Hour 98, 99 and 100: Potluck in the Park

Volunteers Prepare the Potluck

For my 100th hour of community service in 2012, I returned to O'Bryant Square in downtown Portland for Potluck in the Park. PITP has not missed serving a Sunday afternoon meal since 1991, and this Sunday was no different. However, in addition to the standard hot meal they were giving donated Christmas trees to those in need. Today I worked the cold bar, serving bread, Christmas cookies and cake to the guests. Today there were 30-40 volunteers setting up, serving the meal and then cleaning up. Just after 3pm the flodgates openind and approx. 600 guests wound there way through the maze of food stations. PITP has lots of food options, hot and cold, for the hungry of Portland. I, and many of the other volunteers I met on Sunday, signed up for the event through Hands on Greater Portland.  

 



Donated Trees for Guests of PITP



 

Hour 57: Potluck in the Park - 21st Birthday

Today was the 21^st birthday of Potluck in the Park. 21 years and this group has never missed Sunday afternoon meal. I was fortunate to grab the last volunteer space for the day through Hands on Greater Portland. Fortunate because PITP was celebrating their anniversay with a big meal. Volunteers were working a large BBQ pit, which had been donated for the day, and more meal tickets than usual were being handed out to guests. The rain clouds broke and the potluck was held outdoors, in downtown Portland's OBryant Square.

I was able to get a spot serving up cassaroles, with my new friend Barbara. She has been volunteering with Potluck for a year now, saying that she enjoys volunteering with PITP because not only does it feed the needy, but it helps her remember that the people living on the streets are people too.  We had a good time, serving up chili mac, stir fry, and chicken pot pie. The day saw 80 volunteers serve meals to 920 guests. I saw many familiar faces on both the volunteer and guest side of the table. It felt good to not only help serve these meals to the needy, but to feel part of my community.

How to feed 900 people

Hour 26 - Operation Nightwatch

A handful of fellow volunteers showed up to help with last Friday nights Operation Nightwatch. During the brief orientation for new volunteers, Jimbo explained that Nightwatch's focus (unlike many other similar organizations) is to provide 'hospitality' for the needy of Portland. The 'needy' being homeless, but also those who sleep in homes but spend most of the days on the streets.  I was drawn to this distinguishing characteristic of Nightwatch...a place that provides a sense of welcome. Operation Nightwatch goes 7-11pm every Thursday, Friday & Saturday night. I learned about and signed up for this volunteer oppurtunity through Hands on Greater Portland.

This evening, 25-40 individuals (of all backgrounds) came in from the streets to socialize, play music and board games, or simply spend time at a place which welcomes them. It occured to me that many of these people spend their days being made unwelcomed in the public spaces where they live their lives. Coffee, cookies, sandwiches, and donated clothing were offered throughout the night. The bulk of the evening was folks talking and playing board games. A piano was played masterfully for the 4 hours.  I met a Yugoslavian woman with a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Cornell. I played 2 games of chess (one W, one L).  There were individuals there who, by appearance, fit the stereotype of a homeless person but there were just as many who did not. Tonight, at Operation Nightwatch, I learned of the varying shades of grey that exist in the homeless/needy population here in Portland.

Not my pic, but gives an idea of the scene at Op Nightwatch

Hour 24 - Friends of Trees

This past Saturday morning I met David for a cup of joe, and bounced out to SE Portland for some tree planting. When I sent my email to friends and family in January telling them about my 100 hours in Portland, I heard back from a few recommending that I get involved with Friends of Trees. The group organizes multiple tree plantings a week (in Portland and Eugene) and have been doing so since '89. I used Hands on Greater Portland to learn about and sign up for Saturdays planting.

David and I were part of a crew of 81 that planted 130 native trees and bushes alongside a paved trail that runs along Interstate 205. The workers were smiling, the sleeves were short and the trees were flying off the back of the FoT truck and into the eager soil. As we darted across a buzzing Powell Rd, back to my truck, Dave noted that we (and everyone else driving down Powell or I-205) will be able to see and enjoy the trees we planted today. Great day for a tree planting.

...and Dave said, "Let there be tree'

Hour 19 - Potluck in the Park

Every Sunday, since 1991, Potluck in the Park has provided the homeless of Portland with a well rounded Sunday afternoon meal. This past Sunday I helped serve food to those who showed up. I used Hands on Greater Portland to sign up to work the event. Since rain was in the forecast, the meal was held in the parking garage beneath O'Bryant Square in downtown Portland. There were 30 or so volunteers to help with the meal. I was put in charge of servin' up the asparagus. Asparagus is one of those funny things: people either big fans or are completely grossed out by the vegetable. Trivia about your author: big fan of the stuff. I was impressed with how well organized things were at the potluck, on the volunteer side but also from the service side. In 3 hours we served 668 ticketed guests & 847 second plates. Simply incredible.

Portland is a city with a sizable and, I would say, seen homeless community. By 'seen' I mean that this is not a city that chases away the homeless, sweeping them under the carpet, as many cities do. The community here, more specifically groups like PITP, seem to address the issue of homelessness (rather than ignoring) by working to assist those in need. I was suprised to see the diversity of those who showed for the meal. All genders, age groups, and nationalities were there today. Those that looked very different from me, but others that looked like me. In short, it is easy for me to differentiate myself from a person of the streets when I'm passing them on the way to work and focusing on the differences between us. Much is missed in those moments. I appreciated the moments during the serving of asparagus when I saw the similarities, the things I share with those who seem so different; the clues that we are not as different as it might seem in passing.

I didn't feel comfortable taking photos at PITP, but here's a
pic showing a bit of the soggy Spring we are having in Portland.

Hour 3 - Blueberry Bushes for NAYA

Dr Martin Luther King Jr fought for equality, justice, and what he called 'the beloved community'. In the last 10 years, the MLK holiday has been paired up with volunteerism- presented as an oppurtunity for citizens to take action for the betterment of others.

This MLK weekend I signed up, by way of Hands on Greater Portland, to plant blueberry bushes for an organization called NAYA (Native American Youth and Family Center). NAYA operates a school and community center in NE Portland. They provide numerous services for youth, adult and senior Native Americans. For 30 years NAYA has 'provided educational services, cultural arts programming, and direct support to reduce poverty' for Portland's Native Americans. NAYA elders had requested blueberry plants that they could harvest in the Summer and use in baking. Nine other volunters, and myself, made up the group tasked with planting the bushes and building a temporary greenhouse to help the plants get through the Portland winter. The 10 of us varied in every way - size, color, and age. As the project came along each volunteer proved helpful in some unique way. In the two hours it rained & snowed and in the end the sun came out to see a dozen blueberry bushes and a makeshift greenhouse behind the NAYA run school.

Blueberry planting in January? Well, we did it. I was glad to learn about NAYA and show my support for the organization, whose efforts parallel the lasting legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

'This is how we do it!'

As an update to this entry: I later received an email from United Way-Portland, who organized the city-wide MLK Day volunteer effort. They said that 2,875 volunteers, gave 10,346 hours of community service over the 3 day weekend. Not too shabby.