Hour 63: Chiloquin Food Pantry at Cycle Oregon

Cycle Oregon is a 25 year old annual bike ride, each year a different ~400 mile loop is chosen within the state. Each day of the ride ends in a predetermined spot. A small, temporary tent town is set up each night, a place the bikers can call home for a night. Complete with meal tents, beer gardens, small stages for entertainment and even yoga. The place is full of bicyclists, but also with those who are shuttling the bicyclists’ gear, event organizers, supporters, bike repair specialitst and a host of individuals who volunteer their efforts to set up/take down/and provide meal service.

 As a supporter of the Chiloquin Food Pantry, I worked to serve breakfast on morning #2 of this year’s Cycle Oregon. The ride stopped just outside of the nearby community of Fort Klamath. This was a fundraising event for the Food Pantry, in that, for each helper the Pantry provided, Cycle Oregon paid the Food Pantry for their time.

Before sunrise we arrived at the temporary campground, still silent and frosty in the morning dark. The nearby Cascades were starting to show their outlines against the early dawn sky. The tent area, home to the 2,300 cyclists was near silent, only a few bicyclist were awake shivering in line for their turn for a port-a-potty. As we passed through the tent area, we could see the food tents lit with Christmas lights and stirring with chefs and servers.

Charlie Fundraising by Cleaning Up at Cycle Oregon 2012

 

It turned out that today’s route would take the riders up to and around the rim of nearby Crater Lake National Park. Many cyclists were waking up early to get as much time as they could around the outlandishly blue Crater Lake. My role today was to bust tables after the bikers had finished their breakfasts. As I started collecting plates, I began to wake up and notice many faces of fellow volunteers from Chiloquin (pop. 1700). I was happy to run into Charlie, a retired local who has a knack for photography and wood carvings, and his wife Liz. The food pantry was represented by a number of volunteers that morning, each bringing in money to fund the food pantry'c sontinued efforts to feed the needy in the Chiloquin area.

The sun came out, breakfast was finished, and the cyclists loaded their bags into large trucks (which would drive to the next stop on the tour). The riders pushed off, starting their uphill ride to the rim of Crater Lake, and I made my way down the hill into Chiloquin for the day’s work.

Kay, Director of the Food Pantry

 

Hour 60: Chiloquin Food Pantry

 ‘Wait, where’s Chiliquin?’. Good question. Chiliquin is in southern Oregon, not far from the California state line. And it is my home for the better part of 3 months. I am working as the inspector for a construction project here this summer, and I’m taking the oppurtunity to log a few volunteer hours in my temporary home. Chiloquin is a depressed town; once a center for logging, and the former home of the Klamath Tribes Indian Reservation. Timber is out and the Tribe sold the reservation back to the federal government in the 1950’s, leaving many in this small town to rely on government assistance. It didn’t take long for me to run across the local food pantry, which collects food donations and distributes to locals who receive food stamps. I joined a team of 10 or so other volunteers in the monthly effort of gathering the food into the pantry and then trading the donated food for stamps. I saw men, woman, young, old, disabled and fully abled coming in to pick up food for themselves and their families. Like my experiences in Portland, I see that you cannot make a blanket generalization to encompass all the people that are receiving assistance. 



Hauling Food Donations into the Pantry

 

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 51: Habitat for Humanity- N. Michigan, Part 2

This was my 3^rd time out for Habitat for Humanity, and my 2^nd time working on Leo’s house. The inside and out look a lot different than they did 3 months ago. Today a majority of my work involved dismantling the scaffolding on the exterior of the house, led by project manager Ev. Once the scaffolding was taken down the crew took a step back and looked up at the nearly finished exterior with some surprise at how far along the place has come.

Leo's Pad

 

In the afternoon Todd and I mounted some roofing above the porch. This involved some math, a circular saw, hammers and a harness. Todd, a regular at Leo’s, told me about how he is interested in becoming an electrician and that he has decided to use Habitat as a way of getting construction experience, learning about the trait, and giving back to his community.



Mind the thumb, Todd

 

Leo was also on site today. After lunch, he was telling us that this house is more than he had ever expected to have for his family of 7. He is grateful for the opportunity to own a house, something he told us he would not be able to do if not for Habitat.

Hour 50: NW Neighborhood Cleanup

I'm fortunate to live in an excellent part of Portland. NW Portland (the Alphabet District) is full of activity, well preserved historic buildings, large trees...not much for parking though. There is not much parking in the area because of the high density of people that live here. And with that high density comes litter. Yes, even the clean, beautiful cities of the Pacific Northwest, populated with tree huggers and hip lumberjacks, get littered. This morning Allie and I grabbed a few bags and helped the neighborhood association with their 3rd Saturday cleanup effort. Wrappers, bags, packaging of every kind and color. After an hour we had 2 large bags full of litter, some of which came straight off the front yard. That is as local as it gets.

Makin' dirty work look good.

Hour 46: Another Operation Nightwatch

After some time off from my chase for 100 hours in Portland, I was able to get on board for a Friday night edition of Operation Nightwatch. This was my second time around with these guys. The first time was an excellent experience; so many interesting people from widely ranging backgrounds. It sounds like many of my fellow volunteers are taking some time off from their usual volunteering, as OpNightwatch had posted earlier in the week that volunteer numbers were low (typical for Summer) and they needed more help in order to open their doors this weekend. Enough signed up and doors opened at 7pm this Friday night. Op Nightwatch, as explained last time, is a safe, drug free place where anyone is welcome to spend their weekend nights. Hospitality is the focus here, not food or clothing, but a place where the often unwelcomed are welcome. Not everyone is homeless, but many are having tough times.

Tonights experience was much like the last. I played a few games of chess with a gentleman who took me to school each time. I met and talked with a painter (think artist, not laborer) who told me about his work and the many reasons that Oregon is greater than Georgia, his native state. It was good to run into a few familiar faces from my last nightwatch, and catch up in the way friends do. I tread lightly in these conversations, trying not to ask too many questions but at the same time not wanting to make too many assumptions. At risk of overthinking it, these conversations are the sort of thing that provide some perspective...a goal of these 100 hours.

The mood tonight seemed a bit somber, there was a death in this community of volunteers just a few days prior. The volunteer coordinator, Jimbo, had set out a photo and makeshift memorial for the deceased and all where invitied to share memories or thoughts. All of this on the heels of the news of the Denver movie theatre shooting the night before. One of the guests provided the gift of music for the rest of us, masterfully playing the piano in the next room for the entire four hours. Tonight I was thankful to be able to take part in the community, music, and hospitality on display at Operation Nightwatch. Here's to appreciating what we have at this moment!

Hour 43: Potluck in the Park...Part II

I enjoyed my first Potluck in the Park & was impressed with the number of meals they are able to hand out in a few hours. Today I joined friends Shelby, Alex, and Jesse to lend our hands as servers for the meal. Their was a chance of rain showers this afternoon, so the potluck was held in the parking garage below O'Bryant Square. By chance, I ended up in the same spot (vegetarian station) and forked out green bean sautee, veggies w/ rice and mac n' cheese (big seller of the day). According to PIP, 451 guests were fed today (701 plate in total). I am starting to see familiar faces at these sorts of things, which is nice. And, of course, I continue to meet all kinds of wonderful people who are also volunteering their time. I'm feeling grateful not only to be in the position to volunteer but to be in a city that has so many worthwhile opportunities to help. Thank you, Portland.