Oregon National Guard

Let’s be honest, being a kid is tough.  Being a child with a mom or dad who has been deployed overseas can be downright unbearable.  What can make things even worse is not knowing anyone who understands what it feels like.

A Salem family is hoping to fix that.

In the wake of the massive deployment of National Guard soldiers last weekend, Laura Conley and her husband State Sergeant Major Brunk Conley created the Homefront Heroes in Oregon program. 

Dozens of military families will gather at North Salem High on Saturday where the kids can just hang out.  Activities are booked for every age group and Conley says the kids are usually surprised to see friends that go to their own school show up.

Incidentally, the program came from the Conley’s own experience with their five kids when Sergeant Major Conley was deployed.  Conley says she wants to make sure no family has to go through the struggles her kids did.

For more info, click here.

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Travis Wolfe - Courtesy Camas Washougal Post-Record

The story of Travis Wolfe is all too common.  Nice guy, hard worker, loses his business when the economy turns and then struggles for months to find a new job.

But Wolfe’s saga takes an interesting turn.  He tells GNPDX that after months of searching on his own, he went to the Goodwill Job Connection Center for help.  You see, while Goodwill offers training and jobs through their stores, they also have career specialists to help place people in jobs outside the Goodwill World.

Wolfe sat down with Steve Milford, one of their career experts, and they started talking.  While Milford offered tips on jazzing up his resume (putting certain words in bold, highlighting skill sets over titles), he also got a chance to learn about Wolfe’s passions.

Turns out, Wolfe just kind of fell into the mortgage industry and had a real passion for flying.  So now, instead of looking for a gig in mortgages, they started looking for something that would allow Wolfe to go back to school and learn more about aviation.

Thanks to Milford’s tips, Wolfe’s resume got to the top of a stack of 1,000 (yes, one-thousand) resumes and land the job as a property manger.  He lives onsite, makes a full salary and is only “on-call” until noon . . . leaving plenty of time for a full day of school in the afternoon and evening.

Think this is an awesome story?  Think it’s the only one of its kind?

Wrong.

6,400+ people were also placed in jobs by Goodwill last year.  20,000 got help in their search.

More than 22,000 people have been placed since 2005.

Oh, and all of those stats . . . their local to Portland Metro.

If you would like to find a new job or replace your current one . . . why not give it a try?  Click here.

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They’ve spent the last month hauling boxes, resettling furniture, meeting new neighbors and adjusting to a new lifestyle.  For the new residents of the Springs at Tanasbourne, it’s easy to see how certain traditions could get lost in the shuffle.

But staff were not about to let something as important as Mother’s Day go by without at least a LITTLE something special.

Team members at the new Beaverton retirement community partnered with a couple local businesses (a flower shop and a spa) and assembled a menu of gift packages.  Then, they sent off letters to the families of all the new residents so all they had to do was call in an order.  Dozens of flowers and gift certificates were waiting outside doors Sunday morning.

One of the Springs’ concierge’s confides in GNPDX that more than a few families admitted that the holiday completely slipped their minds until they got the reminder letter in the mail.  Proof that the slogan “Everything’s better at the Springs” really holds water.

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The Biggest Day of the Year for the Oregon Food Bank

The Oregon Food Bank sent you something in the mail this week and they’re really hoping to get it back.  It’s a standard size plastic bag, probably looks a lot like the bag you’d get at a grocery store.

If you could, just put the bag on your porch Saturday and they’ll take it back.  Oh, and could you stick a few cans of food in it before stashing it on your stoop?  Thanks.  That’d be great.

Every year, the Postal Carriers pitch in and schlept (haul)  the goods in May.  In just one day, they brought in 1.65 million pounds of food last year.  This year, they want an even 1.75 million (the higher donations are particularly important this year because of higher demand).

Anything non perishable works, but they really like tuna, canned meats, mac and cheese and fruits / fruit juices.  Try to avoid glass jars when you can (they’re heavier and break).  For more info click here.

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The Lions Club

When 2008 began, life was going downhill fast for Terry.  Cataracts were slowly robbing her of her sight.  Because of her bad vision, she lost her job.  She and her husband lost their home.  Bad.

But then the Oregon Lion’s Club stepped in.  They have a program called Mission Cataract where people in need can get free cataract surgery.  Terry’s name made the list.  With her vision restored last spring, she got a part time job, got training and she and her husband are in their own apartment, back on their own two feet.

The Lion’s will be giving six people free surgeries today, all of whom are “head’s of household” (read: moms, dads or other adults with other people depending on them for support) and without any other means of fixing their eyes (no insurance, no Oregon Medical plan).  Hopefully, we’ll have six more amazing stories to share with you in a few months.

You can learn more about the program by going here.

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A Local ReStore location

For 25 years, Joe Connell built and renovated homes and he was always stunned by the amount of waste generated by construction sites.  Perfectly good materials and tools, chucked to the wayside at the end of the day because, frankly, there wasn’t anywhere else to send the stuff.

He clarifies to Good News PDX that he’s not trying to throw stones or point fingers.  He himself pitched plenty over the years.  But recently, he found a better outlet for all that extra stuff left over after a project was complete.

Like a Goodwill for power tools he says.

ReStore started 15 years ago in Texas.  Today, there are over 600 nationwide including about 15 in Oregon and Washington, one of which opened this weekend.  The concept is identical to any thrift store . . . people (mostly contractors with amterials left over from a job) donate the hardware, supplies and tools to the store.  Volunteers then sell the materials at a reduced rate to local do-it-yourselfers.  All the proceeds are then kicked to Habitat for Humanity.

And Connell, who now has a hand in running all the Portland / Vancouver locations, says they show no signs of stopping.  Matter of fact, he expects ReStore will be a household name in the next few years.

You can check out a nearby location here.

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Every year, about this time, Waterfront Park fills up with rides and vendors for Cinco de Mayo and the Rose Festival.  First Thursday Art Walks cram the Pearl District (in a good way).  And local farmers and artists break out their wares to be peddled at any number of Saturday Markets and Farmer’s Markets in the city (PSU, Beaverton, Burnside, Hillsboro, Vancouver . . . the list of locations goes on and on).

Everywhere, that is, except Wilsonville.  Our neighbor to the south have been san-street-fair for years.  But for the first time, neighbors will be able to pick up fresh cut flowers, unique snacks and superb produce in their backyard.  The Villebois housing development is launching a new Farmer’s Market this weekend . . . but with a twist.

In an effort to stick out and offer something new, Villebois is offering a SUNDAY market.  It’s mainly a community project but it’s open to all so if you are booked on Saturdays, feel free to hop on I-5 and stop by.  Details are here.

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Users call it a “Gifting Economy.”

The staff at Good News PDX calls it a “Cyber Space Swap Meet.”

The official name is “Freecycling.”

It’s like the barter section of Craigslist or the recent Trash to Treasure event in St John’s. 

Since 2003, Portlandians have been swapping their stuff through this online bulletin board.

Albert Kauffman helped start the local chapter six years ago and tells Good News PDX that the swaps offer a more personal connection than swining by the local mall and buying whatever it is you’re looking for.  Not only do users get to hear the personal story behind the item they’re taking home (”my dad bought me this sled when I was six years old”) but often, people find new playmates activity partners in the process.  After all, let’s say you’re swapping a mountain bike.  They like Mountain biking.  You like Mountain Biking.  Why not go Mountain Biking together.

The site is growing everyday, partially due to the downturned economy, so make sure you keep your eyes peeled for your own personal jackpot.

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Anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting the Beaverton DMV office on Allen Blvd can attest to its cramped quarters.  Lines can spill out into the sidewalk.  The waiting area is frequently filled to capacity.  Parking spaces are at a premium.  Things have been so tight, the twenty year old building had to stop offering driving tests in 2000 because the parking lot was too full.

No more!

Staff members are packing up their clipboards, driving manuals and testing computers and moving to a brand new, massive space in Cedar Hills (located here).

Not only does the new facility offer more space in general, the DMV will finally be able to offer driving tests at the west side facility once again.  Plus, the new site is ready to handle more customers if the area continues to grow (although staff don’t expect to see a jump any time soon).

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Operation Homefront

When mom or dad are serving overseas, budgets can get tight back home.  Especially in the current financial crisis, more and more families are having trouble covering groceries, diapers and pet food.  But that will be a bit easier after this weekend.

Operation Homefront helps the families of soldiers when times get tough.

“We offer help if they run into a financial crisis and can’t pay their rent or their electric bill.  Stuff like that,” says Becky Ginsbach, a program coordinator with the Portland chapter.  Beyond cash, they also send care packages overseas and now, they’re offering care packages at home.

Saturday morning, volunteers will cut the ribbon on a brand new food pantry offering boxes of groceries, baby supplies and pet food to families who have hit a rough patch.  Ginsbach tells Good News PDX she expects to see an increase in the already rising demand for help as Oregon sets to deploy 3,500 more soliders next weekend.

The entire project is covered through donations and volunteers.  You can help by clicking here.

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