239 Clients Served in Tax Season 2013

A total of 239 clients have had their taxes filed in Tax Season 2013.  Thank you NWFS and community partner AARP Foundation Tax-Aide.  This service provided FREE Tax Return Services to low – to moderate income taxpayers. This is individualized help with no strings attached.  This program represents NWFS’ continued holistic approach for families in the local area.  Big Thanks Again to AARP Foundation Tax-Aide!

Fathers and Daughters Enjoy a Date Night

          Recently, NWFS held a Father-Daughter Date Night event for 60 Dads and Daughters at Eastridge Church in Happy Valley.

         It was a phenomenal event that encouraged dads and their daughters to connect while building a story they’ll treasure for years.  Building a stronger bond (something that only one can take away) with one’s daughter and showing he cares by going the extra mile to dress up, get photos, and flowers is vital!  The Father Daughter Date Night is providing dads the priceless opportunity for one-on-one time with their daughter(s) – at any age!  NWFS hopes that this may be the first of many, many, dates to come where he opens the door for her, showers her with flowers, pays for her dinner and showers her with the honor she deserves. Eventually, they may live miles apart at some time, be on other sides of the ocean, or be too old to eat that slice of cake together, yet they’ll always cherish that memory of their special date with their dad for years to come.

          Thank you Dads, Daughters, volunteers, and Eastridge Church for making this event a success!

HATS OFF – $52,000 Raised at Annual Auction Event

Thank You Generous Donors!

Northwest Family Services raised $52,000 at its annual dinner and auction, recently held April 6, 2013. Thank you to all who donated, volunteered, and participated at this year event! A live and silent auction produced a wide selection of great items, a wine wall (each bottle was a minimum value of $25), and a special golden ticket drawing. The winning golden ticket allowed the guest to select any of the live auction items to pull out. Tickets were only $100 each with a minimum of 50 tickets sold. The 2013 golden ticket winner selected a 5 Day and 4 Nights stay at a Fully Remolded Rockaway Beach House on the Oregon Coast. This year’s theme was HAT’s OFF in honor of 30 years of Northwest Family Services helping families. The evening ended with a 100+ person conga line led by NWFS Founder, Msgr. Richard Huneger, which finished with a large dance including a variety of disco music.

Rose Fuller, NWFS Founder and Executive Director, says, “Our annual dinner auction is a great opportunity to bring together supporters to celebrate our efforts to build strong families and resilient youth. More and more foundations and government grantors expect non-profits to bring dollars to the table. The proceeds from this year’s event allows NWFS to provide critical service to more youth and families.”

Join us for next year’s auction – February 28, 2014 – SAVE THE DATE! Donor recognition will be provided on our auction website, in our catalog and within the PowerPoint presentation during the event. If you would like to volunteer, donate, or have questions, please contact the NWFS Development Department at (503) 546-5072 or jturel@nwfs.org.

Rod Sager, second year attendee of the auction, said “Great items to bid on, I bought several wonderful items and had a great time while supporting a great organization that helps families in need.”

Peggy Kays, also a second year attendee, says “Well organized, great food, and friendly people – all for a great cause! A great success!”

100 BEST GREEN Companies to Work For in Oregon

Northwest Family Services has been named one of the 2013 100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon by Oregon Business Magazine.  Yeah! 

Oregon Business Magazine shares that this ranking reflects that NWFS is a workplace that has implemented a variety of green policies, and that employees place a high value on sustainable practices and believe NWFS’ commitment to them is exceptional.

CAREERFIT JOB READINESS PROGRAM for YOUTH. Assisting Youth to Obtain Employment

By Iliana Fontal

Northwest Family Services was very excited to start offering in 2012 a Summer Employment Program open to all YTP students in the North Clackamas School District.

The workshops were held at the Sabin Schellenberg Professional Technical Center thanks to a partnership with the North Clackamas School District Youth Transition Program (YTP). The YTP counselors from Clackamas High School, Rex Putnam High School, and Milwaukie High School brought a group of 10 students who were ready to seek employment.

Students were first introduced to the concepts of maintaining a positive attitude, listening skills, personal appearance, and body language which are key in order to get and keep a job. Also the students learned to create or update current resumes, practiced interviewing skills, accurately completed their master application and came to the class dressing the interview outfits.

The Transition Specialists believe the subjects covered helped lead this group of students to success, reason why during the month of April 2013 CareerFit classes will be offered again during the school hours at Rex Putnam High School.

Thanks to North Clackamas School District and the especial education team for allowing this wonderful opportunity to their students. The CareerFit team at NWFS is happy and excited to start the program for the senior students this year!

For more information call 503-546-6377.

Cake Decorating

Nancy’s future seemed dark and uncertain when in 2011 a medical condition prevented her from  doing the work she loved.  Like so many participants of the Northwest Family Services’ CareerFit program, Nancy had been looking for employment for over six months before enrollment.  Unsuccessful, she was struggling with unemployment, no health care or ability to purchase the medication needed.  During the next four months, Nancy attended NWFS classes on how to develop a resume, interviewing skills and job retention.  She also attended weekly employment counseling meetings with an NWFS Career Specialist.

Nancy now works as a cake decorator thanks to the support of the NWFS Employment Assistance Department.  Congrats Nancy!

Parenting Class Makes Impact

By Marci Husby

Aaron and his partner had a serious disagreement during her pregnancy with their first child. Aaron was arrested and had a no-contact order with his partner. He was unable to be with her during the delivery of their first child.

When Aaron first came to Northwest Family Services, he was enthusiastic and committed to learning parenting and relationship skills. Once he began taking the Parenting Inside Out class, he was able to have contact with his baby daughter through supervised visits with a mediator present. Aaron was very open to learning new information on parenting and relationships. He was especially eager to become an emotionally healthy adult and be a good parent to his baby daughter.

Aaron was able to learn new skills and see the results of his work to help his daughter be emotionally and physically healthy.

Looking For A Job – We Can Help

By Iliana Fontal

CareerFit is FREE and open to everyone looking to develop their job search skills.

NWFS employment specialists will work with you on:

 Writing an effective cover letter and resume

 Conducting job searches

 Filling out and submitting applications

 Practicing interviewing techniques and the impact of social networking media.

 Finding interviews!

Our services are in English and Spanish and post-employment support is also available.

Northwest Family Services

6200 SE King Road, Portland OR 97222

503-546-6377 (main)

www.nwfs.org/job-help.html

A Busy Summer at Northwest Family Services

With warm summer days and bright skies that last long into the night, you will find NWFS busy providing lots of programs and support. Northwest Family Services (NWFS) programs such as summer KAOS, swimming pool tour, PhotoVoice, our summer Adventure Camp, and much more have kept hundreds of youth engaged and safe.

The Portland Timbers soccer association honored our Latino Family Empowerment program at their July 3, 2012, home game with an engraved plaque and a $5,000 grant. Our employment specialists are busier than ever preparing unemployed individuals for successful job placements. NWFS is partnering with a wide range of businesses, non-profits, and faith organizations to support Date Night Challenge Portland – 4 dates in 4 weeks – as a way to support healthy relationships. NWFS is scheduling a number of parenting and healthy relationship classes for couples who want to strengthen their relationship. Google Date Night Challenge Portland August 1^st and there will be a free app that provides lots of discounts including access to the evidence-based Couple’s Check Up.

In other news, we just learned that Northwest Family Services was recognized for the fourth year in a row as one of the Top 100 Non-Profits to work for in Oregon. And stay tuned to learn about our new oral health navigation program.

Local Jobs created – CareerFit is here to help you!

By Iliana Fontal

Over the past months our Employment Specialists have seen an increase in our clients’ success in getting jobs. This is very good news!  Since January 2012 we have been able to place 50 skilled candidates in jobs, impacting their lives tremendously and contributing to their family stability. Also more than 60 candidates have each had at least two job interviews, demonstrating that our program provides excellent tools to compete in the current job market.

Locally we have seen economic progress and certainly this summer there are a lot of new employment opportunities. The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Transit Project has been essential to the current and long-term economic vitality of our Portland Metro communities, not only because in the future it will help to connect people to their jobs and higher education but also because it is providing many short-term benefits for the regional economy by creating new job opportunities. On June 11, 2012, the project contractors reported that 1,525 construction jobs were created!

During the first year of construction a total of 64 firms and contractors worked on the bridge. The construction started in July 2011, the bridge is now 41 percent complete and it is planned to be finished by May 2014. Simultaneously will be the light rail construction which just started last month in June and will end in May 2015. Metro estimates that a total of 14,500 direct, indirect and induced jobs will be generated by the Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project. Here is a video that provides more information about the bridge and the jobs created: Construction Jobs with PMLRail

Comparing the current Oregon Unemployment rate at 8.4%, with the rate in 2011, we can notice a 1.1% decline (from May 2011 to May 2012). Construction was one of the industries most affected during the recession and just as the broad sector lost jobs, so did the subsector focused on building the state’s infrastructure (heavy and civil engineering construction). Job counts are still well below pre-recession levels, but the industry began to rebound locally and state wide.

 

 Oregon Unemployment Rates SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

	May 2012	Apr 2012	May 2011
Oregon	8.4%	8.5%	9.5%
United States	8.2%	8.1%	9.0%

 

I like this quote from Bruce Lee: “The future looks extremely bright indeed, with lots of possibilities ahead — big possibilities. Like the song says, we’ve just begun.” Our Employment Specialists can help you gain the confidence and tools you need to be competitive in the current job market; we help you discover your strengths and applicable skills from past experiences. For more information about our FREE Individualized Employment Assistance Program, call 503-546-6377.

 

Coming dates for CareerFit classes:

Skills for Work & Life – July 16^th from 9am to 3:30pm

Resume Ready – July 17^th from 10am to noon

Acing the Interview – July 19^th from 10am to noon

Here at Northwest Family Services- 6200 SE King Road Portland OR 97222.

Register through our phone number 503-546-6377 or  online at www.lastingrelationships.org

We look forward to being able to help you,

Iliana Fontal, Employment Assistance Coordinator, Northwest Family Services