is also interested in Albina's STEM program. |
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The new PCL 2017 Community Showcase report will publish next month. Below is a sneak peak of this year's theme: Celebrating the beauty of our diverse community.
We used flowers to help tell the story of some of the families and children PCL programs serve. We are sharing these fabulous photos at an exhibit in the Portland City Hall Atrium from May 16th - May 25th and invite all of you to attend. More details in the weeks ahead.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
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Allocation Committee News
Mark your calendar: the next two PCL Allocation Committee meetings are Monday, May 1st at 1:30 p.m., and Monday, May 22nd at 1 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers, 1221 SW 4th Ave. Agendas will be posted on the PCL website a week before the meeting and sent to the PCL mailing list.
Also, PCL just sent out a call for
Letters of Interest for $500,000 in funding for new After-School programs
. For more details, go
here.
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Early Childhood Update
Friendly House has openings at its half-day educational preschool program. The program includes play-based curriculum, outside and inside play space, meals, parent-teacher conferences and more. Full scholarships funded by PCL are available and there are also multiple openings for families able to pay tuition on an affordable sliding scale -- monthly payments as low as $260. Any child who has turned 3 is eligible. Visit the preschool webpage
here for more information or call 503-228-4391 -- tours are available as well!
Read the s
tory about why early learning educators need to be part of the discussion when it comes to policy making. See it
here
Spread the word about applying now for
Head Start and Early Head Start slots.
Apply in person at one of these locales or call 503-491-6111 for more info :
- March 20, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
East County Church of Christ 24375 S.E. Stark St., Gresham, 97030
- April 17, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Freedom Four Square Church 660 S.E. 160th Ave., Portland, 97233
- May 15, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
Sunrise Center 18901 E. Burnside St., Portland, 97233
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Director, After School & Hunger grants
Assistant Director and Early Childhood & Mentoring grants:
Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention & Foster Care Grants Manager:
Communications Director:
Fiscal Specialist:
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Who We Are
The Portland Children's Levy was created by city voters in 2002 and overwhelmingly renewed by the electorate in Fall 2008 and Spring 2013. Funding for the new five-year Levy began July 1, 2014 and includes hunger relief as a new focus area.
The Levy is supported through a property tax paid by City of Portland homeowners that generates $15 million toward investments in proven programs in areas of Early Childhood, After School, Mentoring, Child Abuse Prevention/Intervention, Foster Care and Hunger Relief. The Levy reaches over 8,000 children and their families annually; in addition, Levy-funded hunger relief services provide food to over 11,000 children and 9,167 parents/caregivers annually.
The Levy is annually audited and administrative costs do not exceed 5 percent.
Questions? Contact: Call Mary Gay Broderick at 503-823-2947 or e-mail
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