Celebrate the season by making a difference
ometimes the world can feel overwhelming.
What can I do to make a difference? Does
it matter? Can I change anything? The
simple answer is yes.
Street Roots is faced with these challenges
every day. For example, we know we don’t have
enough resources to scale up to end
homelessness, but we can work to end people’s
homelessness. We may
not be able to change
the national political
n iififf
environment, but we
B O baS»
can continue to make
the world we live a
By Israel Bayer
better place. A small
gesture or donation
may not seem like a loV
but it means everything to people struggling to
survive.
Below is a short list of simple ways you can
help support a larger social justice movement in
Portland this holiday season. It’s cliche to say
that you make the difference, but it’s true. You
do make the difference.
■ Simply bring the love! Martin Luther King
Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do th a t Hate cannot drive out
hate; only love can do th a t” During these dark *
days, those are words to live by. No question. It’s
a hard slog, but in the eftd, it’slove that will
bring us together. It’s love that will always win.
■ Staying on that theme, pay it forward,
Portlanders. The only way to combat poverty and.
hate is with love. It transcends all. See someone
S
S ili
Israel Bayer is the
executive director o f
Street Roots. You can
reach him at
israel@streetroots.org
or follow him on
Twitter @israelbayer.
DIRECTORS
h avin g a bad day? O ffer th e m a h an d o r a sm ile .
Do something nice for a stranger.
■ Call your local and state legislators this’'
holiday season and let them know you expect
them to do everything in their power to support
smart progressive legislation in 2017. That
includes tenant protections, revenue for
affordable housing, strong environmental laws,
criminal justice fefbrin and menial health
resources. We want it all!
■ Get to know your neighbors. You know, the
people who live right next to you. It’s not too
late to say hello and possibly even deliver
someone on your block some tasty treats you’re
making for your holiday affair.
■ Donate your expertise or time to a local
Page 3
E d ito ria l
nonprofit or activist group. You can connect to
volunteer opportunities through Hands on
Greater Portland and the United Way of
Columbia-Willamette.
■ Own a small or large business? Pick a non
profit to support annually. This could be as
simple as donating your expertise or a portion of
your sales for a day or working to find a way to
support that specific nonprofit for an entire year.
Being able to grow and learn with a specific non
profit over the long haul oftentimes comes with
lasting impacts and builds lifelong relationships
that have the potential to create real change in
our community.
■ Purchase a Street Roots weekly and
introduce the newspaper and concept to your
family and friends living in the Portland region.
Stop and talk to your neighborhood vendor.
Street Roots provides a safe place for individuals
to engage with people on the streets in a positive
atmosphere. Spread the word!
■ Give to one or all of the 141 organizations
highlighted in the Willamette Week’s GivelGuide
through Dec. 31. There is something in the
Give!Guide for everyone — ranging from helping
organizations working on important issues
ranging from the environment, education, the
arts, animal, civil and human rights. Plus, you’ll
get some great incentives in return.
■ Give a donation to one or all of the following
organizations working to create systems change
in our community. Street Roots, the ACLU of
Oregon, Causa (Oregon’s immigrant rights
organization), the Urban League of Portland,
; P a rtn e rs h ip fo r S afety a n d J u s tic e , B ark^ t h e .
Rural Organizing Project and Planned
Parenthood of the Columbia-Willamette are just a
few organizations that need your support.
■ Give a donation or winter gear to JOIN, an
outreach organization working around the clock
to connect with our neighbors on the streets.
Donating gloves, socks and sleeping bags this
winter could help save someone’s life. Visit them
atjoinpdx.org.
From all of us at Street Roots, we appreciate
your readership and support of vendors selling
the newspaper. Giving a hand up and getting a
great read in return is our goal. Thank you for
making that possible. Happy holidays!
Write in
if you would like
to have
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something
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that you’ve
written published
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in our pages, or would
Ike to get involved as a
member of our reporting staff,
contact Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl at
503-228-5657, joanne@streetroots.org.
We ask that all submissions include the
author’s name and contact information,
if available.
Street Roots
211 NW Davis St.
Portland, OR 97209
503-228-5657
Fax:503-227-3117
www.streetraots.org
www.news.streetroots.org
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 7:30
a.m.-2 p.m. Sat. and 7:30-11 a.m. Sun.
Advertising
Interested in advertising in Street Roots?
Contact Israel Bayer at israel@streetroots.org
Staff
Israel Bayer
israel@streetroots.org
Managing Editor Joanne Zuhl
E xe c u tive D ir e c to r
ioanne@streetroofs.org &
Vendor Program Director Cole Merkel
cofe@sireetroots.org
Operations Director Sarah Beecroft
Development Director Sarah Cloud
Program Assistant Megbann Van Pelt,
Jesuit Volunteer
Development Assistant Patricia Romero
Reporters Emily Green, Suzanne Zalokar,
Sarah Hansel! Leonora Ko, Jared Paben,
. Amanda Waidraupe, Stephen Quirke
Photographers Diego Diaz, Joe Glode
Editorial Assistant Monica Kwasnik
Canvasser Desmond Hardison
Board of Directors
Chairman Brad Taylor
Vice-Chairman Rachel Langford
Treasurer Heather Stadick
Secretary Dan Jones
Directors Rich Rodgers, Michael Anderson,
Leo Rhodes, Sandra Hahn, John Brown, Marcus
Swift
Volunteers
Jan Bayer, John Barker, Stacey Heath, Anjali Rathore,
Zoe Klingmann, Dan Jones, Dennis Hogan, Monica
McKune, Susan Wolfe, Lucas Hawthorne, Thomas
Buell Jr., Jeanie Lunsford, Yasmin Amirsoieymani,
Jason Cohen, Tom Ray- Doug Spangle, Susannah
Kamala, Jon Raymond, Diana Richardson, Cherie
Manning, Paul and Madeline Gefroh, Mary Anne
Joyce, Faye Poweit Anne Reif, Barbara Buono, Gillian
Floren, Mark Oldani, Meg Holden, Bridget Brown,
Cody Travels, Bianca Butler, Robb Hengerer, Alex
Cherin and Grace Gallagher. If you're interested in
volunteering with Street Roots, please submit a
volunteer application at streetroots.org/volunteer.
Or you can call for more information at
503-228-5657.
■HI
Street Roots • Dec. 23-29, 2016