We are excited to announce our first annual Store to Door Giving Tree!
Beginning the first week of November we will have trees in our office and each store decorated with gift tags describing a gift for a specific Store to Door client.
Giving Tree gifts will be small—under $20 in value—but will be meaningful items requested by our clients themselves! We cant wait to share some holiday cheer with our clients, and we hope you’ll help us make our inaugural giving tree a roaring success!
Gift tags will be available beginning the week of November 4th in our office and both stores!
More than Just Groceries to this House on the Hill
By Laura Bolster | Photos: Wesley Lapointe
Just shy of a century on this earth, Doris Avshalomov has spent over half her life in her charming Arlington Heights home. For over fifty years, the native Portlander has lived amongst the towering evergreens surrounding her property. Every morning on her comfortable living room sofa, she triumphs over the New York Times daily crossword puzzle and reigns queen of her SW Portland castle.
Approaching Doris’ home, by way of an upward-sloping path and steep steps, visitors pass by a 1940s wood sign engraved “Howlet Press,” which was Doris’ own printing press. The house is a treasure trove of other curios as well—each with a story to tell. Once, when a delivery person brought her little boy along, he admired Doris’ special collections. Doris’ house, a living museum, is also a child’s paradise.
In Doris’ entryway, photographs of the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra line the walls; her late husband, Jacob Avshalomov, conducted the Philharmonic for forty years. Doris, the musical matriarch, played the double bass. “I played in the junior symphony,” Doris exclaims, “and loved every minute of it!” Both her sons, musicians too, play, conduct, and write music professionally – spread coast to coast in Los Angeles and New York City.
Always an excellent cook, Doris shopped carefully for the makings of their family meals. She loved picking out the best seasonal fruits and vegetables. Now, unable to hand-select her produce, she counts on Store to Door to select the perfect spring asparagus or juiciest plump summer tomato. “I trust Store to Door volunteers to pick my fruits and vegetables.”
“I first heard about Store to Door from my cousin,” Doris says of her initial connection with the program, which began in 2013, “and suddenly I was the one using the service!”
She gushes about the impact Store to Door has had in her life: “Store to Door has been very helpful. First of all, I don’t have to go to the grocery store. I don’t have to drive. I don’t have to carry things for myself. I order specifically. It’s really very helpful.”
Doris raves about her volunteers, too—”Everyone at Store to Door is friendly, sociable, and very good-natured. We always get to connect. I feel welcomed and cared about. They’re always cheerful and nice to see.”
On Wednesdays, Doris’ groceries are delivered to her by Jeannie, one of Store to Door’s outstanding delivery drivers. Jeannie helps unpack groceries, checks over Doris’ order for accuracy, and puts away items. In 2018, Store to Door staff and volunteers made nearly 11,600 such deliveries, to a total of 682 clients. This year, Store to Door continues to work towards our vision of Portland as a community in which all seniors such as Doris, and people with disabilities are nourished, connected, and able to age with dignity in the setting of their choice.
More Than Just Groceries – Cards, Connection, and Caring
Regular Store to Door volunteer shoppers always recognize client Dolores Williams’ order at Beaverton Fred Meyer—there is no mistaking the stack of greeting cards in the top of the basket. Dolores’ cards carry birthday wishes, holiday wishes, get well messages, or even simply notes to friends and acquaintances. Dolores feels strongly about written communication, and enjoys how the greeting cards help her stay connected with distant family and friends. She says, “I’ve done it for so long, not as much now as I used to, but people enjoy that, they like getting letters and notes and somebody taking time to care.”
On Tuesday mornings, Dolores’ long-time volunteer Order Taker Rhian calls for her grocery order. Rhian has been Dolores’ Order Taker for nearly 5 years, and knows many of Dolores regular grocery list items by heart. Dolores shared, “Rhian entertains me- she sends pictures when she goes away, and she’ll send a card of some city she’s been in with her husband, and the pictures are wonderful, and they are all things that she’s done. I did a lot through my life, and I told her I have to enjoy it through other people’s lives.” Last year when Dolores was ill, Rhian stopped by her home to check up on her, with crackers and ginger ale.
Dolores also has a similar strong connection with her regular grocery Delivery Drivers. On Wednesdays when her groceries are delivered, Dolores makes a point to clear her schedule to visit with volunteers Phyllis and Melissa. Dolores proudly shares, “I cancel everything around noon on Wednesdays. They are just wonderful, they’ve got a good attitude and we kind of joke around a little bit!”
Thanks to a strong community of volunteers like Rhian, Phyllis, and Melissa, Store to Door provides connection between homebound elders like Dolores to the world outside their homes while supporting healthy and positive aging in place. Dolores shares about her volunteers, “I trust them and I know anything they do, they are gonna do from their heart, they really want to help. I think how fortunate it is to have a service like that, when you don’t drive, don’t get out all the time. It’s less concern for my family.”