Pitch & Picnic with Community Action
Karen Henkemeyer, Director of Family Stability at Community Action, introduced her team at the recent Pitch & Picnic event by saying, “Community Action is the largest nonprofit in Washington County serving well over 30,000 families in poverty every year with critical services such as housing, utility and weatherization resources, family support and education, housing, and early childhood care and education. Our mission is to eliminate conditions of poverty and create opportunities for people in our community to thrive and my team and I are passionate about our work.”
That passion was apparent to all who attended the event, where Community Action program leaders presented their business plans for community input. Attendees learned about the importance of the Family Stability programs and why they need new funding for growth. Blanca Castellanos (Help Me Grow Manager), Jess Rogers (Family Support Manager), and Jessica Rosengreen (Child Care Resource & Referral Manager) shared their draft business plans with SVP Partners, and representatives from Washington County, United Way, and Early Learning Hub.
As Karen explained, “Help me Grow is the foundation of the department and the only program of its kind in Washington County. It is the front door to all early childhood services. The Family Support Team supports prenatal parental competence, and attachments so that families are happy and healthy, and Child Care Resource & Referral supports the early childhood professionals that helps families gain stable employment. Without these essential resources, families struggled to thrive. The vision of this culturally-responsive department is to significantly expand services to support additional families and young children, especially those within the BIPOC community.”
SVP Portland partnered with Community Action Washington County to provide support to their Family Stability department in leadership development, workforce development, financial stability, and building a strategic business plan. “Community Action is an important pillar in the community in Washington County,” said Carolina Castañeda del Río, SVP Portland Director of Community Impact. “The leadership, team, and board are all committed to their mission, which are essential elements for success and for growth. The SVP Partners (Valerie Ilsley, Darcie de Freitas, Leah Fox, Jim Zuiches, and Alisa Blum) who have been working directly with the team continue to be excited about strengthening the capacity of Community Action.”
We celebrate the foundational work Community Action is doing with families and early childhood educators in Washington County, and the Pitch & Picnic event was also an opportunity to further strengthen our connection. Karen summed up our partnership so far by saying, “SVP appeared at the right moment, bringing just the right resources and the type of true partnership that Community Action needed to realize our vision for growth.”
