Hands On Greater Portland

Potluck in the Park has been serving a free hot meal to anyone in need since 1991. Every Sunday, rain or shine, 52 weeks a year, we provide a hot meal in downtown Portland in various locations. 400-800 Portlanders do not go hungry on Sunday because of Potluck in the Park. We are a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization and we accomplish our mission of providing nutritious food and an atmosphere of community to anyone in need, because of volunteers like you! Potluck in the Park Details: STARTING SUNDAY 11/3/19, Potluck in the Park will be held at Waterfront Park, under the Hawthorne Bridge. Meal times and shift times remain the same. We may not have protection from the sun/rain, so dress accordingly for the weather. Volunteers should check in no earlier than 1:45pm and no later than 2:15pm. The actual meal service begins promptly at 3:00pm. We even provide limited cat and dog food for companion animals! Meal Service Activities Include: Helping to unload food and supplies Setting up and organizing in preparation for the meal service Serving hot or cold food to guests as they come through the line during meal service Volunteer Requirements: All volunteers must sign up below to reserve a spot. Volunteer groups must also sign up below by first creating a Volunteer Team (read more here). You can then sign up your team for this project. This project is no longer accepting groups of more than 10. Teams of more than 10 people MUST email Bethany (bethany@potluckinthepark.org) to request permission to bring a large group. It is only with the EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION of the Volunteer Coordinator that teams over 10 members will be accepted. *You will receive an email from Hands On Greater Portland if you have successfully signed up your team. You can also check or update your team sign ups through your volunteer account. Need help creating or signing up a team or are you unsure if your team has the correct number of slots reserved? Email info@handsonportland.org or call 503-228-9131. NOTE: In order to better communicate with volunteers, Potluck in the Park regularly sends out mailers and newsletters. To facilitate this, Potluck in the Park would like to use the contact information you supply when signing up to participate at Potluck In The Park. Potluck in the Park does not release this information to any other third party. If you do NOT wish to share your contact info with Potluck in the Park, please let the registration staff know on the day and you will be excluded from our e-newsletter and other mailings. -->Project Requirements<-- We ask that volunteers are 12 years of age or older to attend this project. We do make exceptions on a case by case basis where a volunteer is younger than 12 years old, but we reserve the right to restrict them to areas appropriate to age and stature. Any volunteer under age 16 must attend with a parent or adult chaperone. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian, or - if attending with an adult - have them fill one out at the event. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form. Remember to give this to the person running check-in! Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call Hands On at 503-226-9285.

2/2/20 2:00 PM + more

Potluck in the Park has been serving a free hot meal to anyone in need since 1991. Every Sunday, rain or shine, 52 weeks a year, we provide a hot meal in downtown Portland in various locations. 400-800 Portlanders do not go hungry on Sunday because of Potluck in the Park. We are a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization and we accomplish our mission of providing nutritious food and an atmosphere of community to anyone in need, because of volunteers like you! Potluck in the Park Details: STARTING SUNDAY 11/3/19, Potluck in the Park will be held at Waterfront Park, under the Hawthorne Bridge. Meal times and shift times remain the same. We may not have protection from the sun/rain, so dress accordingly for the weather. Volunteers should check in no earlier than 1:45pm and no later than 2:15pm. The actual meal service begins promptly at 3:00pm. We even provide limited cat and dog food for companion animals! Dessert Service Activities Include: Helping to unload food and supplies Setting up and organizing in preparation for the dessert service Portioning desserts as needed Serving desserts to guests as they come through the line during meal service Volunteer Requirements: All volunteers must sign up below to reserve a spot. Volunteer groups must also sign up below by first creating a Volunteer Team (read more here). You can then sign up your team for this project. This project is no longer accepting groups of more than 10. Teams of more than 10 people MUST email Bethany (bethany@potluckinthepark.org) to request permission to bring a large group. It is only with the EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION of the Volunteer Coordinator that teams over 10 members will be accepted. *You will receive an email from Hands On Greater Portland if you have successfully signed up your team. You can also check or update your team sign ups through your volunteer account. Need help creating or signing up a team or are you unsure if your team has the correct number of slots reserved? Email info@handsonportland.org or call 503-228-9131. NOTE: In order to better communicate with volunteers, Potluck in the Park regularly sends out mailers and newsletters. To facilitate this, Potluck in the Park would like to use the contact information you supply when signing up to participate at Potluck In The Park. Potluck in the Park does not release this information to any other third party. If you do NOT wish to share your contact info with Potluck in the Park, please let the registration staff know on the day and you will be excluded from our e-newsletter and other mailings. -->Project Requirements<-- We ask that volunteers are 12 years of age or older to attend this project. We do make exceptions on a case by case basis where a volunteer is younger than 12 years old, but we reserve the right to restrict them to areas appropriate to age and stature. Any volunteer under age 16 must attend with a parent or adult chaperone. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian, or - if attending with an adult - have them fill one out at the event. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form. Remember to give this to the person running check-in! Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call Hands On at 503-226-9285.

1/5/20 2:00 PM + more

Potluck in the Park has been serving a free hot meal to anyone in need since 1991. Every Sunday, rain or shine, 52 weeks a year, we provide a hot meal in downtown Portland in various locations. 400-800 Portlanders do not go hungry on Sunday because of Potluck in the Park. We are a volunteer-driven, nonprofit organization and we accomplish our mission of providing nutritious food and an atmosphere of community to anyone in need, because of volunteers like you! Potluck in the Park Details: STARTING SUNDAY 11/3/19, Potluck in the Park will be held at Waterfront Park, under the Hawthorne Bridge. Meal times and shift times remain the same. We may not have protection from the sun/rain, so dress accordingly for the weather. Volunteers should check in no earlier than 3:00pm and no later than 3:15pm. Recycling and Clean Up Crew Activities Include: Monitoring disposal of trash and food into proper receptacles Collecting, cleaning and organizing of trash, recycle and compost bins Washing dishes and sweeping after service Helping to load supplies into Potluck truck at end of meal service Volunteer Requirements: All volunteers must sign up below to reserve a spot. Volunteer groups must also sign up below by first creating a Volunteer Team (read more here). You can then sign up your team for this project. This project is no longer accepting groups of more than 10. Teams of more than 10 people MUST email Bethany (bethany@potluckinthepark.org) to request permission to bring a large group. It is only with the EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION of the Volunteer Coordinator that teams over 10 members will be accepted. *You will receive an email from Hands On Greater Portland if you have successfully signed up your team. You can also check or update your team sign ups through your volunteer account. Need help creating or signing up a team or are you unsure if your team has the correct number of slots reserved? Email info@handsonportland.org or call 503-228-9131. NOTE: In order to better communicate with volunteers, Potluck in the Park regularly sends out mailers and newsletters. To facilitate this, Potluck in the Park would like to use the contact information you supply when signing up to participate at Potluck In The Park. Potluck in the Park does not release this information to any other third party. If you do NOT wish to share your contact info with Potluck in the Park, please let the registration staff know on the day and you will be excluded from our e-newsletter and other mailings. Project Requirements: We ask that volunteers are 16 years of age or older to attend this project. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian, or - if attending with an adult - have them fill one out at the event. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form. Remember to give this to the person running check-in! Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call Hands On at 503-226-9285.

12/29/19 3:00 PM + more

Gardening makes beautiful memories. 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! This is a great family friendly project. Garden tasks include weeding, grooming, sweeping, general cleanup. Most tools are provided but please bring garden gloves; if you absolutely do not have access to garden gloves please email the project leader through HandsOn. Rain or shine, please dress for the weather. Light refreshments served. The Portland Memory Garden, a non-profit organization started in 2001, is dedicated to sharing the beauty of nature with those coping with memory disorders as well as with their caregivers. It is a free, secure, community resource for respite, recreation, and inspiration, maintained predominantly with assistance from about 30 volunteers. The Portland Memory Garden is one of only 2 public gardens in the U.S. designed specifically for people with memory-affecting diseases and for their loved ones. Located in Ed Benedict Park, this little jewel provides 4 seasons of safe, accessible, and botanically rich experience. *Please let us know if you are a group or individual with disabilities or other special needs- we want to be prepared to meet everyone’s needs and abilities for their outdoor volunteering experience. Email the HandsOn project leader after signing up. Project Requirements: Volunteers of any age can attend this project; any volunteer under age 15 must attend with a parent or adult chaperone. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

12/16/19 1:00 PM + more

Come support your community by helping learn about its strengths, needs, and priorities! We are seeking volunteers to partner with our Community Researchers to conduct in-person interviews with families in the Albina/Rockwood neighborhood. You will assist Community Researchers with locating pre-identified households, keep track of who has been interviewed, and distribute stipends to interviewees. We'll provide a brief training before pairing you off with a Community Researcher and sent into the neighborhood to conduct interviews! Dates: December 14, 21, January 6, 7, : Rockwood neighborhood December 11th, 16, 17, 18, & January 8, 11 : Albina neighborhood LOCATION AND WHAT TO BRING Knock and talks will occur in the Rockwood neighborhood for November 2019. Exact location details will be sent to you by the volunteer coordinator prior to the project. *Please bring comfortable walking shoes and clothing appropriate for being outdoors in the PNW fall. Access to restrooms once we start the knock and talks will be limited! Contact Amanda Shannahan with any questions at: amandas@unitedway-pdx.org MORE ABOUT THIS PROGRAM The Albina Rockwood Promise Neighborhood Initiative (ARPNI) serves children and families in the Albina and Rockwood neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon. A partnership of seven non-profits and nine schools, ARPNI coordinates a cradle to career continuum of supports focused on increasing student performance and family resilience. In Fall 2019, ARPNI will conduct in-person interviews with a sample of households in the ARPNI footprint. These interviews will focus on family engagement with schools, community safety for people of color, financial stability, and health. The information collected will be used to shape ARPNI programming and monitor the initiative’s progress towards key outcomes. Keywords: free_the_future Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older to attend this project. If you plan to bring guests you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team, then sign up your team for this project. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are responsible for ensuring that everyone signed up through your team attends - only sign up team members who have confirmed their availability. Teams that repeatedly sign up, but do not show up or show up with fewer volunteers than they signed up, may be removed. To add or remove team members from a project, click on "My Account" and then "My Teams," above. Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3364 or email info@handsonportland.org.

12/16/19 5:00 PM + more

Serve a meal and play Bingo with the ladies at Jean's Place! Volunteers will be asked to bring ingredients to contribute to the meal and the group will prepare dinner on-site to serve to the ladies living at Jean's Place. The volunteer leader will contact each volunteer to instruct you on what ingredients to bring. Everyone will then help facilitate a game of bingo, which will include prizes for the winners! Join us for this unique experience! We're counting on you! It is imperative that if you sign up for this project, you intend to be there and provide the ingredients that are assigned to you. When volunteers don't show up, we're not able to make the meal. If you are unable to attend, please let your Volunteer Leader know ASAP! Please note: no volunteer will be turned away due to lack of resources. If bringing a food item is a hardship for you, please alert the project leader. Volunteers are asked to refrain from wearing strong fragrances, such as perfume and cologne, during their volunteer shift. A part of Transition Projects, Jean's Place is a transitional housing program for adult, single homeless women. Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older to attend this project. Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

1/1/20 6:00 PM + more

The Union Gospel Mission provides meals and addiction recovery services in a safe environment for its homeless clients. Volunteers will help serve and clean up after the evening meal to the homeless. This is a great way to get involved! This is a popular project so please limit your sign up to two times per month in order to give more people a chance to volunteer. Also note: volunteers are required to wear closed-toe shoes and to tie back hair that is shoulder length or longer. Support Union Gospel Mission's vision of feeding the hungry, restoring the addict and loving our neighbor by joining us on a volunteer shift! Project Requirements: If you plan to bring your teens to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older to attend this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

12/17/19 7:00 PM

Kateri Park is an affordable housing community, located just south of Powell on 28th Avenue. In more than half of our apartments, the residents are refugees. The largest group is from Somalia, but we also have some Burmese, Afghani, and Nepali refugee families. Wake up your inner artist and join us for an afternoon of fun! On Wednesday evenings, we put together and arts activity night for about 20 of our kids. They work on individual and collective art projects like drawing, cut outs, collages, or whatever we might have in our supply closet - the arts activities are volunteer led and may not be structured. Since this isn't a formal art class, we need flexible, and go-with-the-flow volunteers to come and add your creativity and assistance to the class. You will have a great time exploring art with kids from Somalia, Ethiopia, Burma and Nepal, and you'll really make a difference. Remember that although we're bringing the kids together for the art project, it's really an opportunity to make a positive connection with the kids, regardless of the activity! We want them to feel engaged, valued, and welcomed in this community. Please know that you will be working with a high energy group of kids coming from a wide variety of backgrounds. Patience, flexibility, and fun are important ingredients to bring with you when you volunteer! Previous experience working with kids is helpful. In addition to the Wednesday art classes, Kateri Park offers literacy/ESL classes, homework help, pick up soccer games in summer, one-on-one tutoring for the students, and more. Keywords: free_the_future Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 16 years of age or older to attend this project. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form​ *This project is closed to all volunteers seeking to fulfill court-ordered community service hours. Click here for opportunities that are appropriate for court-ordered service. Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

1/8/20 4:30 PM + more

Join a dynamic team of volunteers to prepare, cook and serve dinner to the residents of Transition Projects’ Clark Center! Using items available in the Clark Center's food pantry in combination with items provided by volunteers, we'll prepare the meal together and serve it to the residents in this 90-bed transitional housing shelter for men. Volunteers will be asked to bring ingredients to contribute to the meal and the group will prepare dinner on-site to serve to the men living at the Clark Center. The volunteer leader will contact each volunteer to instruct you on what ingredients to bring. We're counting on you! It is imperative that if you sign up for this project, you intend to be there and provide the ingredients that are assigned to you. When volunteers don't show up, we're not able to make the meal. If you are unable to attend, please let your Volunteer Leader know ASAP! Please note: No volunteer will be turned away due to lack of resources. If bringing a food item is a hardship for you, please alert the project leader. Note: Many people have trouble finding the Clark Center. It is located under the Hawthorne bridge near the corner of Hawthorne and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., in Southeast Portland. Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older to attend this project. If you plan to bring guests you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team, then sign up your team for this project. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are responsible for ensuring that everyone signed up through your team attends - only sign up team members who have confirmed their availability. Teams that repeatedly sign up, but do not show up or show up with fewer volunteers than they signed up, may be removed. To add or remove team members from a project, click on "My Account" and then "My Teams," above. Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

12/18/19 5:30 PM

The book gap: For children in poverty, one of the biggest obstacles to literacy development (which begins at birth) is the scarcity of books in the home. While the ratio of books to children in middle-income neighborhoods is approximately 13 books to 1 child, the ratio in low-income neighborhoods is a mere 1 book to 300 children. The Children’s Book Bank narrows the book gap by providing the community with a place for families donate the books their children have outgrown, moving thousands and thousands of children’s books into the homes of kids in need. Sign up below to come lend a hand as we spruce-up community donated books which will later be distributed to low-income preschool children in the Portland area! Every gently-used donated book is inspected and cleaned by volunteers. Tasks include wiping covers, taping torn pages, erasing scribbles, covering inscriptions, and reinforcing worn spines. *TEAMS NOTE: if you are signing up as a Team, you are limited to reserving 6 slots. If you have more than 6 in your group please email info@childrensbookbank.org FAQs: Is this a place I can bring my children? On Wednesday night sessions, volunteers ages 12 and older are welcome at Children’s Book Bank. Volunteers under age 15 must attend with a trusted adult. Please follow the instructions below to reserve a spot for your child. If you are looking for a shift open to younger volunteers, check out our Tuesday early-evening sessions here. Can I bring books to donate? Yes, of course! You are welcome to bring either new or gently-used books with you to this volunteer event. Children’s Book Bank serves children under the age of six, so donations of “read aloud” books are greatly appreciated. Books in Spanish are a particular need. And if you're interested in learning more about hosting a book drive for the Children's Book Bank, we'd love to hear from you! Email info@childrensbookbank.org for more information. Where do the books go? Children’s Book Bank partners with local agencies to identify families and children in need of books. Last year every Head Start preschooler in Multnomah County received a bag of 15 books of their own to have at home. Keywords: free_the_future Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 12 years of age or older to attend this project; any volunteer under age 15 must attend with a parent or adult chaperone. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring TWO waivers signed by their parent or legal guardian - one for Hands On and one for the Children's Book Bank. Please download, complete, and bring these waivers with you on the day of the project: Hands On Youth Volunteer Release Form Children's Book Bank Youth Release Form If you plan to bring children or guests you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team, then sign up your team for this project. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are responsible for ensuring that everyone signed up through your team attends - only sign up team members who have confirmed their availability. Teams that repeatedly sign up, but do not show up or show up with fewer volunteers than they signed up, may be removed. To add or remove team members from a project, click on "My Account" and then "My Teams," above. Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

12/18/19 6:00 PM

Do you think nature is only found outside of the city? Think again! Enjoy your Saturday morning working outside to restore our urban forest and meeting others in our community. Join Friends of Terwilliger and the West Willamette Restoration Partnership to restore our urban forest in southwest Portland. Terwilliger Blvd has been a main thoroughfare for almost 100 years! Many hikers, runners, and bicyclists utilize this verdant boulevard. Help keep this a high-quality natural area for people, native plants, and wildlife! We will have tools, gloves, water and snacks. Just bring your rain boots and a friend and come ready to work! Note: some work may be on uneven ground. Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 6 years of age or older to attend this project; any volunteer under age 14 must attend with a parent or adult chaperone. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.

2/15/20 9:00 AM + more

Help ensure that books get into the hands of local students! Every month Powell’s Bookstore donates thousands of books to Schoolhouse Supplies. But before they can go out on the shelf of our Free Store for Teachers we need to sort the books by grade level. Join us for this fun and rewarding project! Schoolhouse Supplies supports students and teachers throughout Portland Public Schools by operating a volunteer-run Free Store for Teachers. By collecting donations of all kinds - from classroom basics like pencils and paper to books, backpacks, and folders – from private and corporate donors, the Free Store for Teachers supplies much-needed learning materials to local classrooms. Every child deserves the tools they need to succeed in school – help us support this mission! Project Requirements: Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older to attend this project. If you plan to bring your children or other guests to the event, you MUST reserve slots for them. The best way to do this is to create a Volunteer Team. You can then sign up your team for this project. All volunteers under 18 are required to bring a waiver signed by their parent or legal guardian. Please download, complete, and bring this waiver with you on the day of the project: Youth Volunteer Release Form Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355

12/21/19 9:00 AM