Got a new Xbox 360 for the holidays? Looking to clean out your closets and get rid of that oh so old Wii from 2010? Are your hardly ever worn basketball shoes, rain boots or hiking boots covered in dust and feeling lonely? Too much tea cluttering your cupboard that you can’t find the sugar for your coffee in the morning? Got tickets to an upcoming local performance that you can’t make after all?

What’s that you’re wondering… why, yes! Open Meadow IS looking for these and a few other donated items that have been recently requested by our programs and more than 900 youth. If you are able to help out, or have a friend who is eager to get rid of that karaoke machine that just never quite made it out to the living room, then please consider donating an item from our wish list. We promise it will get used!  Contact (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) at 503.488.5187 for further details.

Last week, two Open Meadow High School students received $1,000 scholarships from The Skanner Foundation to pursue their higher education. The awards were presented to our students at The Skanner’s 26th Annual Martin Luther King Breakfast. Congratulations to Kelsey and Jeremiah for the great work toward their post-secondary success!

A recent Portland Tribune article by Jennifer Anderson features Open Meadow’s leading work as one of ten Portland Beacon Schools driving the local initiative to close the racial achievement gap.

We are proud of the work of our staff across programs and excited to partner with our students, families, and Portland Public Schools in this critical work.

Open Meadow is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary this year.

It’s been 40 years of memorable moments for students, parents, staff, volunteers, sponsors and the whole community.
We’d like everyone to help us celebrate these Open Meadow “moments”.

Open Meadow has been special to us for so many reasons. It has been full of moments we treasure and moments that remain a huge part of us. We want to celebrate these moments and gather them. Josh Monda, an Open Meadow Board member and alumni from the Class of 1999, has started a facebook page where you can like the page and share your Open Meadow stories, photos (old and current), video, audio, written notes and quotes from the last 40 years. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Open-Meadow-Moments/285946158115335

For more information on the great ways Open Meadow is celebrating this huge milestone contact Amy Smith at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The Betties 360 group at Open Meadow High School have been busy this semester with activities that are empowering them with skills including increased focus, self confidence, stress management and coping strategies, preparedness and more… From exploring their cooking abilities to learning yoga, archery and self defense, these young women are on the move. They’ve been offered programs such as Wilderness First Aid and Banking for Life, and have gone out into the field to an urban farm.

Most recently they visited with Daimler Trucks North America on Swan Island. There the girls enjoyed a tour of how semi-trucks are designed and built. Seven female engineers led them through the test center including the shaker room (where a truck is put on a big shaker to simulate rough roads to test all components of the cab structure), the wind tunnel and the design studio where prototypes are built out of clay. The purpose of this trip was to expose the girls to the idea of design and engineering. Many of the OM girls love to create, draw and design things, and this trip showed them how they can use those interests for a career. Also, the girls greatly benefited by seeing and interacting with a diverse group of smart and capable women who all love what they do for work. Thanks to Daimler for being such wonderful hosts to our young women!

Open Meadow students and staff show up at Council and SING PRAISES of the city’s support of Youth Pass. Continuation of this pass means that not only can Open Meadow’s 24 graduating seniors get to school to graduate, but so can the other 1,600 graduating seniors who live in poverty across the city and the 6,000 other high schoolers who live in poverty. And not only can they get to school, but like Evan who testified to Council today, they can take advantage of distance volunteer and work-based learning opportunities like Evan has at the Oregon Zoo to extend their learning and give back to the community. The wheels on the TriMet busses say – GRADUATE! Thank you City of Portland, TriMet and Portland Public Schools!