Plant Sale! All plants marked down 50% (ficus, banana plants, jade, palm, bromelia and more!). Prices range between $5 and $45! Remember all proceeds go back to funding Project Hope and our youth programs.
A little reserved at first, Mashawn reveals a sense of humor and quiet confidence as he interacts with people at Project Hope.
Like many of his friends, he dropped out of school when he was 16, getting involved with a bad crowd. He never did well in school and freely admits he was there for the wrong reasons. “When I went to school, it was for the social life. Things weren’t good at home; I always felt out of place at home.”
Home has always been tumultuous. His mother had Mashawn when she was only 16 and his father, when he wasn’t in and out of jail, was frequently absent.
Nonetheless, Mashawn developed a close bond with his father so, as a 6 year old, it was extremely painful when his father was sentenced to more than 10 years in jail. “When I finally realized how long he was going away for, I kinda shut down. I taught myself to turn my sadness into aggression or anger so I wouldn’t have to deal with it. I thought it was better than being sad at all the time.”
He gravitated towards bad influences and other youths who drank and used drugs. For Mashawn, it was all he had known – growing up, marijuana and alcohol was always present. “I’m 18 with a clean record. Do you know how good that sounds in my family?” he asks.
After failed efforts at various job programs and charter schools, he stopped caring about his future and spent most of his day hanging out with friends on the street –anything that would keep him from going home. “I didn’t get the big picture that it was my fault”.
But he soon realized that without his GED, there wasn’t much hope for a real job. He hated filling out job applications because he knew he wasn’t going to be hired. Without any opportunities, he heard about Project Hope. Unsure at first, Mashawn decided to give the program a try and he’s found that it’s working and helping him get focused.
Mashawn is currently taking prep classes and is about to take his final test for his GED. Beyond that, he’s planning on a marketing degree at PCC and is preparing for the college placement test. At 18, Mashawn is finally seeing that that his future is wide open.
In September, Project Hope was asked to participate in one of the graphic design courses at the Art Institute of Portland. This program partners non-profits with senior design students, collaborating on marketing materials, signs, etc.
Having the opportunity to work with skilled design students couldn’t have been more timely. Most of our artwork was several years old and didn’t include some of our new programs, so we were excited at the prospect of updating our collateral. The students created a total package, including a revised logo, artwork, collateral and signage.
We were extremely pleased and impressed with the final product and implemented many of the changes immediately.
Thank you to The Art Institute of Portland and Cynthia Roberts for inviting us to participate in this program.
And a very special thank you to our talented and dedicated graphic design team: Mus, Yasmin, Andrew, Nicholas, Shannon, Meredith and Danni. We would be pleased with work with any of you in the future!
Do you know of a youth (15-20 years) who has dropped out of school and now is struggling, wanting a second chance to get their life back on track?
Project Hope is now accepting applications. Our mission is to help each student reach their full potential, to give support, encouragement and guidance to make lifelong positive decisions.
Our comprehensive youth program provides educational support (tutors and financial aid) as well as employment in our after-school jobs program. For some of our youths, having a job is necessary to support themselves or their families.
We also provide mentoring and life skills, covering such topics as banking, tax returns, applications (rental, jobs, schools) etc.
If you know of someone who wants to finish their schooling, learn some valuable job skills and improve their lives, please contact Cindy Park at 503-287-4914.
Thank you to everyone who came to our Holiday Open House! There was lots of laughter, food and great deals! We really enjoyed meeting everyone, repeat customers and some new faces.
Proceeds from the evening’s event will go to enrolling a new youth into our program in the new year. This will provide a young man or woman the opportunity to return to school, gain valuable work experience in our after-school jobs program and participate in our life skills and mentoring program. We wouldn’t be able to improve the lives of these youths without your support!
One of the students in our program, Mashawn, was our evening photographer. Here’s a photo from his vantage point!
Below is a slideshow of the evening. Once again, thank you to everyone who came out!
