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Opportunity Details

TeamWorks: Nancy Drew and The Secrets Of Hidden Portland (age 18+)

Join a TeamWorks team for a series of interrelated projects, designed to explore a community issue through the lens of volunteerism. Learn, serve, and connect with others on this team-based commitment to your community!


What do reading inmates' requests for books, tracking carnivores on Mount Hood, providing hospitality to homeless people, and doing groundswork in a cemetery all have in common? This is the array of projects that make up our newest TeamWorks volunteer team.

If you've ever read a Nancy Drew book or listened to the Serial Podcast, you know that mystery is incredibly alluring to our species! Nancy Drew, the 1930's sleuth and literary icon, transported youth to a world where a brave, smart young woman solved mysteries. This TeamWorks will explore Nancy Drew-inspired themes such as investigation, mystery, intrigue, and the importance of community while pulling back the curtain on aspects of the world that many of us don't know about. We'll approach our volunteerism with a spirit of exploration and curiosity. What are the things going on around us that we don't see, or haven't investigated? What does it mean to seek out the things we don't understand or don't have exposure to?

As a team, we'll be tending grounds and learning about the history and flora of Lone Fir Cemetery, providing hospitality to homeless people at Operation Nightwatch, taking a hike on Mount Hood to one of Cascadia Wild's carnivore tracking stations, learning about Forest Park Conservancy's Frog Shuttle program, gardening at Portland Memory Garden, the park dedicated to people living with memory loss, and reading and responding to Portland Books To Prisoner's inmate book requests.

What is TeamWorks? TeamWorks teams consist of approximately 10-12 people, who, like you, are interested in getting to know our region through volunteerism. Led by a Hands On trained volunteer leader, your team will work together on a series of projects (listed below) with opportunities to discuss the impact your service is having on our community. Some projects will be paired with happy hour or a meal to allow your team to continue the conversation (meal/drink expenses are the responsibility of each individual team member).

Signing up for the FIRST session will sign you up for the entire TeamWorks. Commitment to every project in the series is important, so please carefully check the schedule below before signing up! If you know in advance you'd have to miss one of the projects, let us know and you may still be eligible to join the team. Questions can be directed to Mindy Coolidge, mindy@handsonportland.org or 503.200.3372.

 

Team Schedule:

Session 1:
Thursday, March 16th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Team Meet & Greet and Kick-Off
Sizzle Pie, East Burnside, Portland

Let's come together to meet and get to know each other a little over drinks and appetizers (no host, bring your wallet!). What do you remember about Nancy Drew? How's your sense of curiosity and exploration? What do you know about Portland and about the issue areas we'll be exploring? What questions do you have? Team Leader, Marissa Thompson, will talk about the history of Nancy Drew, what led her to wanting to create this team, and will give an overview of what to expect on the volunteer projects. 

Session 2:
Monday, March 20th, 7:30-9:00pm
Frog Shuttle with Forest Park Conservancy
Linnton

During our second session, we'll get a tour of the Forest Park Conservancy's seasonal Frog Shuttle Program. Starting in January, armies of frogs mobilize from their upland territory in Forest Park down to their wetland breeding grounds below Highway 30. These northern red-legged frogs are a state-listed species of concern who must risk their lives for a chance to breed. If they are lucky enough to make it safely across the highway to the wetlands, many of the frogs then try to return home to Forest Park the same way they came. Once again, they move under the shadow of night, hopping across the highway, hoping not to get hit. A dedicated group of concerned residents is helping these frogs cross the road. Program Manager Jane Hartline will give us a tour of the site and we *may* even get a chance to help shuttle some of the frogs. The frogs don't migrate according to our schedule so it's possible there won't be any movement that night.

Session 3:
Saturday, March 25th, 2:00 - 4:30pm
Lone Fir Cemetery Groundswork and Historical Tour
SE Portland

We couldn't have a Nancy Drew team without volunteering in a cemetery, could we? Lone Fir Cemetery's first burial took place in 1846 and since then this has become a historic treasure, an arboretum, as well as a treasured historic resource with an extraordinary, multicultural past. The lovely grounds, filled with trees that belie the cemetery’s name, sustains the memory of military veterans, firefighters, and mental hospital patients, and is a final resting place for people of diverse ethnicities and nationalities, including Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and African-American.

We'll be volunteering to do activities such as pruning trees and clearing growth away from headstones. A volunteer from Friends of Lone Fir will lead us on a tour of the cemetery's history, cultural and artistic significance of headstones, as well as preservation and restoration efforts.

Session 4:
Saturday, April 1st, 7:00am - 5:00 pm
Carnivore Tracking with Cascadia Wild
Carpool from Portland to Pocket Creek Snow Park on Mt. Hood
*Snowshoes may be required depending on conditions. We will assess conditions and indicate whether you need to rent snowshoes prior to this trip.

Have you ever wondered what creatures roam the forest under the cover of night? We'll carpool to the Pocket Creek Sno Park on Highway 35 on Mt. Hood where we'll hike in 2 miles to visit and experience what goes on at a camera station that has been set up to attract carnivores. Learn how and why this is important work for the flora and fauna of Mt. Hood National Forest.

Cascadia Wild combines modern ecological methods with ancient practices of living with nature. Fostering a community based on science, intuition, professionalism and lots of fun, they hope to instill a deep sense of connection with the natural world. 

Session 5:
Tuesday, April 4th, 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Portland Books To Prisoners
In Other Words, N. Portland 


Meet up at In Other Words Bookstore to read letters from inmates requesting books, then peruse the PBTP library to find a book that matches the request, and get it ready to be shipped.

PBTP provides free reading materials to incarcerated individuals, fostering a love of reading behind bars, encouraging the pursuit of knowledge and self-empowerment, and breaking the cycle of recidivism. Books are tools for learning and for opening minds to new ideas and possibilities, and engaging incarcerated individuals with the benefits of reading by mailing tens of thousands of free books to inmates across the country each year.

Session 6:
Saturday, April 8th, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Portland Memory Garden
SE Portland

Portland Memory Garden is dedicated to sharing the beauty of nature with those coping with memory disorders. It is a free, secure, community resource for respite, recreation, and inspiration. Located in Ed Benedict Park, this little jewel provides four seasons of safe, accessible, and botanically rich environment for people who might not otherwise have the freedom to wander around a park. Help prepare the Portland Memory Garden for another season of meaningful outdoor experience for individuals and caregivers coping with memory loss disorders, and make your own memories too!

Garden tasks include weeding, sweeping, & general cleanup. Tools are provided. Optional: bring your own pruners or other sharps.

Session 7:
Friday, April 14th, 6:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Operation Nightwatch
Downtown Portland

Do you like playing scrabble? Enjoy handing out snacks or helping give out free clothing? Perhaps you like conversing, or listening to life stories? Then spend an evening volunteering with the diverse patrons of Operation Nightwatch!

Volunteers play an important role in providing assistance, openness, and social companionship to those who come through our doors each night. Upon your arrival at 6:30 we will provide an orientation so you'll know how the evening will proceed. This orientation provides important information about safety, so please arrive on time!

Operation Nightwatch is an ecumenical night ministry of friendship and community for the street population of downtown Portland. The Nightwatch Hospitality Center is a sanctuary for people who are lonely, mentally ill, homeless and impoverished in downtown Portland. It is open from 7:00 – 11:00 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The Hospitality Center offers guests a safe, warm place to go when nothing else is open, and know they can find a welcoming, respectful environment. No one is required to conform to any particular belief or faith practice in order to receive our services.


**Optional sessions:
TBD, Thursday in March
Friends of Mystery Bloody Thursday
Downtown Portland

Friends of Mystery is a non-profit literary/educational organization headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Its purpose is to promote educational study in all realms related to mystery. Members are interested in fiction, true crime, how mysteries are solved, and many other aspects of knowledge that can be included in the term “mystery.”

TBD, May 26th, 27th, 28th
Vanport Mosaic Festival
N Portland

For those who are interested, some of us will meet up after the teamworks ends to participate in Vanport Mosaic's Festival to celebrate the history and culture of what was Vanport. 

Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot on the team! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

The opportunity date and time you are looking for is no longer available.
Civic & Community, Other
Families, People with Disabilities
Gardening/Planting,Caring for People,Event Organizing,Sports & Recreation

Age Minimum (with Adult): 18+, Minimum Age:18+

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