Pollution

why it's important:

"I used to spend hours walking along the river bank in Cathedral Park picking up trash with a baby (Thor Foss). As a nanny and a mother I found it very rewarding, however, daunting. I had been longing to make this World a better place and create a positive global shift. My hope is that my son, whom I gave up adoption because of my young age, would be impacted by all my love and dedication to the good of humanity. I knew I could not do this alone...."

the plan of action:

The first step of action I took was going to a community meeting and complaining about the issue. I went to a Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association meeting and voiced my opinion. I was very passionate and disturbed by the abundance of litter along the river bank. when I asked the group who was in charge of the litter removal along the Willamette River the group responded in unison "You are." After just a moment of thinking about it I responded "Yes I am!"

The second step I took was working with local neighborhood activist seeking advice for sponsorship, policies and regulations (for Parks & Recreation and Sound permitting)to get this work done. I gained sponsorship though SOLVE and Metro during this first clean up. It took two months for me to plan the first clean up.

For the first year I spend around 1,000 of my own money to get things like: dumpster retails, permitting, electricity use and food and water bottles.

During the 2nd year I have spend only a few 100 dollars thanks to a sponsorship though Gunderson (a local industrial Superfund site contributor) and they started paying for the dumpster rental and food on occasion. Some local vendors started donating food upon my request.

PDXOP went about this mission by creating the Cathedral Park Clean UP (CPCU) events. These events have occurred consecutively every other month since inception. In the last two years PDXOP's events have removed over ten thousand pounds of trash, including tires, syringes, and glass off theriverside park. PDXOP has made a direct impact upon the beauty, health, safety, vitality,and preservation of St. Johns.

Now in the third year we are looking to expand the efforts of PDXOP outside of Cathedral Park and into the St. Johns business and residential district.

PDXOP has current plans to do a monthly revitalization and beautification event in the St. John's business district to cleanup litter, graffiti, and invasive plants, to install murals, to install rainwater gardensin public spaces, as well as Cathedral Park Clean Up events along the Willamette River.

how you can get involved:

We need help covering cost of supplies like: shovels, reusable waterproof gardening gloves, wheel barrels, web design and maintenance, exterior paints, paint brushes, artists time for painting murals, office space, native non-invasive rain water plants, and promotional materials.

why it's important:

The Douglas-Hart Nature Center lives by the motto: "experience, understand, appreciate," because we beleive that experiencing the wonders and mysteries of the natural world is the best way for children to form an understanding and subsequent appreciation for what our Earth provides. By giving the children of our community the opporutnity to explore nature and form personal connections with the natural world, we are strengthening not only the character and health of the child, but also of the community and planet as a whole.

Douglas-Hart Nature Center offered 30 youth summer day camps in the summer of 2011, and will offer 30 in the summer of 2012. Day camps are designed for all age ranges, and feature a variety of themes. Camps vary from 2-6 or more hours a day, depending on the theme and age of the campers. Some camps include lunch at the campfire. All camps include games, crafts, exploration, inquiry, free play, and environmental education - made fun! Camps are 3-5 days over a week, and camps are offered from June-August.

the plan of action:

High-school age students, 13 years or older, are invited to join our Junior Counselor Internship program and become volunteer co-leaders of our many summer day camps for youth.

Participants recieve on-site training, as well as prizes and a completion certificate and letter of reccommendation at the end of the summer.

Junior Counselor Interns (JCI's) are requested to volunteer for a minimum of one camp week, but are encouraged to return for several experiences over the summer. Sign up for camps with the themes, age groups, and time frames that interest you.

This is a amazing way to use your summer helping local children learn to enjoy and appreciate the outdoor world. Did we mention how much FUN it is, too? At the end of the summer, you will be able to add an impressive experience to your resume, one that includes aspects of leadership, teaching, organizing, working with kids, working with the environment, and that demonstrates basic work skills and ethics.

The summer camps and other programs that Douglas-Hart is able to provide are only possible because of the volunteer and donor support we recieve from our community. Thank you for helping!

how you can get involved:

Non- high-school-aged volunteers are also needed to assist with our summer camp operations. If you are intersted in the environment, in fitness, in teaching, or in special education, this would be a great opportunity for you to get involved for a good cause!

why it's important:

Operation Foundation is important to me because caring for others is what I love to do. Project Anderson's focus is to bring physical restoration to the city of Anderson, Indiana in order to unite its citizens and build up the body of Christ. In a nutshell, helping residents and students show compassion, share in a common interest (restoring the city of Anderson), and becoming friends. This is my second year as a director for OFPA and while much of the time I am working behind the scene, I get so much joy out of hearing stories about how connections are made. One story that stands out the most to me is one of a student (Sarah) and a young girl from the community. The student had volunteered to lead a group project and the young girl was placed in Sarah's project group. Throughout the week this young girl kept at Sarah's side and wanted to do everything Sarah did. From this week, Sarah was able to develop a relationship in this young girl's life and now is a mentor to this girl. This is a great example of how OFPA can unite people while bringing physical restoration to the community.

the plan of action:

OFPA is a year long planning process for a week of service. This is not to be taken lightly. Myself along with 4 other directors are always meeting and making judgement calls on what would be best to serve the community of Anderson, IN. In the past, OFPA has tried doing larger projects so we didn't have to break up large groups of people who came to volunteer. Recently, we've decided to break up these groups and get them face to face with the people they will be directly impacting.

how you can get involved:

Anyone can volunteer! OFPA welcomes anyone to help regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or beliefs. That's part of our community, acceptance.

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