Department of Human Services (DHS)
St. Michael’s partners with the Department of Human Services to help foster families and children.
In the summers, St. Michael’s holds a drive for school supplies and backpacks for schoolchildren in the foster-care system. School-supply lists have been available for parishioners to take with them when they do they shopping in July and August. In mid- to late August, a backpack “packing party” is held during the morning Forum time to get the backpacks packed and ready to deliver to DHS, who then distributes them to children in their system.
In addition, St. Michael’s collects toys, gift cards and especially Teddy bears to be given to foster children at their annual Christmas party for the children and their biological parents. To learn more, contact Leslie Sackett, Associate for Families and Children.
El Porvenir
The mission of El Porvenir is to make it possible for poor people in rural Nicaragua to improve their health, environment, and standard of living with sustainable self-help in potable water, sanitation, health education and reforestation.
The mission of El Porvenir is to make it possible for poor people in rural Nicaragua to improve their health, environment, and standard of living with sustainable self-help in potable water, sanitation, health education and reforestation. Since 2001, St. Michael’s has sent teams to Nicaragua in January to work with El Porvenir on 10- to 14-day mission trips to help with the construction of bathing stalls, community laundry centers, wells and latrines. There have been several summer work teams as well. The next trip will be in January of 2019; contact Bruce Collins if you would like to learn more. Visit the El Porvenir website to find out more about this organization’s services.
Health Care for All Oregon (HCAO)
The mission of HCAO is “to bring equitable, affordable, comprehensive, high quality, publicly-funded health care to everyone in Oregon and the United States.”
The mission of HCAO is “to bring equitable, affordable, comprehensive, high quality, publicly-funded health care to everyone in Oregon and the United States.” St. Michael’s is part of a statewide coalition of over 120 member organizations “working to achieve a comprehensive, equitable, publicly funded, and high-quality health care system to serve all Oregon residents. Through grassroots activism, legislative efforts, and community education programs, HCAO aims to pass universal health care in Oregon by the 2020 legislative session.” At St. Michael’s, members meet on a regular basis to talk strategy for how to communicate to the congregation and region the importance of supporting health care for all Oregonians. In addition, through the efforts of HCAO leaders at St. Michael’s and Good Samaritan Church in Corvallis, a Resolution of Policy urg-ing support for universal health care in Oregon was passed at the Diocesan Convention in November 2017. Please contact Jana Gregory if you would like to know more or get involved.
Souper Bowl of Caring
For the last 17 years, St. Michael’s has taken part in The Souper Bowl of Caring, a national event that encourages organizations to raise money for local programs that serve hungry people in their own community.
For the last 17 years, St. Michael’s has taken part in The Souper Bowl of Caring, a national event that encourages organizations to raise money for local programs that serve hungry people in their own community. St. Michael’s raises money each year for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon’s Northeast Emergency Food Program (NEFP). Through the charismatic leadership of our young people, and thanks to the enormous generosity of the congregation, we raised almost $3,000 in 2017 on Souper Bowl Sunday. The grand total of St. Michael’s donations to the NEFP since 2001 has topped $30,000!
Hollywood East & Northeast Emergency Food Program
Hollywood East is the high-rise building across Broadway from St. Michael’s with which we have had a relationship for many years.
Hollywood East is the high-rise building across Broadway from St. Michael’s with which we have had a relationship for many years. Its residents include people who are seniors, have very low incomes and/or are disabled in some way. We collect small appliances, nonperishable food items, kitchen utensils and other non-fabric household goods in the large plastic barrel in the Gallery and deliver them regularly to Hollywood East. Clothing is also collected in the barrel and delivered to the Northeast Emergency Food Program. Please contact Hjalmer Lofstrom for more information.
Providence Promotores de Salud de la Iglesia/Parish Health Promoter Program
This is part of the Community Health Division at Providence, an outreach and education program that trains volunteers to help build healthier communities through parish-based health promotion and leadership training in the Latino community
This is part of the Community Health Division at Providence, an outreach and education program that trains volunteers to help build healthier communities through parish-based health promotion and leadership training in the Latino community. “Based on similar models from Latin America, the parish health promoter program seeks to create relationships between the Latino community, local churches and health care providers.”
The program began at St. Michael’s in 2008 and, at the current time, there are 17 churches in the Providence Parish Health Promoter Ministry in Oregon. In 2017, 12 volunteers were active in the program at St. Michael’s reached out to approximately 850 people with a combined total of 1,000 hours of volunteer work from the Promotores in addition to countless hours from community volunteers.
At St. Michael’s, the Promotores also coordinate events such as a healthy Lent dinner, Mother’s Day and Father’s Day celebrations, bilingual health fairs, tele-health and dental clinics, Day of the Dead celebrations, Day of the Children events, informative Forums and multi-day Las Posadas community experiences.