Stories

United Way of the Columbia Willamette believes that housing is not a luxury, it is a basic human right, and that everyone deserves to have a safe and affordable place to call home. The information below is being provided with the intent to help inform, educate and empower our readers to take action in support of moving this vision closer to becoming a reality for everyone in our region. Look through these terms to gain a better understanding of this work and learn how to effectively communicate about and advocate for housing justice.

Creating inclusive learning opportunities is inherently a community effort. No one group or person can successfully assimilate the complexities of different cultures from around the world into a single, positive method for educating youth. That’s why we at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette understand and implement a diversity focused lens in all the work we do; it makes us better when we can support the experts and highlight the experiences of those from a diverse array of backgrounds.

At United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, we see ourselves as conveners, knowing that the issues we seek to tackle, and the systemic change they require, necessitates a diverse group of problem solvers. Our volunteer program, Hands On Greater Portland, highlights this organizational strength in a direct way, bringing volunteers from across the region to projects from a multitude of other nonprofits to ensure they have the hands on support they need to do the work they need to do.

Early learning is vital to children, families and communities. But significant cultural barriers amplify the systemic racism that undergirds our education ecosystem and makes it more difficult for communities of color to succeed and thrive. Our team at Early Learning Multnomah is dedicated to rectifying this injustice through brain-building interactions from birth and beyond.

Building confidence and expertise in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) is integral to a modern education. Our latest endeavor to increase equitable access to this necessary aspect of education involves a collaboration to train expert, culturally significant Master Trainers and Community Trainers who can work with children from a variety of backgrounds. The purpose of this ambitious project is to grow the pool of these multilingual trainers in Washington County, allowing them to best develop STEAM content for early learning education.

For more than two decades, our Hands On Greater Portland team has hosted numerous volunteer projects during Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend known as the MLK Weekend of Service. This year, we decided the best way to honor MLK was to amplify the work of other nonprofits dedicated to his work and shift our signature volunteer event to the fall. We are proud to introduce Community Impact Week which took place October 4 to 8, 2022!

Portland, Ore. – United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is pleased to announce Kelly O’Lague, MSW, LCSW as the organization’s new president and chief executive officer. Kelly brings more than 25 years of non-profit experience and is deeply committed to serving people from systematically excluded and underserved communities.

A red, geometric pattern encircles the modern-looking, four-story podium building found in the Cully neighborhood of Northeast Portland. This pattern, emblazoned into slats of wood, represents friendship and comes from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. It rings a newly constructed housing unit that seeks to embody that friendship, offering affordable housing to Native Americans and artists in Portland.

With back-to-school season in full swing, families across the state are preparing the wrap up their summer fun and return to classes for the 2022-2023 school year.

At United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, we value those who are closest to the crises. The knowledge and experience of those working within communities, especially in times of crisis, should be paramount. Their voices should be held in highest regard around the tables where decisions are made.

Summer is officially here after a long rainy season, but that doesn’t mean United Way of Columbia-Willamette’s Early Learning programs get to take a break! Our dedicated team at Early Learning Multnomah brings a myriad of necessary and beneficial programs to the people they serve throughout the summer months.

For the first time in over two years, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette held an in-person staff lunch event to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. A small step to celebrate in the face of this unrelenting pandemic, yet significant in its own way. While the group that gathered was small, everyone enjoyed the presence of one another – some meeting in person for the first time since starting at United Way. The room was decorated with paper lanterns and posters with information about different countries in Asia and the South Pacific.

Late last year Serenity White, a pre-K student who attends Portland Public Schools Kelly Head Start, came into the northeast Portland warehouse of the Children’s Book Bank to collect one very special book.

Learn more about our Building Services Manager, Alex Feliciano, in this Staff Spotlight. Alex talks about his experience looking after our downtown Portland office throughout the tumultuous pandemic and social justice protests, his inspiration for working with United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and how it compares to other career paths he's been in and much more!

Cultural relevancy is a term we use regularly at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. But it can be hard to pin down a universal definition of the phrase, and difficult to understand the tangible effects of implementing cultural relevancy in community work. But that work is immeasurably more effective when done through the lens of cultural understanding. Living Islands, and their intrepid work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, is a perfect example to show how cultural relevancy can be implemented in a transformational way.