“Teachers have affected my life more than anyone throughout my entire life. Specifically my English teachers because it’s always been my best class. They’ve been the biggest supports that I’ve had. I’ve had English teachers take me to their house for the holidays. I’ve had English teachers over the summer invite me over.”
If having the thought of having a holly jolly Christmas makes you want to go postal, then check out Another Grey Christmas Five from the Willamette Week. No Burl Ives, no silver bells, just awesome bands singing some sweet Christmas songs. Proceeds benefit p:ear so get out that Christmas sweater and rock on!
We would like to acknowledge and thank our 2011 community partners who are supporting p:ear youth and programs with in-kind gifts this year!
A big thank you to Sarah Dougher's PSU Capstone class who raised over $1,200 in cranberry sauce sales for Preserve p:ear!
p:ear was fortunate enough to again work with photographer Charles Gullung for a portrait series. p:ear youth were asked to choose an object that gives them strength for their portrait, and the result is a deeply moving look at simple but sustaining objects that push us through the day and give us our humanity. Every thing from a cup of coffee to a photo of one's child show how the simple and complex help life keep moving. Charles' profound series gives a glimpse into the lives of p:ear youth. Enjoy!
View the portraits here.
Here we are again- fast approaching the busiest shopping weekend of the holiday season. Don't spend all day fighting the crowds at the mall or other mega shopping nightmares. Stop by Mississippi Studios and scoop up something for everyone on your list. The best part? It's all locally made by super cool people.
Need more?
All artists will be donating 10% of their sales to p:ear and Mississippi Studios will donate 100% of their food proceeds to p:ear Who doesn't want to help homeless kids? Especially around the holidays.
Still not enough?
Mississippi Studios will be serving up breakfast sandwiches and happy hour specials all day long. Grab a cocktail while you shop or just hang out on their newly covered patio and people watch.
Stay tuned for a list of participating artists and other amazing reasons you won't want to miss out.
More info: http://
giftbagandapeartree.wordpre ss.com/ Hope to see you there. Tell all of your friends!
From Genoa chef David Anderson, here is the menu for p:ear's dinner next Wednesday, November 16th. Paired with fine wines from Soter Winery and bubbly from Argyle Winery, guests will enjoy the following courses:Grancio e Avocado: Oregon Dungeness crab with avocado, citrus segments, cranberry coulis and a grapefruit granita
Lasagne con Porcini: Red pepper and spinach pasta sheets with grilled and raw porcinis, bechamel and preserved tomato coulis
Duo di Anatra: Trinity Farms' duck two ways: Seared breast and savory sausage with red wine braised cabbeage, chesnuts and preserved quince
Stop by the "Portland Bag Show" featured in the Peoples Art Gallery at Pioneer Mall. Actress and artist Maggie McOmie provided shopping bags from her travels to now be constructed into unique works of art. This benefit for p:ear features over 100 artists and runs through Dec. 4th.
We had the pleasure of getting a sneak peak of some of the creations and they are looking incredible! Ranging in dimensions to textures to colors, Portland artists have truly gone outside of the box.
40% of the proceeds go to p:ear so shop away!
Opening receptions starts at 5pm
Three courses paired with wine and champagne benefiting p:ear. What are you waiting for? Get tickets here for the 5:30 pm or 8:30 pm seatings!
From our friends over at Alter Egos. Proceeds from Ceasefire go to p:ear so get out your masks, caps, lasers and tights!Once a year…
…the heroes and villains of Portland, Oregon set aside their weaponized superpowers and their moral differences for a single night of drinking, dancing, and superpowered high-fives. That night, known to some as the Alter Egos Society’s Hero/Villain Ceasefire, is soon to return for a fifth year… On November 12, heroes, villains, sidekicks, minions, and ambivalent masterminds alike will descend upon Ella St. Social Club united under a single cause: charity!
Our annual Ceasefire event is half party, half charity fundraiser for our favorite non-profit group, p:ear. The Alter Egos Society long ago decided that if we are to party, we shall party for a cause, and p:ear’s work with at-risk and homeless youth is heroic indeed! A portion of the evening’s proceeds will be donated to p:ear, including sales of raffle entries, DVDs of our original short film, Archives of the Fantastic, and proceeds from all tiers of online ticket sales!
Have an old clunker car, RV or motorcycle that you just want to go away? p:ear has partnered with Cars 4 Causes® to process their vehicle donations. Cars 4 Causes® is America's 1st vehicle donation charity and specializes in turning donated vehicles into cash for your favorite charity. Your donation to Cars 4 Causes® will help raise money for p:ear. Remember when p:ear youth were weaving pieces for Aurelie Tu's Crafted Systems last summer?
The pieces are now up for sale at Room & Board! Aurelie's pieces turned out beautifully. And in July's newsletter, Aurelie spoke about why she wanted to work with p:ear youth and what the experience was like. You can read her interview here.
Genoa is once again opening their doors for p:ear supporters with a three course dinner with wine pairings on November 16th. Tickets are available for seatings at 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm and can be purchased here. Proceeds from the dinner support p:ear.
p:ear hearts Portland lawyer Lake Perriguey, who has just been honored as Mother's Bistro and Bar's "Mother of the Month." Check out Mother's menu this month which is inspired by Lake's New Mexican heritage, his mother and his work with p:ear. p:ear ama Lake!Lake reveres and appreciates the women and men who shared their special mother-wisdom and mentored him. He honors this mother spirit in his own way through his community-based legal work, support of P:ear, and by inspiring this month’s menu.
Genoa Chef David Anderson is once again hosting a dinner fundraiser for p:ear. Join us for an exclusive three course wine dinner in Genoa's elegant dining room and meet p:ear's board and directors.
Tickets are $100 and can be purchased here for the 5:30 or 8:30 pm seatings. Proceeds benefit p:ear.
From Sarah Dougher's PSU Capstone class:Hey p:ear supporters and fans!
A group of Portland State students, in collaboration with p:ear, are looking for pint-sized canning jar donations. We are working on a project to raise money for the p:ear Kitchen and Food program by making and selling cranberry sauce for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. We are seeking donations of 500 jars and screwlids. We know that together we can source these.
If you have jars to spare, or would like to contribute new jars to this project, please drop your jars by p:ear, or email:preservepear@gmail.com, and we can come pick them up. We need your donations by Nov. 8th.
Please stay tuned for information about how to order your cranberry sauce!
Thanks!
The p:ear Cranberry Project
p:ear is looking for local partners for our annual holiday Giving Tree.
Every winter, our youth are looking for basic needs such as socks, backpacks, bus tickets, gift cards, art supplies and other items that are around $25. The Giving Tree helps us supply our youth with the things they need throughout the year.
How you can help
p:ear youth hand-decorate ornaments for display at your business, school, or church. Employees, students, people from your congregation select an item to purchase and donate to p:ear. Collect all the items and bring to p:ear before p:ear's Christmas Brunch on December 25th. No wrapping required!
Your gifts make a difference
Last year, the Giving Tree brought in nearly $5,400 of gifts. Youth are able to use bus tickets to get to and from work, backpacks for carrying school books and art supplies, and socks and ponchos to stay warm and dry. A HUGE thank you to our 2010 participants: Portland Center Stage, Bridgeport United Church of Christ, OHSU, Floating World Comics, Anka Gallery, TwentyFourSeven, Cupcake Jones and Arabella Salon.
Participate in the Giving Tree
Want to participate? Have more questions? Contact stephanie@pearmentor.org
We are happy to inform you that this year's Indulge event was a greater success than we expected and therefore our donation is double what we anticipated.
This past summer, Sarah Dougher's PSU Capstone class volunteered at p:ear to learn about the issues around food and homelessness, and held a fundraiser that brought in nearly $2,6oo for the p:ear kitchen. Here's one student's reflection on her experience at p:ear:Sometimes we experience something which deeply connects us to our community, pulls at our core, moves us to change the way we pursue life; if even in a subtle way.
Over the summer I enrolled in a senior capstone class at Portland State University which brought me closer to the issues of food insecurity and homelessness than I ever thought possible. Through that class, the other students and I worked closely with Pippa, Joy, Beth, and other volunteers to cook food for the kids at p:ear. Additionally, we organized a fundraiser that was, in our humble opinions, a monumental undertaking.
As the class progressed and my knowledge of social issues grew, I found myself profoundly moved by what the folks at p:ear provide with small donations. Not only do they feed people with donations alone, they serve good, nutritious, tasty, soul-satisfying meals. The staff and volunteers work extremely hard to acquire this food and create a safe space. Observing their hard work cemented my resolve for organizing an event to assist their cause. I knew we were more than capable of organizing an event, and I felt personally compelled to volunteer my time and energy to do so.
Throughout the planning of the fundraiser, I became increasingly aware of p:ear’s mission, and as the date of the fundraiser drew near I further realized the impact that their organization has on the community it serves. Without p:ear, there would be more young adults struggling to carve a niche in the world for themselves—alone. I firmly believe that the success of our fundraiser was a direct result of the connection we felt as a class to p:ear’s work.
My time with p:ear was an experience that shifted the way I will pursue my life, and I look forward to continuing to build a connection with all the folks at 338 NW 6th Avenue.
p:ear is always happy to support non-profit partners like My Voice Music and recent Skidmore prize recipient Ian Mouser. Check out the details on My Voice's CD release party and upcoming fundraiser!
Join My Voice Music for our 3rd Anniversary Fundraiser and first ever CD release Party! This year's event will be very special. In addition to hosting our largest and most exciting event to date, we will be releasing our first compilation CD of music performed, written and recorded by MVM students! Each song on the album is prefaced by memorable stories of how, where and when the songs were created and is read by notable Portlanders including Mayor Sam Adams, Storm Large, Dave Dahl of Dave's Killer Bread, Chelsea Cain and many more. Click the link to get a sneak peak.
THE COST: $20 at the door includes a copy of the My Voice Music 2011 Student Compilation, "Today Is A New Day" and a drink ticket upon admission!
Purchase tickets and RSVP here.
The p:ear recreation program received a significant and much-needed boost from the OCF Nike Employee Grant Fund. Nike employees awarded p:ear $10,000 to provide outdoor recreational opportunities for homeless youth to experience relaxation, personal growth, confidence and play beyond the limits of their urban context. Youth participate in monthly trips to Mt. Hood, the McKenzie River and other locations around the Portland region. Part of the OCF Nike Employee grant will grow the number of trip offerings.
Launched in spring 2010, the Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF), is granting up to $600,000 per year for three years to local nonprofit organizations or schools that wish to join Nike in creating positive social and environmental change.
The Oregon Community Foundation works with businesses such as Nike, as well as individuals and organizations, to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships. NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities.
Grant application materials are available online at www.oregoncf.org. Individuals or businesses interested in establishing a fund at OCF may contact the Portland office at 1221 SW Yamhill, Suite 100, Portland OR 97205, 503.227.6846.
Looking for a place for an upcoming event? Contact pippa@pearmentor.org for information and availability on renting p:ear's space. Get your holiday party booked soon!
Remember this place from "Portlandia?" It's their birthday and their celebrating at p:ear! Click above to learn more about the event, get info on tickets and more!
You may be aware that our freezer failed at p:ear costing us the loss of a whole pig, a summer's worth of vegetables and our meal plans for the entire winter.
A number of people have stepped up to help us replenish our stocks but we don't have a reliable way to store food. WE NEED A NEW FREEZER and a new freezer costs $2,000.
To that end, during the p:ear seeds drive, The Collins Foundation is willing to match every new donation 3 to 1! With the Collins Match if only 20 people donated $35. we could buy a freezer at the end of the month. This is the time to maximize your donation allowing us to get a freezer asap! Go the the p:ear website at www.pearmentor.org, select "donate" and in the notes section type "freezer". Ask your friends to support p:ear at this very essential and critical level. Do it now.
Tickets are going fast for "Habibi p:earamour," a fabulous Morrocan-themed dinner for p:ear featuring upcoming chef Aran Will. Click on the flyer above for more details. To purchase tickets, please send either a check to p:ear (338 NW 6th Portland, OR 97209) or pay online through p:ear's donation site and note "habibi" in the notes field.
p:ear is thrilled about a new partnership with Utrecht Art Supplies! On First Thursdays at p:ear's on-site Trim/Vojdani Gallery (named for arts patrons and p:ear supporters, Leslie Trim and Iraj Vojdani), guests and passerbys are treated to a vibrant collection of p:ear youth art and works by local guest artists. p:ear youth are a creative, innovative bunch, making use of a random collection of interesting (read: mismatched) materials! But the youth will find something different this school year… Thanks to a generous donation by Utrecht Art Supply, youth now have access to a ready supply of gesso, acrylic paint, mat board and frames!
“Utrecht is excited to be able to help p:ear take their gallery to the next step. We are happy to support an organization that creates a safe and caring place for at risk and homeless youth. The relationship that p:ear creates between local artists and p:ear attendees is truly unique. I am thrilled that Utrecht has started a partnership with p:ear and I am looking forward to seeing our relationship grow and prosper,” says Kimber Shiroma, Utrecht manager
Youth keep 90% of the proceeds of any piece that they sell through our gallery - it's designed to be a place where Portland's homeless young people can see themselves differently - as participants in Portland's vibrant arts scene, instead of being continuously "outside" the galleries and outside of our community. p:ear's gallery gives these youth and you a new way to meet in an environment that fosters true pride and healthy interactions! Thank you, Utrecht Art Supply, for recognizing the positive efforts of these young people!
Come visit our gallery at our next 1st Thursday opening featuring p:ear youth and guest artist, Ryan Birkland. Thursday October 6th, 2011 - NW 6th and Flanders, 6-9pm. Free espresso from p:ear barista school!
