Bank of America funds homebound grocery deliveries

Earlier this month, Bank of America Foundation chose Store to Door as a grant recipient as a part of their community response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a program that delivers groceries to vulnerable members of our community, our work is critical to help “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic, and help our clients access vital nourishment as safely as possible during this difficult time.

This support will help Store to Door meet the increased need for services that serve homebound seniors and adults with disabilities. With Bank of America’s support, we have already been able to add an additional checkout lane at our Beaverton Fred Meyer shopping location, allowing us to deliver to even more clients out of that store!

An Update from our Executive Director

Multnomah County features Store to Door in Community Video

This week, Store to Door was featured in a video from Multnomah County about the important work we can all be doing to support our friends and neighbors, while maintaining safe practices!

Join us in our work!

Volunteer Today!

Store to Door is Proactively Preventing the Spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Updated 06/25/20
As you may know, Multnomah County entered Phase 1 on June 19, 2020, and, along with Washington and Clackamas counties, will remain in Phase 1 for at least three weeks. For Store to Door, this means little change to our current operations. Staff and volunteers continue to practice safe-distancing and follow enhanced cleaning practices. The use of hand sanitizers and the wearing of masks continues to be required for staff and volunteers shopping in stores and delivering to seniors. Store to Door also provides sanitizer and masks to those who do not bring their own. We continue to follow a no-contact delivery model and have added a volunteer-driven friendly caller program to reduce the social isolation of the clients we serve.

The Oregon Health Authority recently issued a mandatory requirement to wear masks, face shield, or face coverings in public spaces. This mandate includes grocery stores. Store to Door already complies with this mandate. We have required all staff and volunteers to use masks since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its recommendation on May 1, 2020. A similar store policy governs the employees of Fred Meyer (see here).

Thank you for helping us stay safe and for providing us ongoing feedback that helps us improve our safety practices!

Click to read our previous updates

Updated 5/21/2020
Recently, Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury stated that it was “unrealistic” to expect that Multnomah County will be reopening soon. For Store to Door, that means we will continue to implement our safety procedures to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. As you know, that means that we follow the guidelines of Centers for Disease Control, including maintaining social distancing and working remotely. For all volunteers and staff, we provide gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer. We also continue enhanced cleaning in the office and making no-contact deliveries. Thank you for helping us stay safe and for providing us ongoing feedback that helps us improve our safety practices!

Updated 5/1/2020
Store to Door continues to take the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and clients seriously. We continue to adapt our prevention strategies to support the most recent recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control and the Oregon Health Authority. The Centers for Disease Control has issued guidance that recommends the use of cloth face coverings or masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19 (see here). We understand that this recommendation is essential, “especially in areas of significant community-based transmission (CDC statement).” Store to Door is seeking to make face masks available to all staff members and volunteers, shopping or delivering.

We encourage volunteers to bring a face mask to their volunteer service and will attempt to maintain an adequate supply of masks on shopping days for use by volunteers. We will prioritize drivers for the distribution of masks. All other safety precautions, including social distance, the availability of hand sanitizer, and gloves, will continue.

Governor Kate Brown’s executive order 20-12 continues to underscore the importance of our grocery delivery services for homebound seniors and those with disabilities. Our program is still operational and needs community volunteers to help us meet the increased need for services by seniors most at risk for the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Volunteers serving our program are delivering essential services to seniors, and are allowed under executive order 20-12. Please consider sharing your time (volunteer here) or resources (donate here).

Store to Door’s Response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Store to Door is a nonprofit agency that is a volunteer-based grocery shopping and delivery service in Portland, Oregon serving over 700 clients annually. We support independent living for seniors and adults with disabilities. Many of our clients are homebound or have limited access to the community. Because we are delivering groceries to a vulnerable population we are taking our role in preventing the potential spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) seriously. In fact, because our program reduces the need for seniors to shop for groceries in stores, we actually prevent vulnerable seniors from potentially being exposed to the Coronavirus. Store to Door staff meets on a regular basis to ensure that we are taking recommended steps to protect the health of our staff, volunteers and clients. Our actions so far include:

1. In our office, we have implemented a mandatory stay at home when staff or volunteers are sick. We have also implemented an enhanced cleaning policy that includes daily, wiping down of doorknobs, counters, and keyboards as well as enhancing the cleaning of common areas and bathrooms. Signs about how to prevent coronavirus have been posted at our offices and information handouts are available to all staff and volunteers.

2. For the past two weeks, we have included an informational pamphlet about the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) developed by the Oregon Health Authority (see here) in all client grocery deliveries. We will continue to include these informational fliers in order deliveries to ensure that we reach all clients.

3. We are encouraging our order takers to work remotely from home for those volunteers seeking to reduce their potential exposure in the community.

4. When we take orders from clients, we inform them of our “no contact” or “limited contact” deliveries.

A no contact delivery is where the driver knocks on the door and leaves the groceries at the door (in paper bags). The delivery driver steps back 6 feet or more when the client comes to the door. The delivery driver waits while the client brings groceries into his/her home and the conversation with the client is at a distance of 6 feet or more.

A limited contact delivery is when both the client and the driver are comfortable with the driver bringing groceries into the client’s home leaving the groceries either at the door or on a counter in the kitchen according to the client preference. The delivery driver maintains a distance from the client and steps back outside of the home after setting down the groceries. The conversation with the client is at a distance of 6 feet or more.

5. For volunteer shoppers, we are working with Fred Meyer to monitor their company actions (see here) related to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). We require volunteers who are ill to stay home. We also encourage healthy volunteers to continue to support vulnerable seniors by shopping on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

We currently provide hand sanitizers and are also implementing social distancing strategies for staff and volunteer shoppers. If you can support us as a volunteer shopper contact Kelsey Hecker, at 503-200-3333 extension 108 or kelsey@storetodooroforegon.org

6. Store to Door staff is working closely with county government and community partners to coordinate additional prevention measures. We will update this bulletin as needed.

7. Finally, we are coordinating our actions with the Fred Meyer Stores where we shop to make sure that we are promoting the optimal health and safety of our staff, volunteers, and the vulnerable clients we serve. Please see the corporate policy of Fred Meyer for more information about the actions the stores are taking to prevent the spread of the virus (see here).

HOW YOU CAN HELP NOW

Volunteer to shop for groceries: https://storetodooroforegon.volunteerhub.com
–
Volunteer to make no-contact deliveries to homebound seniors: email Kelsey@Storetodooroforegon.org
–
Donate to support our work: https://storetodooroforegon.org/donate/

For more information about Store to Door’s response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), please contact Mark Fulop, MA, MPH, Executive Director (503) 200-3333 extension 101 or mark@storetodooroforegon.org

Cards from KP!

In January, employees at Kaiser Permanente joined with friends and family members to make a mountain of handmade, heartfelt greeting cards for Store to Door. We can’t wait to share them with our clients, and we are grateful for KP’s commitment to making a difference in our community!

Store to Door Welcomes Mark Fulop as New Executive Director

Store to Door is pleased to announce that Mark Fulop has been named as the organization’s new Executive Director effective December 16^th, 2019. Mark joins Store to Door with a wealth of senior management experience—having served in nonprofits, county health departments, and academic universities. His career has focused on supporting community-based health and social programs.

For the last decade, Mark has been a consultant to nonprofit, government, and philanthropic organizations. He helped dozens of Portland organizations create effective boards, develop strategic plans, and strengthen programs that serve the community. Mark’s education includes degrees in Public Health and Educational Technology.

“Mark is a strategic thinker and empowering leader who brings with him extensive experience in the nonprofit community and a rare combination of expertise in public health and technology,” says Store to Door Board President Mike Beaty. “We are excited to welcome him into our family.”

In addition to his extensive professional experience, Mark has served as a volunteer Board Member with several different organizations, including Reading Results, Community Music Center, and Resolutions Northwest. Mark volunteered with Social Venture Partners Portland and, with his two children, volunteered for over a year at the PACS Food Pantry.

“Store to Door builds community by connecting volunteers with seniors and people with disabilities. The program goes beyond delivering groceries and actively promotes the social health, equity, and well-being of those needing support. Store to Door is a unique approach to strengthening the social fabric of our neighborhoods,” Mark says. He continues, “I am honored to build on the legacy of this great organization and to work with the board to support our amazing staff and volunteers as we seek to make an even greater impact in the lives of those we serve.”

Board Member Becky Blumer Honored with Light-A-Fire Award!

Becky Blumer—Store to Door’s dynamic and dedicated Board Vice President—has always brought a deep commitment to our mission, caring for our clients, and a clear leadership vision to our work as an organization!

This month Portland Monthly Magazine is honoring Becky with a Light A Fire Award as an Extraordinary Board Member. Thank you Becky, Store to Door is lucky to have you!

Read the Portland Monthly’s full piece on Becky here: http://ow.ly/qgZO50wTrKB

This year’s Light A Fire Award winners will be honored at a gala event on November 21st, presented by Bank of America! More information about the event is available here: http://ow.ly/IgED50wTrKA

Congratulations, Becky!

First Annual Store to Door Giving Tree!

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!

Welcome to our Newest Board Member, Magnus McDowell

I have a lot of respect for the staff, volunteers and supporters of Store to Door and the work being done to provide an important service to people in our community whose needs aren’t always apparent and whose thanks isn’t always conspicuous.”
Magnus McDowell

We are excited to announce Magnus McDowell as the newest member of the Store to Door Board of Directors! Currently Senior Vice President supporting middle market business lending activities for U.S. Bank, Magnus has a rich background in public accounting and banking.

While Magnus’ own relationship with Store to Door began with volunteer shopping earlier this year, his wife Kris has been a Volunteer Order Taker with Store to Door since 2014, and is a member of our LoVE League!

After transferring to the Portland area in 2010, Magnus served on the Board of Directors for the Friends of Multnomah County Library in addition to a number of other volunteer and board roles. Looking for new ways to get involved, Magnus was interested in Store to Door’s ongoing relationship with his current employer. “I was both surprised and delighted to learn that Store to Door has been supported by U.S. Bank in the past,” says Magnus. “Given my interest in the organization and the mission of Store to Door, my joining the board seems like a great fit.”

In addition to the ongoing process of hiring a new Executive Director, Magnus is excited about the prospect of supporting the implementation of our Equitable Outreach Plan (read more about our equity journey here): “I have a lot of respect for the staff, volunteers and supporters of Store to Door and the work being done to provide an important service to people in our community whose needs aren’t always apparent and whose thanks isn’t always conspicuous.”

Please help us extend a warm welcome to Magnus— we are confident that Magnus’ background and skillset will make him a valuable asset to our organization. We are happy to have him aboard!

Foundation presents Store to Door with $10,000 proceeds from Impact Partner program!

Foundation presented Store to Door with $10,000, the result of our quarter as a featured nonprofit partnership for this year! The partnership, which began in early March with an “Impact” kickoff event, continued for 3 months, during which time Foundation donated 100% of its profits to Store to Door!

Foundation, founded in August 2018, works to champion a wide variety of social movements through a combination of fashion, philanthropy and community dialogue. Each quarter the women of Foundation research and carefully select a non-profit organization whose mission they strongly believe in. Foundation kicks off each partnership with an Impact event, an evening of fashion, philanthropy, food and drinks, that it hopes brings awareness to each organization’s mission. The community is invited to learn about Foundation’s non-profit partners, celebrate their great work and contribute to the cause by shopping the season’s best styles. Foundation donates 100 percent of profits and features ethical and socially conscious brands in its store.