|
Summer Fun |
What goes into a basketball court? Blood, sweat, tears and…old shoes? Yes, you heard right. It took about 170,000 pairs of
old athletic shoes to resurface nearly 90 of Portland's outdoor basketball courts. The courts were a $2 million gift from Nike to our community in celebration of the company's 30th anniversary in 2002. Additionally, these courts
illustrate the Portland Parks Foundation's unique role, enabling partnerships with businesses in our area.
This summer over 1,000 youth, ages eight to 18, had the chance to try out the courts for themselves. In June, a generous Nike gift of $90,000 to Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) added 25 basketball mini-clinics to PP&R's Summer
Playgrounds Program. The mini-clinics were offered at no cost to the youth.
Nike didn't just stop there. They went on to donate $25,000 to the Portland Parks Foundation for overall operations and $5,000 to support lighting projects at three Portland high school sports fields for after-school-hours activities.
Portland's skateboarders are pleased as well, as Nike created a $75,000 challenge grant for
Skaters for Portland Skateparks to reconstruct the skatepark at Pier Park.
The Portland Parks Foundation is pleased to have such a generous corporate partner with an outstanding commitment to outdoor recreation in the city of Portland.
|
|
|
|
|
Bird Songs and Banana Slugs
It's a truth as old as time…kids absolutely love banana slugs. And there's no place like Multicultural Nature Camp to find
them.
With a grant from the Portland Parks Foundation, Portland Parks & Recreation hosted a summer nature camp with a multicultural focus. Twenty-one Clarendon Elementary School students participated in age-appropriate activities to reinforce
compassion for the earth while having fun.  After climbing her first tree, the young girl in this picture said, "It's not too scary." The camp's goal
was to integrate cultural practices with environmental concepts and to promote family interactions with the environment. The outdoor experience culminated with a picnic designed to introduce families to resources available at the Portland
Parks & Recreation facility at
Hoyt Arboretum.
What did the students enjoy most about Multicultural Nature Camp? One youth responded, "Secret Spots because of the quiet. I can hear the bird songs." Another said, "Going to the rocks. You can climb and there are banana slugs." What
did we tell you? Kids love banana slugs!
|
|
|
|
|
Latina Girls Camp: Using Talents and Building Skills
What did you do with your summer vacation? Did you manage to create a bilingual play in JUST FOUR DAYS? Amazingly, that's
exactly what 14 Latina teenagers accomplished this summer at Latina Girls Camp.
With a $2,300 grant from the Portland Parks Foundation, Dunetchka Otero-Serrano, from PP&R's Outreach Services staff, developed a two-week summer camp for immigrants from Mexico, Cuba and Peru. Within four days, the campers wrote a play
about discrimination faced by immigrants. Over the 14-day period, they hiked in the woods (a first for most of them) and learned about topics as varied as job skills and dating violence. Reflecting on the experience, the girls said that
the camp gave them a comfortable space to be themselves and make meaningful friendships.
The Latina Girls Camp and the Multicultural Nature Camp were two of eight grants the Foundation made to PP&R for programs targeted to multi-cultural youth. These grants totaled over $42,000 in the last year and were made possible by a
generous donation from the Portland Rose Festival Association. Now, for the third year in a row, The Rose Festival Association has awarded another $50,000 in hopes that the Foundation can give many more children the opportunity to receive
a meaningful, multi-cultural, outdoor experience.
To learn more about the Portland Parks Foundation, visit our web site at
www.portlandparksfoundation.org, or call us at 503.802.5757.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Bands on the Run |
Every decade has a few of them. Bands that create a song that captures the essence of the moment, and then turn around and create – absolutely nothing. We call them "one hit wonders."
On August 1, Nike brought a new twist to an old classic, sponsoring "Run Hit Wonder," a first-of-its kind running event in Portland. The event featured several not-particularly-notable bands performing their biggest (and often only) hits
for more than 10,000 fast-moving audience members. The run was followed by a one-hour concert at Pioneer Courthouse Square by multi-hit wonders, Devo.
Aside from being a chart-topping event, Run Hit Wonder raised $100,000 for the Portland Parks Foundation's Project Inclusion. In accordance with the goals of Project Inclusion, the Nike funds will be available to low-income youth who would
like to participate in physical activities of their choice at area community centers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|