It has been a busy start to fall at the Neighborhood House Connect Program, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!

To kick off being back in person, the Connect Program hosted “Beaver Week,” building off of the Indigenous-led Eena (Beaver) Festival on September 25. Thanks to a small grant from STEM Beyond Education, kids spent the week learning more about beavers and were able to construct their very own dams. 

Connect also cultivated some small green thumbs, as students were given plants of their own from Sparrowhawk Native Plants. Sparrowhawk held a sale in early October, which helped raise $3,750 for the Connect Program. In the final weeks of the Fall term, Connect students will plant the plants with help from various community partners. 

Just a few weeks ago, librarians from Multnomah County Libraries donated animal art kits that Connect students painted. They learned about ecosystems and where their newly painted animals would live.

Connect is an afterschool program for struggling students grades 2-4 who need additional academic and emotional support. Not only does the program focus on increasing math and literacy skills, but also provides fun, creative projects for students. Activities like Beaver Week, growing native plants, and creating their own animals allow students to learn in engaging, hands-on ways. This is especially helpful for these children, many of whom are reluctant students who have difficulty focusing at school. 

The Connect school year is just getting started, and we can’t wait to see what incredible projects our talented students will take on next.

Some animal creations made by Connect students!

I started using the Free Food Market. I learned about more programs that could help us. But the biggest change wasn’t the services themselves.

It was how I was treated. 

For the first time in my entire life, I was met with dignity. 

I wasn’t talked down to. I wasn’t made to feel ashamed for needing help. I wasn’t forced to “prove” I deserved to survive. At Neighborhood House, people spoke to me with genuine respect, something I have so often not been given, simply due to my circumstances. That changed everything. Even now, it still brings tears to my eyes. 

When you’re disabled, when you’re parenting alone, when you’re just trying to get through the day without falling apart…asking for help is hard. Being treated with kindness backed by action? It’s life-changing. 

That kindness empowered me. 
I joined the Head Start Policy Council. 
I became involved in statewide advocacy work. 
And eventually, when someone asked if I would consider joining the Neighborhood House Board, I said yes. 

Being on the board fills a need I’ve carried my whole life: the deep need to give back. There is so little any one person can do alone. But when we connect, when we come together as a community, everything becomes possible. 

People sometimes ask me why services like Neighborhood House still matter. 

My answer is simple: 

Because income inequality is growing. 
Because our systems do not prioritize people in poverty. 
Because without places like Neighborhood House, people really would go hungry. Children would go without resources necessary to thrive. Housing insecure families would be turned out into the streets. 
And that is simply not acceptable.

Until we change the systems that create these conditions in the first place, we need community-based organizations that keep people alive, keep families housed, and treat every neighbor with dignity.

And there’s one more thing I want you to know:

No one chooses this. 

Everyone is doing the best they can. 
Sometimes people just need a little boost.

When you donate or volunteer at Neighborhood House, it is truly life changing. You may never meet every person you help—but please know there are so many of us who feel overwhelmed with gratitude because these services exist.

I am one of them.

So today, as we close out the year, I’m asking you to help more neighbors like me.

Here’s how you can help right now: 

  • Make a gift today — your support goes directly to families who need it most.
  • Start a food dr​ive — our Food Security Program is a lifeline and always needs support. 
  • Share my letter with a friend who believes in a more just and caring community.

Thank you for believing in this work.

Thank you for believing in people like me. 

With gratitude,

Love 
Board Member & Program Participant 
Neighborhood House 

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