Want to get the most out of your gift to our Give!Guide campaign? Give on one (or more!) of these ‘Big Give Days’ and you could win one of these awesome rewards! Be sure to follow us on social media for more details and even more giveaways!
We are excited to announce that we are joining 173 other local nonprofits in the 2020 Willamette Week Give!Guide. Participating in the ‘Human Services’ category, our goal is to raise $10,000 to continue supporting our program during this vital time!
Each year, Willamette Week’s Give!Guide works to build a culture of active citizenship among Portlanders and local partner organizations by engaging them with philanthropy, and supporting local nonprofits in a variety of service categories!
We are excited to offer a number of fun incentives provided by our own community partners, including a paddleboard class, a round of golf, and more! Check out our Give!Guide page for more information —and stay tuned for even more fun incentives offered by Give!Guide themselves throughout the campaign.
During the week of October 26th, Amazon Web Services is sponsoring deliveries to more than 300 local homebound seniors and people with disabilities through Store to Door’s Support-A-Week program!
Having participated as a regular Support-A partner in the past, AWS employees also volunteer to shop for Store to Door clients on a regular basis. We are grateful for their partnership, and their commitment to supporting homebound members of our community!
For more information about Store to Door’s Support-A partnership program, visit our Corporate Sponsorship page!
This month, we had a chance to catch up with Bryce Allison, who has been a mainstay at our Hollywood Fred Meyer shopping location for more than 6 years, and has supported Store to Door in many other ways as well. Among other things, Bryce made and donated the Store to Door banners above the registers at each store on shopping days!
Q: How did you first get involved with S2D?
A: I hiked the Pacfic Crest Trail in 2013 and after returning home I was looking for a way to give back anonymously for all of the kindness and help that I received from total strangers along my journey from Mexico to Canada. A couple of my friends had previously volunteered with Store to Door, and when I learned more about their mission and vision it really resonated with me because my mom, aunt, and adopted aunts were the primary caregivers for my grandmother who aged in place at our family farm near Silverton.
Q: What do you enjoy most about volunteering with Store to Door?
A: Knowing that I’m helping someone to stay in their home and age with dignity.
A: What keeps you busy when you are not volunteering with Store to Door?
Q: I’m self-employed as an architect but have a very non-traditional practice with non-traditional projects and unusual clients. My very energetic 2 year old chocolate lab puppy Loowit keeps me busy and my arm in shape from throwing the ball or frisbee, over and over. Also, I do my best to maintain favorite uncle status to each of my 6 nephews when I’m not off adventuring, hiking or visiting the national parks.
Q: What might someone be surprised to know about you?
A: My birthday is on Christmas.
Q: You’re going away for the weekend…Mountains, Central Oregon, Coast or other and why?
A: All of the above, I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful state where we have both mountains and the coast. Growing up with a Mom who loves being at the beach and a Dad who loves being in the mountains didn’t hurt. I often enjoy spending the day hiking in the mountains then watching the sunset from the beach or vice-versa.
Q: What is something that your fellow volunteers would be surprised to know about you?
A: That I’m a real live native Oregonian, both sides of my family came out on the Oregon Trail.
Q: Favorite Thanksgiving dish?
A: Cranberry sauce NOT from a can.
Kelsey and Carolyn, our volunteer management team, met Store to Door callers, drivers, and shoppers at both stores this week to share some brand new Store to Door goodies! Our work is made possible by the dedication of these wonderful folks every week—we are so grateful for your hard work!
Huge thank you as well to the SMPS Family Fund for covering the cost of these branded goodies, and helping us appreciate our incredible community!
If you or someone you know are interested in volunteering with Store to Door, visit https://storetodooroforegon.org/volunteer/ for more information!
Click here for the story about Tiffany and Vickie! Sorry for our broken link!
Store to Door is excited to welcome Mallory Rogers-Boone as our new Development Coordinator!
Mallory has a strong background in administrative, development, and event work in the nonprofit sector. As Development Coordinator, Mallory plays a key role in our Development team, with a focus on enhancing fundraising activities, optimizing our data management, and eventually helping to put on Store to Door events. Mallory earned bachelor’s degrees in English and sociology from The University of Oregon, and has worked in support of a variety of causes, working for environmental, family, and political organizations. Mallory brings a valuable perspective to Store to Door’s work, and an ability to solve problems and plan creatively.
Since beginning with Store to Door in July, Mallory has connected with the importance of Store to Door’s work and the connection program staff and volunteers form with clients. She also has a personal connection to the work: “A few years ago, my grandfather (aka Papa Rod) was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He was an extremely outgoing, fun-loving person who enjoyed dining out, traveling and meeting new people, so it was really hard to see him slowly become homebound as his cancer progressed,” says Mallory. “He eventually passed away at home, surrounded by family, which was really important to him – he wanted to be home. That experience gave me insight into how important it is to allow people to remain at home, and to provide resources so they’re able to do so comfortably.”
Born and raised in Portland, Mallory lived in Kenton with her Husband Andy, cat Cooper, and dog Rudy. She enjoys spending time with her pets in the backyard, exploring the Pacific Northwest outdoors, and traveling (when possible). During this challenging year, Mallory has been staying positive by focusing on things that she is grateful for, and allowing herself to work through difficult things at her own pace. “Helping others and supporting causes I care about helps too,” says Mallory. “Since quarantine began I’ve learned many important ways to prioritize and be creative, to speak up when needed, and to paint my own nails… but I haven’t stooped to baking my own sourdough bread, haha.”
We hope you will help us welcome Mallory to the Store to Door community, and are glad to have her help in this important work!
Both Vickie Megowan and Tiffany Schmidt have been members of the Store to Door community for quite a while–both began as regular volunteers before transitioning to staff roles. Recently, both Tiffany and Vickie have expanded their roles with Store to Door, serving as Program Coordinators at Beaverton and Hollywood Fred Meyer locations, respectively. While many involved with our work may know one or both, we are excited to introduce them to our community as a whole! We hope you will help us express our gratitude for their consistent commitment to our work and the homebound clients we serve!
Vickie Megowan
Program Coordinator, Beaverton
Tell me something about your personal background, briefly!
I grew up in San Francisco and moved to Portland 4 years ago. I enjoy gardening, hiking and wine. My 3 adult sons still keep me busy as well as my fur babies, 2cats and 1 dog.
What is your professional background? How does that inform your work with us?
My professional background started as a licensed veterinarian assistant after attending college. I have worked in administrative office positions until taking time off to raise my sons. Prior to moving to Portland, I worked for my local school district for 10 years with the early intervention program and kindergarten classes. I worked with children with a variety of special needs.
How did you connect with Store to Door?
While visiting a yarn shop in Multnomah Village I met a woman named Eleanor and she shared her experience volunteering with Store to Door.
What is your favorite thing about working with Store to Door?
My favorite thing about working with Store to Door is the people. My co-workers are easy to get along with, extremely patient and are all fantastic to work with. Dedicated volunteers make this program work and I’m always amazed by them.
Do you have a personal connection with our work?
My personal connection to our work would be my interest and fondness in the elderly population. I have always been the person on the block who checked in with the elderly neighbors to see if they needed anything. Also, having worked with children with disabilities carries over to adults with special needs that we also service.
How have you been staying positive during this difficult year?
Working, long telephone chats with friends and my sons have all helped to keep me positive during this challenging year. Spending a lot of time in my garden/forest has been very therapeutic. Thanks to my new job, I have been learning a ton of new computer skills.
Tiffany Schmidt
Program Coordinator, Hollywood
Tell me something about your personal background, briefly!
Before COVID I spent most of my free time as a competitive West Coast Swing Dancer, something I picked up in college and a hobby I’ve enjoyed for the last 12 years. Since COVID has ended all dance gatherings, I’ve found myself enjoying a lot of cooking, true crime podcasts, and gardening.
What is your professional background? How does that inform your work with us?
Pre COVID I worked as an Executive Assistant and Operations Manager. My skillsets lay heavily within organization and reassessing processes.
How did you connect with Store to Door?
I used to work at Elemental Technologies / AWS Elemental and actively volunteered with them at Stoor to Door.
What is your favorite thing about working with Store to Door? Do you have a particular story that illustrates that?
Getting to regularly see how we are positively impacting our clients!
How have you been staying positive during this difficult year? Have you learned anything new lately that you’d like to share? What are you interested in?
When COVID hit, my way of staying positive and keeping myself busy was by volunteering with Store to Door. It’s helped me cope by knowing that I am physically doing something to help others during all of this.
This month, we had a chance to catch up with Store to Door volunteer-extraordinaire Kris McDowell. Kris has been a volunteer order taker since 2014, and is a member of our LoVE league! Kris also serves as Owner and Editor of The Southeast Examiner, in which Store to Door has been honored to appear several times. Kris has stepped up to help volunteer shop regularly during the pandemic; we admire her commitment to our work, and her deep connection with the homebound clients she serves regularly!
Q: How did you first get involved with Store to Door?
A: I had volunteered for both Meals on Wheels and Store to Door (an unrelated agency doing the same work) in Minnesota. After we moved to Portland I was looking for volunteer opportunities but didn’t feel comfortable enough in my new home to drive around making Meals on Wheels deliveries. But I was thrilled to find Store to Door here! Having been a shopper in MN I jumped easily into that role here. When my schedule changed and I was no longer available to shop, I learned about and signed up to be an order taker. In the last year, my schedule has become more flexible again so in addition to my weekly order taking calls, I’m often able to show up to shop at Hollywood.
Q: What has been one of your favorite experience?
A: I truly enjoy connecting with “my ladies” every week to take their orders (I did have one gentleman a few years ago but it’s usually been a group of women). I worry when I can’t get ahold of one of them from time to time and think about those that have rotated off my list. In my mind they fall somewhere between mom, aunt and grandma. At least one of my current ladies I believe has been on my call list the entire time I’ve been an order taker. I feel like I know her although I’ve never met her. And I’ve lost a couple – had them die – which is sad but it happens and I take comfort in knowing that I did what I could to keep them in the familiar surroundings of their home as long as possible.
That’s probably a broader answer than you want so here is a specific one. One of my ladies has had health difficulties. I believe it was about this time last year that I found out she wouldn’t be ordering from us for at least six weeks (and I think it may have ended up being two or three months) as her doctor put her on a liquid-only diet. Trish encouraged me to continue to call her every week and leave her a message, which I did. When she was finally able to order with us again she let me know how much each of those messages meant to her. She said that she saved them and listened to them repeatedly. She also routinely tells me when she’s done placing her order how thankful she is for the service we (as a whole organization) provide.
Q: What do you enjoy most about volunteering with Store to Door?
A: Knowing that I’m helping people stay in their homes. As I age and my relatives age, I understand more and more how being able to stay in one’s home is important to people and that can impact their ability to weather aging and disease better.
Q: What do you do when you aren’t volunteering?
A: Besides work (owner/publisher of the community newspaper The Southeast Examiner), you can find me enjoying the vast array of craft beer we have access to here in Portland, usually at The BeerMongers on SE Division. Like the community that supports my paper and the community that is Store to Door, there is a craft beer community and a community…no, more of a family…at The BeerMongers.
Q: What might someone be surprised to know about you?
A: There isn’t much surprising about me, I’m a creature of habit and comfort. But back when I was younger I used to break and train horses. I wouldn’t trade that experience as it is part of the meandering path that has brought me to where I am today but I am thankful that I’m no longer putting my body on the line. These days I’m happy when I haven’t done something silly like tweaking my knee picking up after one of my two rescued dogs.
Q: Where is your favorite place to visit in the Pacific Northwest?
A: I am a homebody and my favorite place really is my kitchen (I love to cook and feed pepole). But places not in my home that I love the most are Astoria and Lost Lake Resort on Mt. Hood. Astoria is a great beer destination that we usually visit at least once or twice a year, always staying at the same B&B – Rose River Inn. We consider the owners to be our friends and are looking forward to seeing them again, hoping they have survived the lack of tourist business. Lost Lake is usually the destination of a large group camping trip. Not this year but hopefully we’ll return again next year. The view of Mt. Hood beyond the lake is one of my favorite vistas and I have a tattoo that was inspired by it.
Q: What are you most looking forward to this fall?
A: Hopefully seeing friends more but mostly staying the course. COVID precautions and doing when I can to support the businesses I most desperately want to see make it through this tough stretch. We’ve already seen closures and while that is unfortunate, I’ll do my best to spend my money with those I can’t imagine shutting down and being gone forever.
We are excited to announce that ‘Celebrate 30 with 30’ raised nearly $34,000 thanks to the incredible response from our community! Surpassing our goal of raising $30,000 in 30 days, we owe this success to 176 Store to Door supporters like YOU! We are SO grateful for the outpouring of support during this campaign, and want to thank everyone who made it possible as well as our campaign corporate sponsors. Thank you everyone!
“While this year has been a challenging one, it has also highlighted just how vital services like Store to Door are for the vulnerable populations that we serve. Support from members of our community has allowed us not only to sustain our program during this time but to expand our service to meet the increased need. Throughout our 30-year journey, the kindness and diligence of volunteers, supporters, and community partners has enabled us to help seniors thrive. Thank you!” – Mark Fulop, Store to Door Executive Director.
Necessitated by the cancellation of our annual benefit gala, the campaign was our first-ever peer-to-peer fundraising effort. The campaign raised funds to celebrate and sustain the program’s 30th year supporting independent living for homebound seniors and people living with disabilities across the Portland metro area. Thank you to everyone who created a fundraising page, or helped to spread the word to family and friends!
We are grateful as well for the support of these partner organizations for sponsoring the campaign. Please help us show our appreciation for their commitment to supporting our community!
Event Partners:
Fred Meyer
OnPoint
Bank of America
AWS
Kaiser Permanente
Summit Bank
Becker Capital Management
This year’s difficult times have made our service even more indispensable. In circumstances such as these, a familiar friendly face can mean a great deal; we are particularly grateful for the incredible commitment of our drivers and for their kindness and patience in difficult times.
Each week, Store to Door drivers deliver groceries to more than 300 clients across the Portland metro area. Picking up from our two Fred Meyer shopping locations, they load their personal vehicles up with blue or gray tubs and deliver to 3-10 regular clients. Braving stairs and elevators, down-town parking and summer temperatures, our drivers work within social distancing guidelines for drop off and a quick check-in with each client before moving on to the next.
While the job is not easy, our drivers work tirelessly to make sure that our clients receive a high quality of service and a friendly face at the door every week. We hear regularly how vital this connection is to our clients, and how much they appreciate the work that our drivers do.
If you see any of these friendly faces out and about, we hope you will help use appreciate them with a thumbs up or a wave! We love our drivers!
