Stories

This fall Petrona will be the first member of her family to attend college, a future that she hadn’t considered until she received mentorship and support from Adelante Mujeres, a United Way Community Strengthening partner that provides education and empowerment opportunities to low-income Latina women and their families.

A neighborhood rallies to buy a derelict strip club, then turns it into community space. It’s not a movie plot - yet. It’s real life, and it’s happening in Portland.

When you fill a room with nonprofits who achieve outsized outcomes, the air takes on a special electricity. This scenario plays out regularly here at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, and we’ve been working hard to harness the transformative energy.

On a warm June morning, a small community room in Beaverton is alive with chatter. A group of Somali Bantu women in vibrant dresses are pouring tea and coffee for one another, doling out small pastries and carrying on spirited conversation, laughing and speaking with waving hands and animated expressions. 

On April 25, over 350 volunteers applied a formidable amount of elbow grease to dozens of projects at Glenfair Elementary, one of 11 elementary schools in the Reynolds School District. At the end of the day, Glenfair had a new jogging path, eleven garden beds, black top murals, fresh paint, and every single classroom was cleaned and shined.

Before you read another word, let me confess that I don’t have the answer to the title of this post. You’re not going to find a magical silver bullet in these words that will heal a complex and systemic, yet very personal challenge, facing our community. There are those with far more expertise who can attempt to address that subject.

Studies show that the development of early literacy skills through early experiences with books and stories is directly linked to a child's success in learning to read. But in low income neighborhoods, there’s an average of just one book for every 300 children.