New Beginnings Market: A new way to support community through donation and reuse

This past fall, IRCO, the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, opened the New Beginnings Market in northeast Portland. The Market, located in a large warehouse space, is a no-cost shop offering used and new furniture, clothing, and household items to immigrants and refugees, plus those coming out of homelessness, and domestic or gang violence.

New Beginnings Market allows individuals to choose the items they need as they build a new life in a new place. This “shop-our-store” format has long been used by another local nonprofit, Community Warehouse, and gives individuals a greater sense of choice in how they set up their new homes.

Megumi Harn, IRCO’s In-Kind Fundraising Lead, shared that since the New Beginnings Market opened in October 2022, they’ve served 2,215 clients, with a total value of household items offered at over $135,000.

The Market is a new program from a long-standing Oregon nonprofit

IRCO has deep roots in Portland and throughout Oregon. IRCO Fundraising Manager, Nami Bigos, shared that there are over 100 programs, including 19 food pantries, that serve 20,000-30,000 people a year.

After 45 years of providing refugee employment services, IRCO recently became a refugee resettlement provider under the United States Commission of Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), a national volunteer agency. In the past year, they have welcomed over 250 new arrivals from Afghanistan and Iraq. With the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis in February 2022, over 2,000 Ukrainian humanitarian parolees arrived in the Portland-Vancouver area also needing resettlement help, with limited support from traditional resources.  

New Beginnings Market is one of their newest programs and was created to provide a one-stop shop for basic needs. Navigating support services can be hard for anyone, and even harder for immigrants and refugees who are learning a new language and culture. IRCO aims to make the Market shopping experience easy for clients: The Market is located on a TriMet bus line and IRCO will deliver large furniture directly to clients. 

New Beginnings Market allows IRCO to collect and distribute donated goods more efficiently: They no longer must move donations to and from storage units. The space also allows IRCO to collect more items, display them in a more customer-friendly way, and provide clients with a better shopping experience. 

The need for donations is great

Not only are people’s needs greater since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but resources are slimmer. Also, with the startup of the refugee resettlement program in 2021, placing families in completely outfitted homes has become a core part of IRCO’s service delivery.

In addition to collecting donated goods from Portland community members, the Market receives donations from businesses and corporations including Columbia Sportswear, Nike, Rejuvenation and BedMart. IRCO also relies on volunteer groups and individual volunteers to help organize and run the Market.

How you can support New Beginnings Market

While the Market is not a retail space, or open to the public, a variety of new and gently used donations are welcome!

The most needed items are:

• Diapers

• Laundry detergent

• Mattresses

• Couches

• Dressers

Other items needed include:

• Kitchen, housewares, and décor 

• Beauty and personal care products 

• Cleaning supplies 

• Baby and school supplies 

• Linens and clothing 

See the full list of items IRCO needs. This list is regularly updated, and things may be added or removed from the list based on client needs and current inventory.

For gently used donations, IRCO wants clean and functional pieces, with no stains, tears, or pet hair. The Market Team will check for pest infestation.

Before you donate, contact the New Beginnings Market to describe the items you would like to donate: Donations@IRCO.org or 971-271-6461. Emailing photos of your items helps staff determine which items would best meet their clients’ needs. Once you’ve heard from IRCO staff about which items they can use, you can drop them off Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Market staff will provide the drop-off address.

For larger items, like couches or dressers, IRCO may be able to pick them up from your home for a suggested donation to cover transportation and gas costs. 

To learn more about the New Beginnings Market, how to donate new or gently used goods, or to volunteer, contact Nami and Megumi at Donations@IRCO.org or call 971-271-6461. Monetary and Amazon Wish List donations are also welcome.

Building community through cooperation at Oasis of Change

Do you want to save time and money by having your needs met all in one place? Oasis of Change is such a place! A place where you can build community in ways that encompass natural health, therapeutic play, cooking classes, entertainment and more.

Co-founder, Dov Judd, shared that “Oasis of Change is a way to show families that there’s a different way to live, and that you can do these things in your own home too. We’ll help show you the way.”

Engage in activities that stimulate the mind, body and soul

Dov asked himself, “How do you permit a dream?” Oasis of Change is that dream, which began in April 2019 in North Portland with activities driven by the community and its members. There is a team of decision-makers, however its members help create models to keep it sustainable and progressive.

Membership allows people to utilize the space and classes by becoming members. There are different membership levels, some of which include volunteer hours to give back to the community.

Member highlights include:

• Farm-to-Table vegan dining 

• Cooking classes

• Adult and children's activities

• Weekly meal prep

• Health classes for all ages

• A Maker Space for arts and crafts

• Affordable childcare

• Co-working spaces for lifestyle medicine doctors and mental health groups

• Massage

• Live music and evening entertainment

• Fun fitness classes

• Farm and garden tours

A focus on food is a big part of the community. There are two kitchen spaces (one of which is allergy-free) in the old house that has become the heart of the Oasis of Change community. Dov explained that the food that is prepared and shared is vegan and vegetarian because they don’t want to use ingredients over $2 a pound. This excludes dairy, meat and nuts. Because it is a teaching atmosphere, cooking classes and eating meals together allows families to test recipes and come up with meal plans that save money. He has booked different local chefs to help share cooking tips with members.

There are various providers at Oasis of Change offering group-based models, not private sessions, to empower people and to meet others who may be experiencing similar things.

Dov is a practicing play therapist. He values relationship building and care for all. “We can’t pick or choose when we care.” He wants to provide every child with an opportunity to explore and enjoy the world around them. He meets kids where they are, and includes his dog, Ziza, a pediatric service dog, as part of his practice.

A recent edition of the e-news included a plethora of happenings! There is already a writer’s workshop, yoga and meditation and upcoming parenting classes and tutoring opportunities. Dov said the outside area, which includes a large garden, could hold up to 200 people for live music, markets, parties and more events.

Are you ready to come together in community to make a healthy lifestyle accessible, affordable and fun? If so, take a closer look at Oasis of Change.

Pictured: Dov with Ziza at Oasis of Change.

Aging parents and the stuff their kids don’t want

A recent article in the New York Times about aging parents with an abundance of stuff resonated because Resourceful PDX has thoughtful consumption at its core. It offers tools and ideas for reducing waste, and specifically, how to act and where to find resources. 

The article explains that the volume of unwanted keepsakes and family heirlooms is poised to grow — along with the number of conversations about what to do with them – because of our aging population.

“Resourceful PDX is about making simple changes to help you save money, support your community, conserve natural resources and enjoy more time with friends and family. ”

There are many online groups and local organizations that offer Portland-area residents simple ways to move useful materials through the community and into the hands of others who need them. Here are just a few:

·         Buy Nothing Project

·         Freecycle

·         Nextdoor

·         Paying it Forward Store

·         PDX Free Store

·         Rooster

Check out the Curbsider Blog for more options for sharing your unwanted or unneeded household goods.

Also, Metro has compiled a helpful list of charitable organizations to contact for pick up or drop off of your usable items. These range from local organization like Free Geek and The ARC of Multnomah County to national organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army.

Read a previous Resourceful PDX post about Community Warehouse, your local furniture bank. Items that are needed the most include linens, kitchen and household goods and furniture. The Estate Store at Community Warehouse offers collectibles and antiques for purchase to help further furnish homes for local families and will gladly accept your donations.

Unusable bulky items
After sorting out all of your reusable items and finding them new homes, your garbage and recycling company can remove large, unusable items for an extra charge. Call your company a week in advance and they will give you a cost estimate. For a reasonable charge, they will pick up appliances, furniture and other big items. For curbside pickup, set bulky items at your curb on the day your garbage and recycling company has agreed to pick them up. 

Large items abandoned in your neighborhood? Contact the Metro Regional Illegal Dumping (RID) Patrol or call 503-234-3000.

Reclaim your free time with summer guides from New Dream

Start summer with family guides that highlight more of what matters.

New Dream has launched two new family guides to help you reclaim your free time.

The weekend guide, 5 Simple Steps to Reclaiming Your Weekend, and the summer guide, The Family Guide to a Mostly Screen-Free Summer.

The guides can be downloaded from New Dream and provide tips to help you plan and protect your valuable free time.

5 Simple Steps to Reclaiming Your Weekend

Ever get to Sunday night and find yourself feeling even more stressed and exhausted than you did mid-week?

In this guide, New Dream provides simple steps to help you avoid defaulting to screens when you find yourself with a short burst of free time.   

Get practical ideas to help you unplug, recharge and connect!

The Family Guide to a Mostly Screen-Free Summer

Concerned about screen-time taking over your free time? 

So is New Dream. That's why they created this step-by-step, sanity-saving resource, chock full of ideas to reclaim your summer. 

Start planning your mostly screen-free summer today. 

PDX Toy Library offers your family the benefits of sharing

Alicia Polacok, from Resourceful PDX partner Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, kicked off the New Year with a visit to the PDX Toy Library where she talked with founder Cat Davila about this labor of love.

PDX Toy Library is an all-volunteer community-based nonprofit organization that recognizes play as an integral part of a child’s development. High quality toys and equipment are available for borrowing to assist with the physical and educational development of children ages birth to 8.

Cat sees the library as a way to build community too, by hosting and participating in many family events that bring people together to learn, collaborate and socialize. Borrowing from the Toy Library is a great opportunity for children to explore ideas about ownership, responsibility to others, and the benefits of sharing.

She was aware of the tool and kitchen libraries in Portland, and this idea really synthesized a lot of her passions and just felt like is was exactly the thing to do, even without experience in the nonprofit or library sectors.

“The idea struck me one afternoon as I was playing games with my 2 year old daughter, and wishing I could trade all of ours for some new ones somewhere. It suddenly seemed impossible that there wasn’t already something like this in Portland.

I spent a lot of time learning about Toy Libraries in other parts of the world and crafting our model of service, and learning how to form a nonprofit, and searching for a space for the library. And now it is real! I’m very pleased with what we’re able to offer now, and excited to see what the future brings.”

— founder Cat Davila

How does it work?

Membership is open to the public and active members use the toys and space. While most members are currently families, Cat's own work background is in Early Childhood Education, so she would like to see more teachers and caregivers utilize the library. Volunteers are integral in the library, which is currently open three times a week for a few hours. Cat has hosted events in the space and plans to shift the focus for more game and play time when the library is open.

The collection continually grows with donations accepted and cataloged frequently. Members check out different toys and games each week, up to three different toys or games each time you visit.

Currently the fee structure offers three month memberships for $30 or six months for $50. Gift certificates are available if you’re looking for an alternative idea for a birthday or holiday celebration.

Why join a toy library?

It saves money: Toys cost a lot so joining the Toy Library is likely to be less per year than you may spend on new items.

It saves space: Toys take up a lot of space and storage so the Toy Library allows you and your kids to use things when you really want them and provides a way to get them out of your house the rest of the time.

It allows for toy test drives: Toys engage kids at different times and at different levels. Checking things out from the Toy Library gives you a good idea of what engages children the most. And since kids grow fast, it means having developmentally appropriate toys available to test.

Bonus: Keep things fresh (and give your kids something “new”) by checking out different items every couple of weeks! Browse the toy catalog online to see if borrowing toys may work for you and your family.

Where is it?

PDX Toy Library is located in the Sunnyside Community House (formerly Sunnyside Methodist Church) at 3520 SE Yamhill St.

All Portland residents are welcome to join!