Time to Help Families in Crisis

By Marc Levy, CEO, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette

If you haven’t yet donated to the Community Relief Fund, you still have time to join us in this critical relief effort. Help us to reach $1.5 million by the end of June. Meyer Memorial Trust is helping make your donation go even further. They are offering a challenge grant and will match your gift up to $100,000.

In these hard economic times, it’s clear that no one organization alone can meet the needs of the community. Your support of the Community Relief Fund is an excellent example of our enormous capacity to work together toward a common goal.

Yet, our work is far from over. At Human Solutions in Gresham, staff report that a long line of people forms outside the building every single day, way before the agency doors open. We’ve heard stories from partner agencies about the growing number of homeless families. The unemployment rate in the Portland/Vancouver area is at its highest level in decades. Without a paycheck, families face the dire reality of getting evicted, or foreclosure. Across all four counties, demand for emergency food continues to rise.

As we wrap up the Community Relief Fund, we’d like to thank donors who have contributed to the three-month emergency campaign. United Way, the Oregon Food Bank and Community Action Programs in all four counties launched the campaign to raise much-needed dollars for the strained safety net, in response to the burgeoning need among frontline agencies that help people with food, rent and utility assistance. We’re encouraged by the generosity of individuals, businesses, and foundations that have made donations.