Street Roots is a proud partner again this year with the Willamette Week’s 2013 Give!Guide and more than 100 community organizations. These organizations work day-in and day-out to make Portland a better city — a city that we can all be proud to call home.
Giving to the Give!Guide is easy. It’s as simple as going to www.giveguide.org and choosing from a range of amazing and diverse organizations. From animal and food justice to tackling poverty, to giving young people and elders an opportunity to be successful — the Give!Guide gives our region a platform to give back.
Last year more than 5,500 people gave to an organization highlighted in the guide and helped raise nearly $2 million. That’s amazing. This year, collectively we’re trying to raise $2.7 million. You can help.
There are a lot of different reasons to give a donation to your favorite organization. First, it makes you feel good. Second, there’s nothing better than knowing that when you give directly to an organization you are helping create long-lasting change in the lives of people, the environment and those furry little creature friends of ours. Lastly, when you give, you’re able to establish a relationship between the organizations you support and your own world — possibly that’s helping introduce friends or family to new and creative ways to help and get involved. Maybe that’s being able to offer your own expertise or experience.
Whatever the reason, giving through the Give!Guide is one of the best ways you can create real change in your own community.
This year, the guide is accessible for the first time on mobile devices and allows the public to give freely on the go. Part of the goal is getting young people to give. We know that when younger people begin donating to local organizations they are more invested in their community and will continue to give throughout their lifetime.
Luckily, the Give!Guide is for everyone, regardless of your age. Saying that, it’s a real opportunity to engage younger people in giving. Having your kids home for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas break? Trying to teach your children about giving? It’s a great opportunity for a group activity and a teachable moment for the family to engage in learning about important issues and giving to causes they believe in. It’s also a great opportunity to engage your peer network to challenge them to give back to the community.
Obviously, we would love to have your donation to Street Roots. It means the world to us and we are embarking on an important campaign to go weekly in the fall of 2014. A donation to Street Roots will go directly to improving vendor income and stability. It also means giving you important journalism and highlighting under-represented voices throughout our region. We believe in giving people a hand up. We believe in giving people the tools they need to be successful. We also believe very much in the Give!Guide. Give today at www.giveguide.org or at www.streetroots.org. Thank you for the love!
