Students helped the Portland community, by meeting virtual teams of amazing students from all over the area!
The Portland Student Pandemic Response’s student leadership team hosted virtual service projects to serve the needs of the Portland metro area during the COVID-19 crisis. Each step of our projects was powered entirely by student efforts.
High school students joined us weekly through fall and winter 2020/2021 to gain leadership, organizational, community building, and service skills. Our work also counted as volunteer service hours.
Students could sign up to join us for a few sessions, or for the duration of a project! No experience was needed, and there was no limit to the number of people that could join us.
Our goal is to work to support Portland during this crisis, and all of its people. Students have a huge impact on the city, and we want to work to make that impact positive, and far-reaching to make sure that everyone’s needs are being met.
Read below to learn about our fall/winter projects!
Create connections between local students and elders
We aim to help create connections between local students and elders in the Portland community. Our goal in doing so is to increase interaction between two groups that have been greatly affected by the minimal social contact and are likely spending more time alone. To do this we’ll contact local retirement homes and set up penpals over email.
This group meets Saturdays from 4:00-5:15 PM.
Spread awareness throughout Black History Month
To spread awareness throughout Black History Month we created a social media campaign on numerous aspects of Black history and current social issues. This led up to an interview with Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai!
Check out the interview here!
Workshop for students
Our team worked to put together a virtual community event for students to learn about the issues houseless Portlanders face through COVID, and the help they need. At the end of the presentation and group discussion, participants were led through writing letters to local representatives for support for the vulnerable.
Service projects and activities for young students
We hope to use this platform to tackle specific ways that people can navigate the internet in a safe manner. As the first generation who has grown up on the internet, it is important for us to educate parents and children alike about the dangers they may encounter while using it. In the forum, anyone (primarily people who have questions for gen Z) is able to receive insight exclusively from teenagers.
Donation drive for houseless families in need
We hosted a virtual donation drive for Portland Homeless Family Solutions, where students donated instantly to Portland Families experiencing houselessness by buying items on our Amazon wish list.
We collected about seven large boxes of donations and dropped them off March 13th 2021!
Join a safe space for students
We have created a Discord server for members of the Portland community to engage with each other during COVID. There are channels where students can make friends, get advice/help school, talk about their feelings, and learn about volunteer opportunities with PSPR. Join us on our server!
Check out our forum for students and parents about internet safety
We hope to use this platform to tackle specific ways that people can navigate the internet in a safe manner. As the first generation who has grown up on the internet, it is important for us to educate parents and children alike about the dangers they may encounter while using it. In the forum, anyone (primarily people who have questions for gen Z) is able to receive insight exclusively from teenagers.
Current donation event list
Many companies and organizations are doing small and sometimes one-off donation and distribution drives due to the current state of the city. Here you will find donation and distribution events in or around the Portland metro area that are more short term.