To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's legacy of purposeful community engagement, volunteers will work on projects at area nonprofits throughout the four-county Portland/Vancouver metro area.
For the second year in a row, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette joins the ranks of some of the most well-respected nonprofits in the region that were named among Oregon’s Most Admired Companies in the nonprofit sector in a survey conducted by the Portland Business Journal.
United Way of the Columbia-Willamette recently received a $94,000 grant from the JCPenney Afterschool Fund to support afterschool organizations in the Portland/Vancouver metro area in the 2008-2009 school year. Each organization received a grant to provide scholarships for youth to attend the programs and a $50 JCPenney gift card for each student receiving the grant support.
Intel Oregon’s Aloha campus hosted a 24-hour PC gaming event, raising money for United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. Intel LANFest drew almost 70 hardcore PC gamers who brought their superfast machines powered by the fastest Intel processors to the event. World of Warcraft tournaments were a big draw, as well as Team Fortress II and Fooseball II contests. Gaming enthusiasts tried out the latest games at the demo station. Raffle drawings featured software, Intel processors and motherboards, gaming magazine subscriptions, and more.
A companywide auction included artwork from local artists, gift certificates donated by merchants, and vacation packages drew in wide participation from Safeco’s 100 employees in Portland.
Fun events were planned throughout the campaign: mini-bike races, a barbecue at the beach, and even a hula hoop competition.
Safeco employees also had the chance to pledge top dollar for the right to give their boss a pie in the face. A group of managers signed up to participate, and employees outbid each other for the ultimate prize, says Eric Putzek. A few managers opted for a “buyout” by doubling the top pledged amount. In the end, 12 pies donated by Village Inn Restaurant hit their marks.
The Board of Directors of the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette (UWCW) has selected Marc Levy as its new President and CEO, following a six-month nationwide search.
No Guinness record, but Celebrate Hillsboro a definite winner
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
By Susan Gordanier, The Hillsboro Argus
Hillsboro's claim on a third Guinness World Record will have to wait another year.
That doesn't mean Celebrate Hillsboro wasn't a success.
Near-perfect weather brought out the crowds for Saturday's extended farmers market and Sunday's antique fair. The moderate temperatures meant the 145 teams in the Mainstreet Madness 3-on-3 basketball tournament could battle without overheating, beyond their enthusiasm.
Barbara Simon, the city's public affairs manager who was tasked with much of the event's organizing, said several food vendors ran out of product early Saturday and had to restock to meet demand.
So many stopped by Kaiser Permanente's table in the Health & Safety Village the health-care provider exhausted its supply of free apples.
At 5 p.m. Saturday with the event set to close until morning, kids were still lining up for turns on the play equipment on the courthouse grounds. "We had to deflate the inflatables to keep the kids from coming," Simon said.
For many, the event's high point occurred noon Saturday, as the crowd swarmed the Civic Center plaza for the attempt at the Guinness world record for most people playing kazoo. Toni Carlo, vice president workplace giving for United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, encouraged last-second sign-ups.
Then Hillsboro Economic Development Director John Southgate told the crowd, "Knowing the kazoo is a difficult instrument to play, taking years of study, we'll give you a crash course led by Bernie Kuehn, an all-around great guy and leader of the Oregon Chorale."
Kuehn corrected "the misconception that you blow into a kazoo," and surprised all by announcing they would play "Do-Re-Mi" from "The Sound of Music" for five minutes, "about seven times through on this tune," he said. The crowd groaned, but followed his lead.
Scott and Tiffany Bowden, of Hillsboro, had turned out with their three young children specifically for the record attempt. They'd been unable to attend in past years, but in 2008, their son Tyler wanted to be part of history. As soon as playing ended, he asked, "Did we set the record?"
An official answer to Tyler's question had to wait until Monday. Carlo, who as in years past would handle the communication with the Guinness Records organization, confirmed the final tally: 3980 willing kazoo players had signed up, short of the 5,300 or so needed to surpass the most recent, though unofficial record for simultaneous kazoo players.
Saturday though, Carlo said, whether the record was broken or not, the event was a winner. "Our theme with United Way is, how do we come together, to forge community." Thousands of people blowing kazoos together, win or lose, represented success.
Date: Thursday, September 18
(immediately following the Community Partners Breakfast)
Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Place: Oregon Convention Center First Floor Meeting Room D-137
Register for the training today
