Meet The Montgomery's

Kamry during the OMSI field trip, learning how to mix chemicals in the lab

This family of three girls (two pictured within this blog except), has been a part of the PUMPwork's summer program for a very long time.  Last summer, Kamry, grade 4 (first three pictures) and Akira, 1st grade (bottom two pictures) participated in our program.  Their oldest sister, Shyann, grade 7 (not pictured) helped in our teen program.  My second year working as an intern with PSP, Kamry was one of my students.  I know her the most out of the family.  Akira, I think I'm the least familiar with.  As director of the program, I did not have as much opportunity to get to know the kids on as deep of a level due to having to oversee everything.  I am thankful that I have been with the program for so many years that I was able to build up a good relationship with so many of the kids.  All three girls are one of the first names to come up when the time comes for nominating leaders of the week.  

Kamry enjoying her bread roll she just finished making over the fire at the wilderness camp (wearing a towel on her head drying her hair after swimming in the stream)

Kamry, all ready to row her canoe

Each week at PSP, the interns meet together to vote for four students (1 boy and 1 girl in 4-6th grade and 1 boy and 1 girl in 1-3rd grade) to be chosen as leader of the week.  It is known to be a great honor.  Those students get a reward that reflects the theme of that year.  Last summer, because the theme was, "What's Your Story?" we let the winners pick a brand new book of their choice.  Naturally, these girls names come up because their parents work hard to raise their children right.  I have had the privilege to get to know their parents over the years.  They go to church as a family on a regular basis.  Shyann and her father were featured in the PUMPworks newsletter a couple of years back after getting baptized at their church following the end of our children's theater program.  During the 2009-2010 school year our non-profit was able to expand for one season, as we have always hoped, for an after school program.  Shyann and Kamry were both including along with approximately 20 other participants.  It was a nice opportunity, because we were able to have more of a one on one experience with a few of the students, as we had an hour of tutor time each time we gathered together.  Each intern got to work with 2-3 children for the entirety of the program.  Shyann was one of the kids in my tutor group.  She was always on task.  Rarely did she need any assistance.  That's just the way these girls are.

Akira on the bus on the way to the field trip.

Akira, during free choice activity time, playing in the game room.

Last summer, at the program, was Shyann's first chance to be in the teen helper program.  This is not a program we have been able to have every year.  Thankfully, my co-director Jake, felt it was important for the kids too old to be students to still have a purpose at the program.  The reason we do not have teen helpers every year is because it just takes extra volunteers to run that aspect of the program, and sometimes we are just short staffed.  To give the teens some incentive to stay on task, they were in a bit of a competition to be able to go on the field trip at the end of the week.  Each week, there were only about 3 slots available out of the 15 or so teens we had helping.  I know Shyann was chosen at least once in the 6 weeks of camp.  Now I have bragged on these girls quite a bit.  This is not to say that they are always perfect.  They are regular little girls.  Honestly, I have never had any trouble with Shyann.  The only times I have ever had to talk to the other girls was when they were occasionally talking when they should be listening.  Normal little girl stuff.  They are full of spunk.  Akira would say things in the funniest way, with just a little bit of attitude.  In closing, I want to share some things their mother wrote in the annual parent survey:  "My favorite part of PSP is everything, but I especially love that my older daughter (Shyann) was able to take part as a teen helper...Awesome to allow our youth to serve!"  "All three of my children; Shyann, Kamry, and Akira have a faith based up bringing and attend church, but I love the singing worship and they show a greater interest to express their faith (after attending)."  "The children loved the camp!  Doing archery, canoeing, etc.  It was their first time going horse back riding.  It's an opportunity we would have had a hard time achieving on our own...we thank you."  "Kamry had some issues with another kid bullying her, but Marley (her intern/teacher) mediated and helped addres the concern and Kamry had a great day everyday thereafter.  Thanks Marley!"  "(I would reccomend this program to a friend as a safe, positive, affordable experience) and I have for the past 6 years that my girls have attended.  This program complimetns our morals and values.  I am thankful for what PUMPworks and your commitment to serve and on biblical principles!"      

Oops, I did it again

I was doing so well, blogging at least once if not twice a month.  I will do my best to catch up these past few months as briefly as possible.  In my last post, I mentioned some exciting ideas I was attempting to accomplish for PSP.  These things did not happen.  My friend I wrote about before, that was going to get married and was going to give me the opportunity to visit Portland, ended up postponing her wedding.  This change made it not responsibly possible for me to make a trip up north at this time.  I have not had opportunity to be in my favorite place since January and it honestly makes my heart ache.

Before this trip was cancelled, I had sent emails to a handful of people that have been prominent influences in PSP these past few years.  I immediately received enthusiastic response back from one of the founders and a mentor of mine.  I was immensely encouraged to continue on this path.  I also, received word back from my co-director, liking the idea of doing something and advice on different ways this can be accomplished.  I then, after much time had past, got a message from one of the other founders and a person I too look up to.  Her words were much more discouraging to me.  It set me back a bit from moving forward.  And then, shortly after was when I got word of the wedding being called off.

Right now, I am in a really good place.  Deep down I know it is possible that it is not God's will for PSP to be brought back.  I feel called to move back to Portland after my time in Humboldt comes to a close.  I feel renewed in my calling to serve.  My time will be spent in more intentional service when I am there.  Volunteering with both Northwest Children's Outreach (a clothing donation service for needy youth) as God calls us to clothe the needy and the Backpack Food Program (a food donation service for families in need) as God calls us to feed the poor.

This past July, I got to return to some of my roots, serving as cabin staff at Daybreak camp.  I had not been there in 5 years, since I began working with PSP.  While there, I felt like I was exactly where I needed to be in that exact moment.  Never before have I felt this way before.  I was supported, encouraged, and most importantly loved.  My dream is to bring the PUMPworks Summer Program back, in some form.  It has also been my dream to work with Daybreak camp, since my youth.  While spending time there recently, I got to know many of the staff members very well.  My hope for next summer is to get a job there, as I now have learned what it takes to work there.

I feel like my time there will help prepare me for future summers at PSP.  Already I have got many new ideas for the program from my time spent there at camp.  I imagine if I am granted the opportunity to work for daybreak, that I will get lots more.  I am excited for what is a head.  I have high hopes.  Till next time, keep praying.

ONE

In my last post I mentioned I had some ideas that I hope to implement this summer.  They are still in the early works, so I will refrain from saying more at this time.

Yesterday was one day without shoes day sponsored by Toms shoes.  I participated, just as I have the last 4 years.  My first year, I was working as administrative assistant for PumpWorks under Heath's Directorship.  That job thankfully allowed for plenty of flexibility, so on that day back in 2010 I took an extra long lunch.  Toms website allows people to organize groups in the area to have barefoot walks all around town.  When the scheduled time came around, I met up at the park in front of Lloyd Center where I found about 10 other strangers looking for the same event.  The two guys who organized our gathering were a little younger than me and were attempting to create a safe place for teens to come and have fun, etc.  They called their place February Falls Short.  From attempting to Google the organization now, it seems they are no longer running. It was a really fun experience getting to know all of these people who came from different backgrounds and such.  We walked from Lloyd center all the way down to pioneer square, I think it took about an hour.  Here is a video one of the participants made from the walk.  I'm the one in the big puffy jacket walking toward the front of the group. http://youtu.be/NqJgPkzxomw  I haven't stayed in close touch with any of the people from this day, but I am Facebook friends with a few of them.

My second year participating, I was living in the woodlawn neighborhood.  I think I was on spring break from the daycare that week.  The day before I had just gotten my foot tattoo in memorial of the one year after my Grampa had passed away.  I was not able to find any groups meeting this year, but I did want to get out of the house and actually experience walking barefoot that day.  I also had been meaning to walk across all of the bridges in Portland and take lots of pictures of that experience.  So, I put the two together and walked from my house across the I-5 bridge.  I left a little later than I was hoping, I think it was around 4 pm   It took me about two hours to get to the bridge.  The streets did not have a lot of sidewalks.  I was asked a couple of times by passersby why I did not have any shoes on.  It was a fairly busy road to be walking on at rush hour time.  I was not sure the best way to walk to the bridge.  I took a couple detours.  I passed some scary looking people.  It took me about another hour to cross the bridge and back over again.  It was starting to get dark.  I had left my car keys at home, in case this did happen to me.  I took a break at Target and called my roommate Rachel.  She was so kind to do me the grand favor of picking me up and driving me back home.  My feet were tired and sore.  I had used all of both my cameras batteries and memory space.      

The past couple of years have not been as eventful.  Last year I worked at both the daycare and babysat for one of the families I had been working for.  The daycare hardly noticed I was not wearing shoes.  We pretty much never wear shoes anyways.  Never in the house, usually outside.  I just didn't at all that day.  The boys I babysat for asked me why* I was not wearing any shoes.  These boys were fun.  They were 5 and 7 half Japanese/half American.  The five year old was pretty spunky in general and questioned pretty much anything I said or did.  I explained to him why I was not wearing shoes.  This year I was working.  I currently Nanny for a 21 month old.  We stayed inside most of the day, but toward the end of my shift he really wanted to go outside.  The UPS man had knocked on the door just as the baby was waking up from his nap.  He was really persistent at the door, so we rushed downstairs.  As I was signing for the package, the child's Mom came home.  So we spent a good 5 minutes running around outside both barefoot.  Their rocky driveway was really starting to hurt my feet.  I decided this was not responsible childcare at this point.  Thankfully, convincing him to go inside for a moment to get shoes on was not a battle (as at times it has been).  Once he had shoes on, he wanted to hit the neighborhood.  I politely obliged.  He raced up the hill of their driveway, as I paced behind him.  Their neighborhood unfortunately does not have sidewalks.  We only spent about a half hour out there up the gravel street we explored on was killer on my soles.  I found relief by walking on the yellow painted dashes in the middle of the road, when I could.  As soon as I got home I washed my poor tired, sore feet.

Why* do I do this each year?  I do not own any Toms shoes.  I think what Toms does is good.  I have heard rumors about poor business practices they have, but I have not heard confirming facts either way.  The reason I do this is because of the children right here in our very neighborhoods.  There are thousands of children who go barefoot or without proper footwear everyday not by choice all around the world, including america.  Here in America, and locally in Portland, where the children I generally serve have one of the highest homeless populations in the country.  I know for a fact at least one family we served at Pumpworks was homeless.  Many of the children we work with are neglected at home or even abused.  Some are loved, treasured, and cared for; but their families are still in poverty and still cannot afford basic necessities.  Some are living in horribly sad and difficult family situations beyond their control.  They live with their parents, other family members, or in foster homes.  We PumpWorks gets up and running again in a few years I want us to be more active in the families we serve lives.  Sometimes we learn about the situations they are facing because a child will mention something or a parent will step forward and tell us.  I want to reach out to all of the parents and find out their prayer requests as well as what needs their families are struggling with.  Not only do I want to know what they are, I want us to try and meet those needs.  I think this will be an easily attainable goal. (source:  http://shoes4theshoeless.org/blog/) I stumbled upon this blog while searching for facts for my blog.  Check it out.

I am ONE person.  Right now I have ONE follower.  If I can inform ONE person of the struggles of the children around us, I have accomplished something.  If I can meet ONE child's need, I have made a difference.  What ONE person can you reach?  What ONE change can you make?  

Bright Ideas

I know I have not written in a couple weeks.  Even though I feel I should write more, this entry will be a little bit more of a teaser.  This time last week was a sleepless night for me.  I got two, maybe three hours sleep.  I got to bed around my usual time a little after midnight, very tired from a long day.  I had most of the week off, and would be working a long day, early in the morning, and most of the weekend.

As I climbed into bed, I thought about the poster above my bed.  It is a collage of papers I led my green group at PSP in making two summers ago.  This year would be there sixth grade year, their last.  No future years would allow them to participate as campers in the program.  The facts of this makes me so sad.  These are my kids.  My first year helping PSP as a volunteer, I spent that first week with the first graders.  These very same kids.  When I first was able to intern the next year, I co-lead the second graders.  I have watched these kids grow into incredible people.

Portland is the best place to be in the summertime.  They have the best weather.  There is SO much going on ALL the time.  I have been planning my next visit for the summer.  One of my former roommates is getting married July 5th.  I figured I would go up about a week early to help out where I could.  While thinking of my kids, I thought I should make some time to visit them while I am up there.  This idea rolled into a plan to put on a mini-PSP for this summer.

I started getting really pumped up that this could actually happen.  I was so excited, I could not stop my thoughts from flowing.  I wrote down as much as I could, but then I had to make attempts to get some sleep.  I have just started the early planning process of this.  I do not want to say much more about this because I want to hear some confirmation from some people I have contacted first.  I will keep you updated as plans do come to life.

Take Care, till next time!

Meet Project Network

        In today's post I want to introduce you to one of PumpWorks partners: Project Network and the kids that got to participate in PSP this year thanks to that connection.  This place is a residential treatment facility that cares for women and their children.  The facility serves to help females overcome addiction and become productive citizens.  Everyday one of our interns (Bianca) drove out to pick up 3 children (Ziaere, Lily, and Miya) that call this place home and drove them back each afternoon.  I never had the opportunity to visit Project Network nor did I get to participate in the picking up and dropping off of these kids.  However, I did get to hear from Bianca often, how blessed she felt to serve in this way.     

Ziaere and friend Pablo experimenting at OMSI

Ziaere observing friends Jemila and Keziah

The Children in this group were rather quiet.  They were not outspoken in any way.  I always saw them on their best behavior.  What I observed most from these kids was the loyalty they had between each other.  They were always together.  Each of them made some friendships with different kids in the program, but when they were down and really needed a friend, this was where I saw their bond the most.  It brought so much joy and inspiration to my life to see.  One instance I will never forget about them was when we were riding on the bus back from one of our field trips.  I was seated at the back of the bus with a few 5th and 6th grade girls.  Across from me was Lily and Ziaere.  Soon into the way home, the conversation between the girls I was sitting with turned to teasing Lily.  She just sat there quietly, tears trickling down her cheeks.  I quickly put a stop to their jokes, and made them realize what their words had done.  They learned their lesson and tried apologizing to Lily, but the damage was already done.  As she tried to stop her tears from coming, her friend Ziaere simply put his arm around her for comfort.  She laid her head on his shoulder and felt safe in that spot.  The other girls continued to try to show their regrets for what they said to Lily.  I saw that she just needed to have some space from these people during this time before she could let them in so easily as friends.  I told thanked the girls for apologizing and to just leave her alone for now.  Lily and Ziaere fell asleep not long after, safe in their friendship.  Once we were back to St. Charles, I talked with Lily about what happened between the girls and her.  I think this was where my friendship with her began.  As the summer progressed, these girls did become friends with Lily, as well.  I loved the little chats I got to have with her in the morning as she would arrive.  I learned about her Native American background and the pride she had in it.  I hope I get to watch her grow in her strength and power as the years go on, along with Ziaere and Miya.          

Miya on the bus

Lily on the bus

      For more information on Project Network and on ways you can volunteer with them please check their website at:  http://www.lifeworksnw.org/

      Saturdays are often their preferred day.  They are located in North Portland near Legacy Emanuel Hospital and the Rose Garden Arena.  There is always an opportunity to serve in this place.  If you can't give your time donations of goods or monetary means would be greatly appreciated.  

Miya and Lily riding together

Please be praying for the women who live in this residence and their families.  I thank you for reading this week and I hope you come back to hear more about the program that I seek to continue to serve for many years to come.  Till next time, take care.

Bully

      This week I want to talk about what I learned from the movie 'Bully'.  I have wanted to see this film for quite a while now.  Preparing for this past summer made me want to view this tale even more because I knew it was a problem we deal with every year.  Even though we strive to make our program a safe place for kids to come, this is an issue that is becoming a more prominent one today among the population.  Thanks to Redbox free Valentines promotion, the opportunity to watch 'Bully' was finally afforded to me.  

      I want to share how the things in this movie that were discussed could apply to us at PumpWorks Summer Program.  The kids that were in this film that are characterized as bullied all had trouble making friends.  These are the kids I usually try to seek out.  I have never felt like I was bullied when I was going to school.  However, I have spent my whole life, even to this day, with the struggle of how to make friends.  I do know what it is like to not feel accepted by my peers.  For this reason, I want all of the children that I work with to know that there is at least one person on this earth who accepts who they are (on top of that of Jesus Christ).  

     In the movie, I was genuinely appalled by the comments that the teachers and staff at the schools made in regard to the issue of bullying.  There were cases of the children who were victims coming to the teachers and they seemed to take the bully's side.  Another case showed a parent coming to the principle to tell them about the issue the film makers showed proof of on the bus.  The principle took a similar stance, asking what the child had done to cause the bully's behavior.  They also claimed that it was an isolated case and not a major issue or one that needed to put effort into making changes in the school system.  Every time these scenes came on, I thought of myself in the role the adult was in.  If you are an adult in a child's life, you need to stop and listen to what the child has to say; especially in situations where they are upset.  Most of my summer is spent in this role.  I get to listen to the unheard children.  It takes more time then I may have felt like I had in the moment, but in reality they are the reason I am there and why we have the program at all.  It was important to me to hear all sides of a conflict.  I wanted to understand both children because usually there is a reason behind everyone's actions.  Also in order to fix the situation, both people need to be heard and talked to.  

      Another thing the faculty mentioned were things like mental abuse is not as important of an issue as physical abuse.  They said if there was no blood, there was no harm.  This also irked me.  As the film shows, multiple children killed themselves because of the way they felt about themselves due to their loneliness.  I wish just one person could have been the one to tell them that there is hope for a better day.  I want to be that one person to these kids.  In childhood they only have so many options in the life they are dealt.  If they can simply make it through childhood, they can rewrite their script.

       An important theme that has come up a lot for me in that last year or so is people's stories are bigger that we may know.  "What's your Story?" was the theme for last summer's program.  It was prompted after the founders learned about two of our former participants, who now teenagers, on the news.  Apparently, one murdered another.  People are more than what you can see on the outside.  We need to take the time to get to know them, to understand where they are coming from.  

      The children need to be taught how to communicate.  Sometimes the children have not been heard for so long they stop speaking.  They don't talk about their feelings, and when they are pressed they simply say they are fine.  Not only do kids need to learn how to talk to a safe person about when they are treated badly, but they also need to learn how to talk to their peers.  The bullies need to learn how to use their words respectfully and the victims need to feel the power to tell the bullies that their words hurt.  

      The film also talked about how bullies create bullies.  When someone is bullied for long enough and they do not how to handle the situation in any other way except the way they see the bully handling it, they act in the same way.  The child then is put in a situation where they are at fault and could get in more trouble then they already were in.  I witnessed this to a much lower degree this past summer.  I recall one girl who has been coming to the program since she was old enough to and is in fourth grade this year.  She has an older sister who went through the entire program and a younger one that was just starting out.  We have never had any trouble with any of them.  This summer, however, we had one instance.  The first few weeks we heard mention that this girl was being teased and left out from her peers.  One day we found her being mean to these same kids.  This brought the issue to more light.  We had a talk with everyone involved and made sure to continuously check in throughout the summer.  This is a prime example of how the bullied can become the bully when authorities do not handle the situation first off.  

        The situation this was shown in the movie about a girl who grew up in a rough home life.  Her mom was a single parent, struggling to support her family the best she could.  The girl was smart and hard working, an A student.  She was also being bullied.  Being tired of it, she had access to a gun at home.  With no intention of actually using it, when the bullying started again she pulled it out.  The girl did not fire it, but it was struggled out of her hand by another student.  The whole story was tough for me to hear.  I did not like that she had easy access to a gun that she could grab from her home, and leave her home with it without anyone knowing.  I also did not like that the whole situation happened without an adult present:  The bullying started- no adult was there to stop it.  The girl pulled out a gun- no adult was there to grab it, another student did.  Overall, children need to be monitored more.  They are not ready to handle these bigger scenarios, yet.  

      As a community we need to be praying for not only the bullied, but the bully as well.  Besides being present in the lives of the children and teaching these children, we also need to just be praying for their lives.  As Christians, we need to remember the power of prayer.  At the program, we try our best to pray with the children as much as possible.  In the busyness of life, this is something that I tend to forget once the issue has been resolved in the moment.  It is important to teach the children to turn to prayer in times of need, and in the everyday parts of life.  Outside of being with the children, we need to continuously pray for them.  

      The bully needs to be taught that their choice to bully is not alright.  The power for the children that they are responsible for their own actions due to their choices is a big component we teach at PSP.  We do our best to communicate with the children with choice language.  This is counter intuitive to what I grew up doing working with children.  A lot of adults who have not been trained in this field seek to control the child.  When the child makes a bad choice, the adult punishing the child becomes the "bad guy" in the child's eyes.  When the child learns that when they choose to break the rules, they are choosing the punishment.  We acknowledge their feelings, and why they are choosing this behavior because often they don't fully understand it at this age of life.  We warn them about the boundaries they are allowed to stay between.  And then we give them two choices for consequences of their actions.  So, even when they are being punished, they are choosing what that punishment is.  

      In the movie, they say that the school's attitude is that they cannot control what the kids say or we can't watch what every kid does all the time.  I sympathize with these thoughts, because I have felt this way myself at times.  I do not really have a great answer to this situation.  I do know that the more volunteers we have on hand the more eyes and ears we can have on these kids.  

      One place that the bullying came most often in the movie was on the bus where the only adult supervision was the bus driver, who could not do anything about it.  I think this is an area that needs to be fixed in the schools, and I am thankful that we have plenty of people on our buses to help guide the children.  I know that bad choices are sometimes made on the bus, and watching the movie I just thought I am just so glad that an adult was there to stop the situation before it escalated any higher.  

      I have many more notes on this film, but I think what I have said this far covers the general idea of it.  I have been even more enlightened to this prevailing current issue in our community.  At the end of the film they shared their facebook page; "Stand for the Silent" and I wanted to pass it on to you guys to be aware of as well.  I recommend this film to anyone to be more aware.  Share your smile with the children in your life and be somebody to put a smile on their face.  Start with one person, and they can join you to action to two, then eventually we can have an army behind the unheard voice.  Everyone's voice deserves to be heard.  Visit thebullyproject.com

Thanks for joining us this week.  Till next time, take care.         

Meet Adrianna and Noah

Well, I finally missed a week.  My apologies.  I was feeling really out of it most of the week.  I also started a nanny job with a new family.  My laptop decided to work again, thankfully.  I think this will be a good time to do our first photo blogs and let you meet some of out participants.  The family I would like to introduce you to first is brother and sister, Noah and Adrianna.

Adrianna decorating her flower pot at camp

Adrianna was actually one of the kids I first connected with during my first year of the program back in 2008.  She was a second grader then, and this past summer graduated the program.  Noah is a fourth grader this year and will probably miss his last chance at being a camper in the program.  Adrianna was so shy and quiet that first year.  She hadn't really made any connections with the other kids or even many of the other adults at PSP.

Noah, examining a chart in the chemical room at OMSI

It didn't take long, however, for her to feel she could trust me and was safe with me.  She did not say very much to me, but she stayed by my side with her little hand in mine.  Each day I would walk her to her Dad at pick up at the end of the day.  She did not return the years following that one, until this last summer.  I wasn't sure if it was her at first.After a few weeks into the program, and feeling   more confident it was the same girl, I asked her if she remembered me.  Her character has not changed much in the past years.  Still a quiet, gentle spirit; now full of strength and confidence.  She simply nodded yes that day.  In many ways, I am reminded of myself in her.

Adrianna on the bus

Noah riding the bus with friends, Pablo and Daniel

For the rest of the summer after that, I saw that same friendship we used to have.  I was busier this past summer in the role as director, as opposed to just a volunteer my first year.  All the same, she would come to tell me about her life and family.  It was exciting to hear about their family adding a new baby this summer.  I was so proud at our finale program that Adrianna led a prayer on stage, in front of everyone.  Noah also has a quiet spirit within him.  They are both such good, well behaved kids.  I saw Noah making many good friends this summer, especially these two guys.  I did not spend as much time with Noah.  I do remember, one day this summer, Noah was wearing his PSP t-shirt from 2008.  It barely fit him still.  I did not make a connection with him that year, but now I will never forget him.  An older family friend of theirs that attends PUMPchurch, started bringing these two with him on Sunday mornings at the beginning of the summer.  At the end of August, on my last day of church before I moved to California, Noah drew me a beautiful picture as a going away present.  He is quite a talented artist.  When I came to visit in October, they were both still attending and I got to talk with them about how life is going for them.  I love when Adrianna opens up.  She told me some funny stories about how her baby sister is doing.  I hope the next time I am there, they will be, as well.    

                                                                           

Noah likes to keep it classy

Noah crafting during afternoon activity time

Thanks for tuning in this week.  I am hoping to do a video blog at some point.  Maybe sooner then later.  I have never done one, so we will see how that goes.  This week say a prayer for Noah, Adrianna, and their family.  Pray that they keep growing in their faith.  I praise God for their presence in my life.  Pray that Godly people continue to be apart of their lives.  Pray that their little sister grows up healthy and strong.

Hitting the books

Well, I know I said that I would do a more complete blog last weekend, but as you may have seen, it did not happen.  I told you last time that my laptop died a week ago today.  I currently do not have the means to fix it.  This past week has been a busy one for me personally.  I have found quite a productive spirit in me getting the house a little bit more organized.  I set up my desktop computer.  I have not been able to set up the internet on it, yet.  It does not have wireless and my 50 foot cord was about 20 feet short of reaching our router.  Tonight I bought a longer cord and I hope to finish that set up tomorrow.  On Tuesday, I met and was hired by a lady who runs her own eBay business as a personal assistant.  I had my first day on the job the very next day.  She let me borrow one of her extra laptops which I am on now.  I am glad to be busy, but it does take away from time to actively, intentionally pursue my mission to bring back PSP.

In my first blog of this series, I said I wanted to share stories of the kids and other aspects of the program.  I still can do that, however, my original format of including my pictures to go with the stories will have to wait as they are all on my laptop :(  For today's blog I will be focusing mainly on what I have been learning.  My textbook of choice currently is "Effective Fundraising for Nonprofits, real-world strategies that work".  I have read through chapter 2 at this point.  From reading this, it definitely seems the more people you have on your team the better your business can function.  I find that to be a rather obvious statement, but it is something the book has been promoting thus far.  One thing I did not know a lot about before reading this book was the function of the Board of Directors.  Just like the Executive Director, their main job is to fund raise as well.    I also learned about different resources for finding volunteers.  Apparently, there are organizations made for other organizations to locate just these types of people.  The book also talks about ways to keep your volunteers coming back by giving them tasks that connect them to the organization.

Toward the end of chapter 2 was a section that asked "Can you pitch your nonprofit in the space of an elevator ride?"  I wanted to include my answers to the questions they suggested a person involved in the program should be able to answer.
-What would you do with $10,000?  That money would be used toward supplies for the program for our reading program as well as craft projects.  We could also use the money for the field trips that we go on and the t-shirts we give the kids so we can identify them as part of our group when we are out on these field trips.  The field trips that we go on each week are something that all of our participants look forward to at the end of each week.
-Tell me about the needs of your constituency (any body of supporters, customers, or clientele).  The participants that we serve our mainly low income families.  There are several children who come each year that have had their fair share of time in the foster care system.  We have even had some families in our program who were homeless.  All of the families we work with our doing their best to provide everything they can for their children.  I know first hand that it is not easy to get out of the cycle of poverty that many of these families face.  These busy, hardworking families sometimes are not able to be home with their children because of the hours they have to put in to provide for their families.  I see lots of our families rushing to drop off their children so they can hurry off to work.  Sometimes this means they do not have time to give their children breakfast in the morning and they are dropped off hungry.  This last year, to help with this problem, we began serving breakfast as the first part of our day.
-Who are the other service providers in your field and what makes you special?  There are many other summer programs in the greater Portland area.  We are special mainly because of the price of our program.  The average price of a summer program is usually around $500.  It costs about the same amount for us to put on our program, however, we charge based on a participants school lunch status (free, reduced, or standard).  Most of the people who come to our program our on free lunch status.  I also think a special part of our program is our focus on the bible.  I know this is not entirely unique to us, but it is something not all offer that I find makes that much more of a difference in the lives of these children.
-Tell me about the composition of your board of directors.  This is not a statement I can really comment on at this time, as this is all still a dream.  The types of people I will be looking for to be a part of our board of directors will most importantly include those who believe in PSP.  They will also be active God followers who enjoy connecting with people.  Bonus points for those who have experience fundraising or other money skills.  As the book stated, the first two our inherit in people, the last part can be taught.
-What made you get into this field?  I got into this field by a phone call.  I literally received a phone call asking me to come help out this program because the people they were expecting to show up cancelled last minute.  I had the time, so I did.  I quickly made connections with these children that I will never forget.  I was asked to help for one week.  I stayed for two, kept coming back the following summers, and have not stopped, yet.  I believe in this program.  The change that happens in anyone who puts their heart into it.  It is amazing.

I probably should work on summarizing some of those answers more, but this was a good start for me as well as a good way for you to begin to see the need for PSP to be a part of children's lives once again.

I also started reading chapter 3.  It talks about budgets and the importance of having an idea ahead of time of the things you may spend on and adjusting it at least once a year to reflect actual spending.

For those who have tuned in for through the end of today's blog, I applaud you.  I know these topics are not the most exciting things.  It mainly is to help keep me accountable.  I do appreciate any of you with interest in what I have been doing.  I promise there will be more interesting blogs in the future.

Till next time, take care my friends!

Screeching halt

Well, for awhile there I forgot today was Friday.  That kind of thing happens sometimes when you are unemployed.  When I went to go online this evening, I decided to check my email first.  I was just about finished when my laptop completely died.  I believe it is a power issue.  So instead of blogging I spent some time researching how to fix my new problem.  I at least have a handy dandy iPhone that I can update on just before bed.  I almost thought about blowing this thing off, but then I told myself it was just sad that I couldn't find time to blog for two consecutive weeks.  However, things did come tonight that I needed to address.  Hence forth tonights entry will be brief.  I will be back next Friday for a complete blog as schedule, plus I will do this weeks complete blog before weekends close.

Fire to my bum

Well now it has been a year and a half since I last blogged.  I really am horrible about keeping up with this thing.  I think about blogging a lot.  It just does not happen.  I actually have a reason to blog now.  I imagine this will help with consistency, but we will just see what time will tell. 

The purpose of this blog is now to follow the progress of the reestablishment of the PumpWorks Summer Program (PSP).  I am not a very passionate person, however, after a short time being in the presence of this place back in 2008, captured my heart and my passion was found.  Mid November of this past year (2012) the PumpWorks non-profit decided that under the model they were following they would not be able to make PSP, their main event, happen, thus they decided to close their doors at the end of the Calendar year.  I was completely heartbroken.  I was in shock.  I knew I needed to take action, but I had no idea how.  What made it even more difficult was that I had temporarily moved to California to help my sister out as she finished her undergrad degree.  All the usual what ifs ran through my head, the biggest 'if I had only been there'.

Since the announcement of the closure of the non-profit, I have had time to brainstorm all sorts of possible ideas.  I was blessed to receive a trip up to Portland for Christmas.  Ever since the announcement I have just wanted to be with PumpWorks people.  I feel more sure of what I am doing as well as have a better understanding of where things have been left off now that I have accomplished that.  I had a chance to visit the former office of PumpWorks.  There is not much there now.  I also was able to talk with the two founders personally, which was one of my top priorities of my trip. 

To help keep my self accountable as well as inform others about the happenings, I plan to blog every Friday on my progress.  Here is the start of that:

Hello PSP compassionates,

At the end of last summer, I had heard finances were tight and that we might not be able to have camp this coming summer. I did not understand that this meant the extreme measure of shutting the doors of PumpWorks would be the result of that.  While I was up in Portland I was reassured by one of the founders and decision makers of the PumpWorks Summer Program that they have hope that the Program will return again. 

The doors were shut because of the lack of two main areas: Volunteers and Finances.  I would like to write to you in an open and honest form.  I feel that it is important to let you know as much as you need to know about the program, as well as the business.  My hope in this is that you will be able to really understand the importance of what we do.  We have found that it is difficult to afford an Executive Director as well as the cost of the program.  At the same time, it is equally as hard of a task to find enough volunteers to preform even close to the same level to get the tasks done necessary to put together the program each year. 

When I return to Portland during the summer of 2014, this will solve the volunteer problem.  Until that time we have the ever present financial problem. In the year and a half plus till I return, I will be learning all I can about what it takes to be in this role, plus what is necessary to know in order to maintain a non-profit program and all that entails.  In addition to that, I plan on collecting pledges of donations, as well as donations themselves.  Another thing I learned during my visit up to Portland was that even though the business has closed we are able to still accept donations at least through the 2013 year.  Hence, if you feel inclined, please continue to donate. I believe pay pal will be your best way to do this, but I imagine alternative methods are possible.  If you would like to know more on this topic it self, please do not hesitate to contact me.  My goal is to have at least $60,000 pledged by August 1, 2014. 

I would like you to reflect on your own personal situation.  I want you to think about your own connection to PumpWorks; It may be seeing your child go through the program, you have seen a family member attend the program, you have sent your child as an intern, you have interned, you know somebody who has volunteered in the program, you attend a church where your youth group has served, whatever has brought you to this blog today is your connection.  Please reflect on what that connection means.  Remember the effects PumpWorks Summer Program has had on all of those lives thus far, and most importantly to those children.  I have been blessed to work with these kids the past 5 summers.  It grieves me to think that I will miss out on their lives in these next couple of years, minus a miracle. 

There will be kids who will graduate out of the program before I will be able to see them again.  Who knows where they will go.  Many of these children have rough home or social lives.  Not all of them, and that is always a blessing to see the children helping each other out.  We are called to be there for each of these children no matter what their story is.  There definitely is a number of children in our program that do have difficult lives.  They have gone through some things in their short amount of years that we will never experience, that we can never fully understand because nothing we will ever go through will compare to what they have lived.  A good portion of our participants are in the foster care system or have been adopted.   

I plan on being the program director for 2015, that means we will be going two summers with no program put on by us.  The idea has been brought up to have a miniature version (week long camp) of the program this summer and/or next, but the details of this have not been discussed much further.  My plan is to have a relaunch party Saturday, August 9, 2014 to announce plans for camp the following summer 2015.  I hope to have former participants of all sorts in attendance: interns, volunteers, youth groups, students, and their families. 

I am not very experienced in this role, but I have the passion for it.  I know the program completely.  I know the heart of what we are about.  I feel this program is 100% vital to these children's lives.  This is what saddens me the most about the lack of an affordable, Christian, Summer camp in the Portland area.  I have talked with some of our PSP kids since or their families, and to hear their disappoint just breaks my heart a little more each time. 

In this blog I would like to include what I am learning each week, progress of pledges, and share stories of the program.  I want to give you a snap shot of what we do and who these kids are for those who have not had a chance to experience this place first hand.  I hope you tune in each week.  Thanks for reading. 

Take Care,
Cassi