It just doesn’t get any better than this – neighbors supporting neighbors! Last week Pastor Edgar Rodriguez from Life Fellowship Church called me to say he wanted to bring some church members by on Friday because they had a $1,000 check they wanted to present. Pastor Edgar visited Open Meadow not long ago and said that he wanted to help us with our project to re-roof Open Meadow High School. Never did I think that a small group of people would come up with such a large donation.

On June 8th, several members of Life Fellowship Church in north Portland presented Open Meadow High School with the check. It will help us to re-roof the historic Benson-Chaney mansion that houses 80-100 of our high school students each year. Pastor Edgar Rodriguez said, “We have ten Open Meadow students attending our church youth group and decided that we would make a $100 contribution on behalf of each of them.”

Open Meadow Executive Director, Andrew Mason remarked, “For a school that emphasizes the importance of our students contributing to their community, it was especially heartwarming to have this kind of support from our neighbors.”

Well-known early Portland resident, Simon Benson, had the mansion built in 1910 on the bluffs overlooking the Willamette in north Portland as a wedding gift for his son Amos. In 1920 Edmund Hall Chaney purchased the house, where his family, including 11 children, lived for more than 60 years. Open Meadow purchased the building in 1991, and it has housed Open Meadow High School since that time. The home-like setting promotes a sense of community among students and staff and contributes to Open Meadow’s relationship-based approach.

The current roof is more than 30 years old and has developed leaks that are causing damage to the building’s interior. The full cost of the roof replacement will be approximately $60,000. Open Meadow has raised over $18,000 so far including over $6,000 from individuals, $10,000 from the Metro Central Enhancement Committee and $1,000 from the North Portland Trust Fund. Open Meadow High School students also raised $275 from a series of Friday afternoon car washes. In order to prevent rain from causing further damage, Open Meadow is committed to raising the rest of the funds to complete the re-roof project this August.

If you want to help out, just call Emily at 503.488.5184. You can also make a contribution through our website.