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January II, 2012
M
a r t in
L uther K
in g
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2012 s p e c ia l e o i lion
United Way Mobilizes Thousands
King Holiday
service projects
mobilize thousands
During the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday weekend, more than 3,000 local
residents are expected to m obilize
throughout the metro-area to cook, paint,
build, clean, teach, garden and serve
together as part of the United W ay’s 5th
annual weekend of service.
This year, the annual event is ex­
pected to generate $218,700 in value
from 10,800 hours of volunteer service
through 93 projects in the four-county
Portland and Vancouver area.
The events include the nation’s larg­
est gathering of college and university
students.
“I am thrilled that United Way, with its
partners, can help convene so many
people who are willing and eager to
spend their time to strengthen our com ­
munity,” said Jay Bloom, interim presi­
dent and chief executive officer of United
Way of the Columbia-W illamette. “I’m
also amazed that every year, more and
more people sign up to help.”
Nine schools from northwest Oregon
will send up to 1,200 students to Roosevelt
High School on the Monday, Jan. 16
holiday to perform service projects, which
support the resurgence of one of the
area’s most ethnically diverse schools.
Organizers encourage would-be vol­
unteers to check the United Way website
for available events at unitedway-pdx.org/
mlk.
Longtime Advocate for Hunger Relief to Retire
Food bank
executive started
as volunteer
A fter 29 years serving as a leader
in anti-hunger policy and the dev el­
opm ent o f a nationally recognized
hunger-relief netw ork in O regon and
s o u th w e s t W a s h in g to n , R a c h e l
B ristol announced last w eek that
she w ill retire as c h ie f executive o f­
ficer o f the O regon Food B ank on
June 30.
A rnie G ardner, board ch air for
O regon Food B ank, said B ristol has
played a critical role in helping h u n ­
dreds o f thousands o f hungry ch il­
dren and adults each year.
"She is a tireless advocate w ho
spearheaded d evelopm ent o f O r­
egon Food B ank and has show n
trem endous vision, leadership and
com m itm ent to o u r m ission. W e are
grateful for h er m any years o f ser­
vice. She has created a legacy,"
G ardner said.
Bristol join ed O regon Food Share
as a V IST A v olunteer in 1983 and
rose to acting executive director. In
1988, she helped form O regon Food
B ank through the m erger o f the In­
teragency Food B ank serving the
P ortland M etro and the statew ide
O regon Food Share. B ristol w as
Rachel Bristol
nam ed O regon Food B an k ’s ex ecu ­
tive director in 1990 and designated
C EO in 1995.
She has received m any local and
national aw ards for h er w ork, in ­
cluding an honorary d o ctorate o f
public service from the U niversity
o f Portland. In 2010, she received
the Paul G. A llen F o u n d a tio n ’s
Founders A w ard. In 2009, she re­
ceived the D ick G oebel Public Ser­
vice A w ard from F eeding A m erica.
T h at year, she also w as nam ed
"M ost A dm ired N onprofit C EO " by
the P ortland B usiness Journal and
w as a w ard e d the D istin g u ish e d
A lum nus A w ard from U niversity o f
O regon.
B ristol led tw o successful capital
cam paigns, w hich allow ed O regon
■ We must learn to live
together as brothers or perish
together as fools, j
One who
condones evils is
just as guilty as
the one who
perpetrates it.
— Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr.
Food B ank to grow from a single stro n g o rg a n iz a tio n w ith a g re a t
facility o f 10,000 square feet to four staff, b o ard , th o u sa n d s o f d e d i­
facilities encom passing m ore than c a te d v o lu n te e rs an d a sea so n e d
155,000 square feet. T he netw ork L e a d e rsh ip T e a m . W e h a v e a l­
distributed m ore than 81 m illion re a d y e x c e e d e d m ost o f o u r 2 0 0 8 -
pounds o f food throughout the O FB 12 stra te g ic g o a ls and o b je c tiv e s
netw ork in fiscal y ear 2011, nearly w ith a n o th e r y e a r to go ," she said.
three tim es the am ount it distributed "I am c o n fid e n t that O FB w ill c o n ­
10 years ago.
tin u e to be o n e o f the b e st food
"I have been honored to ‘grow b a n k s in the n atio n ."
u p ’ w ith O regon Food B ank and its
T he O regon Food B ank B oard o f
N etw ork, facing the challenges o f a D irectors has form ed a task force to
grow ing num ber o f people in need conduct a national search for a new
and changing resources w hile never C E O . It w ill host a celebration h on­
losing sight o f o ur m ission to end oring Bristol’s lifetime achievem ents
h u nger in both the short- and lo n g ­ this spring.
term ," B ristol said.
O regon Food B ank is a nonprofit,
"The tim e is rig h t fo r m e to m ake charitable organization that w orks
th is c h a n g e . O F B is a h e a lth y , to help low -incom e fam ilies allev i­
Because
every child
needs a safe
to run and pi
Let's make safe places to play
a priority in our neighborhoods
Go> multco-itstartshere.org
ate hunger and its root causes. O FB
helps nearly one in five households
fend o ff h u n g er by distributing food
from a variety o f sources through a
statew ide netw ork that includes its
four branches (in Beaverton, Ontario,
Portland and T illam ook), 16 indepen­
dent regional food banks and 923
partner agencies. O regon Food Bank
also addresses the root causes o f
hunger through advocacy, e d u ca ­
tion program s for low -incom e youth
and adults and by bringing co m m u ­
nities to g eth er to strengthen local
and regional food system s.
O regon Food B an k ’s m ission is
to elim inate h u n g er and its root
causes b ecau se no one should be
hungry.