Sixteen projects to benefit residents, protect nature in Northwest Portland
The Metro Council late last week approved a $79,000 care package for nonprofits that serve local residents and restore sensitive habitat in Northwest and a slice of North Portland. Funds will result in direct aid to some of the most fragile people and places in the area.
"This slate of awards makes the most of what we have by maintaining and enhancing some existing resident-initiated and resident-driven activities," said Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, chair of the Metro Central grant selection committee and whose district includes Northwest and North Portland. "It throws support behind the knowledge, passion, commitment and enduring presence of people who live in the community."
Funds for Metro’s grants are generated from a 50-cent surcharge collected on each ton of garbage processed at the Metro Central transfer station in Northwest Portland. Monies compensate the community around the facility, including the Northwest industrial area, one of the premier heavy industrial districts in the Pacific Northwest, and Forest Park boasting 70 miles of interconnecting trails threading through the largest forested city park in the United States.
"Metro’s common sense approach as a funder helps local residents reclaim their place as change-makers in the community," said Greg Madden, a representative of the Northwest Industrial Neighborhood Area and one of six community activists who has worked with Burkholder the past four years to review and select projects to fund. "These grants inspire residents to think local and act local."
The 2013 cycle marks the 19th year Metro has invested grant funds in the community through the program. In that time, more than $3.2 million has been awarded to help fund 330 neighborhood improvement projects.
The complete slate of 2013 grant awards in Northwest and North Portland includes:
Forest Park Conservancy
$10,000 – Greater Forest Park Conservation Initiative (restoration and assement efforts)
Friendly House
$15,000 – Outdoor play project
Golden Harvesters, Inc.
$2,000 – Equipment for new food pantry store in Cathedral Park
Lift Urban Portland
$3,000 – Sustaining Community Garden Feeds Body and Soul project
Lines for Life
$3,000 – Anti-bullying programming for children and their parents at Friendly House Community Center
Linnton Community Center
$11,686 – Hungry Families program
Meals on Wheels People
$5,000 – Two Rivers senior nutrition program
Neighbors West-Northwest
$4,300 – Upgrade office equipment (copier and computers)
Portland Festival Symphony
$6,000 - free classical music concert in Cathedral Park
Rebuilding Together Portland
$5,500 – Repair and rehabilitation projects
Sauvie Island Center
$5,000 – Farm to school and back again project
Store To Door or Oregon
$2,500 - grocery shopping and delivery service for seniors and disabled people
Tears of Joy Theater
$2,000 – North Portland community family festival and parade puppet project
Tsuga Community Commission
$4,000 – Neighborhood PLACE: parks, learning and community enhancement
To be added to the Metro Central grant program notification list, visit Metro’s web site at www.oregonmetro.gov/grants or call Karen Blauer at 503-797-1506