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This is the time of year when all manner of worthy organizations ask for your help. We'd like to add a few or our favorites to your list. Few organizations we are associated with provide the psychological and emotional rewards of SMART--or Start Making a Reader Today. The program's brilliance lies in its simplicity. SMART volunteers read with kindergartners and first- and second-graders who are lagging in language development. Reading with these kids helps build literacy skills. It also creates friendships, often across cultural boundaries; brings adults into the public school system; and provides an invaluable level of one-on-one attention. If you can't contribute your own time (in Multnomah or Washington County, call 833-4838), there are others ways to help. You can send a donation (in care of the Oregon Children's Foundation, 200 SW Market St., Suite 1930, Portland 97201). You can buy books as a Book Angel at Borders Books & Music downtown and in Tigard. Or you can persuade your employer to sign on. Sisters of the Road Cafe is our favorite organization providing food for the homeless. The Old Town restaurant serves an average of 250 meals a day, 42 percent of which are served in exchange for labor. To help offset the cost of bartered meals, five anonymous donors have created a pool of $19,385 to be used as a match--at the rate of 50 cents per dollar--for all individual donations made by Dec. 31. If you're curious about the Sisters of the Road Cafe or wish to donate money or time, contact Development Manager Christine Fry by phone (222-5694), fax (222-3028) or e-mail (Sisters133@aol.com). She can send you a copy of her organization's newsletter or answer questions. Try stopping by 133 NW 6th Ave. some weekday between 10 am and 2:45 pm for a low-cost lunch. Wallace Medical Concern is part of a fragile safety net for low-wage workers and their families--a stabilizing force for low-income people who don't have access to health care despite the success of the Oregon Health Plan. Every year, doctors, nurses and medical students donate thousands of hours at Wallace Medical Concern. Clinics are held at two downtown locations, with convenient evening hours. The organization can always make good use of nurses, doctors and money; call executive director Katherine Hammock at
274-1277 or write to her at PO Box 6972, Portland 97228. To say that The Bridge School is a shoestring operation is an understatement. With less than $40,000 a year, Sharon Pearson nevertheless manages to run a program that offers street people hope, friendship and training. The school publishes The Burnside Cadillac, a 5,000-circulation monthly written by and about the homeless. The Bridge School also provides training in English as a second language. With added funding, it could bring back the computer-skills classes and GED training it had to abandon earlier this year. To help, send contributions to the Bridge School at 1231 SW Morrison St., Portland 97205, or call 228-5657. |
