PDX Parent Favorite Nonprofits

Giving Tuesday is the purge we all need after the onslaught of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Let’s take a collective breath, gather our wallets and give back to some great organizations that are fighting to make this city great. Here are a few highlights from some of the staff here at PDX Parent.

Reminder why today is the day to give:

Today, Facebook and PayPal are matching $7 million in donations. Support a nonprofit and make an impact for the causes that matter most to you.

1. I am going to start with my pick —The Village Free School. Based on a foundation of Care, Freedom, and Democracy, VFS practices self-directed education to support kids in becoming autonomous, creative, and thoughtful citizens able to make change and collaborate with others. Money raised goes straight into the scholarship fund to give more families the opportunity to experience radical education.
2. Editor Julia Silverman loves to support Butterfly Boxes, the homegrown organization that packs up welcome boxes for refugee families who are newly arrived in Oregon, often without much more than a suitcase’s worth of possessions from their former lives. Find out more at butterflyboxespdx.org.
3. Senior Account Executive Ali King’s pick is NW Portland’s Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center serving women, children and gender non-conforming folks experiencing trauma, poverty, and physical and mental health challenges. Find them at rosehaven.org.
4. Publisher Rose Caudillo and her family are big fans of Insight Teen Parent Services, one of the few organizations in the country devoted exclusively to the needs of parenting adolescents and their children. Teenage moms and dads receive the help they need to raise their own kids. Get more details at insightstpp.org.
5. Director Susan Bard’s pick is p:ear, which offers support and mentoring to homeless youth around the Portland metro area.  Find them at pearmentor.org.
6. Customer Accounts Manager Christie Kline and her pre-college daughter are big fans of College Possible. College Possible helps low-income Portland-area students achieve their dreams of college admission.
7. Managing editor Denise Castañon writes the Kid To Know column about inspiring kids and teens who are making an impact in our community. For the February 2018 issue she wrote about Irie Page, a 14-year-old who organized a lecture on consent for teens, which 520 people attended. Denise just heard back from Irie, who is planning to go even bigger in 2019, with a whole month of events in April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Irie’s in the fundraising stage and you can contribute by clicking here.