I’m sorry. Are the above questions to pushy? I’m desperate.
Not desperate for me, please understand, but for my homeless friends in Portland.
Winter is coming, you see. They will no longer be napping in the sun at Waterfront Park. They will be huddling together in doorways and trying to keep warm.
Our church, Kaleo Covenant, is partnering with NCompass for their 4th annual Christmas Festival for the Homeless . This local non-profit has been serving the homeless community for the past 5 and 1/2 years.
On Sunday, December 16th, NCompass and their volunteer partners will be on the west side under the Morrison and Hawthorne Bridges in Downtown PDX. We are planning to serve over 1,000 people living in poverty by: giving them warm clothing, feeding them, giving out sleeping bags and hygiene items, providing dental and medical care, haircuts, manicures, and more.
We’ll even have a traveling musician AND magician. We go all out.
My questions for you are these:
Can you donate items?
We are looking for:
- Warm clothes and coats in ALL sizes
- New underwear
- Sleeping bags (the smaller kind that are easy to carry)
- Duffel bags or reusable grocery bags to hold items. (Trader Joes of Tanasbourne already donated 300 bags. I love them.)
- Feminine hygiene products
- Disposable plates/utensils to serve a holiday meal
Can you donate services?
We are looking for:
- Hair stylists
- Nail Technicians
- Acupuncturists
Can you donate money?
We are looking for:
- Corporate sponsors
- Smaller donations
Money will go toward renting port-a-potties, dumpsters, tables and chairs, and obtaining city permits, etc.
Corporate Sponsors will get their logo on the volunteer T-Shirts. If that’s not worth a hefty donation, than I don’t know what is.
Maybe you know someone, who knows someone, that has a cousin, that married that one guy, who works for that one company that might be interested in donating 1000 pairs of shoes.
You never know.
Can you organize a drive?
What we are looking for:
- School groups, church groups, scout troops, or any group holding a drive for coats. Or sleeping bags. Or deodorant. Or new underwear.
Donated items may be dropped off between September 18 – December 6 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 9:00am-12:00 p.m. at
Kaleo Covenant Church
15900 SW Regatta Lane
Beaverton, OR 97006
(503) 601-5395
Monetary items or corporate contacts should be directed to event director,
Emily Rose-Traylor
PO Box 1429
Beaverton, OR 97075
503-349-1183
Comment below if you need more information, if you want to tell others you’re donating, or if you have any ideas to make this festival the best Christmas gift ever for over 1,000 of our homeless neighbors.
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*Most photos above taken by Sandy Hoppenrath
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