Day of Service Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Kaiser Permanente provided staff for a full day clinic on Monday, January 18th in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. As part of an annual day of service eleven health care professionals and clerical staff spent the day at North by Northeast. We provided follow-up care for 34 patients with diabetes and/or high blood pressure, and administered 20 flu shots. Thanks to all who participated; it was a great day! Kaiser Permanente also delivered a check for $8000 as part of their Special Initiatives grant program. Special thanks to Kaiser Permanente as well as to New Seasons Market, Grand Central Baking and Peet’s Coffee for their generous donations.

Thank you, Center for Health Research!

Gail Mathabane presents the gift to North by Northeast

For the past four years, the staff at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has donated to local non-profits rather than throw themselves a holiday party. North by Northeast was selected as one of the recipients again this year. Gail Mathabane, CHR Communications Director, braved the surprise snowstorm on Dec. 29 to deliver checks from 17 staff members totaling over $1700. Thank you all!

Metroscope Features NxNE

Listen to a podcast featuring Dr. Jill Ginsberg and the work of North by Northeast.

Meet Our Interns!

Jefferson HS students Tianna Sly, Violet Thomas, Laura Taylor, Brianne Turner (not pictured: Jesse Dance-Taylor)

For the second year, North by Northeast is partnering with Jefferson High School to provide a unique opportunity for five African American students in the Health Sciences/Biotechnology Program.  The students are considering careers in health care, and during the year-long internship program will meet twice monthly with various health care professionals to learn more about career options. They will be serving their community by volunteering one night each month at North by Northeast working at the front desk and assisting the nursing staff. They are also learning to check blood pressure and will be doing screenings for community members.  We are very lucky to be able to work with and mentor such committed, talented students and hope they all choose to come back to North by Northeast as volunteer professionals when they complete their educations!

Thank you all!!

For the fourth year in a row, North by Northeast was featured in the Willamette Week Give!Guide. Once again our generous supporter Tompkins Consulting Companies matched the first $5,000 in donations and, thanks to our generous donors, we raised over $26,000! Especially encouraging was that a large proportion of donations came from the neighborhoods we serve. Your gifts help us all year long to provide medications to patients in need. Many thanks to all of you who made donations and to Willamette Week for including us in this wonderful opportunity.  If you didn’t get around to participating in the Give!Guide, you can still support our work!! Check out the “Donate” page for some other ways to help.

New Handmade Patient Gowns

We want to express our gratitude to Susan Wright for handmaking fifteen gorgeous patient gowns for North by Northeast. As we expand capacity in our new, larger space at the Garlington Center, we’ll be seeing more patients and needing more patient gowns. But not just any gowns will do for our patients, and that is why we are so grateful that Susan generously donated her time and materials to make these works of art! It’s the particular touches, like the gowns, that we hope make our patients’ experience at North by Northeast warm and welcoming. Thank you Susan!

Buffalo Exchange Donates to NxNE!

Between July 1 and December 31, 2009, shopping at the Buffalo Exchange can mean a donation for North by Northeast! Shoppers at every Buffalo Exchange store are encouraged to accept a token instead of a shopping bag for their purchases. Then Buffalo Exchange donates five cents to one of three non-profits of the shopper’s choosing.

The downtown store, at 10th and W Burnside, has chosen us as one of their three non-profits for the next six months.

Since 1994, Buffalo Exchange’s Tokens for Bags program has donated over $300,000 to deserving non-profits and has saved 6.4 million bags. Help support North by Northeast and help us say thank you to Buffalo Exchange by shopping, saving and donating!

Thank you Buffalo Exchange!

We’ve Moved!!

Pastor Mary makes her entrance!

We had our first clinic in our new space on Thursday, August 20th. It was very exciting!! We were able to see patients much more efficiently with more exam rooms and a larger triage area.

Pastor Mary and Dr. Jill named as KATU Everyday Heroes

On June 19, KATU featured Pastor Mary and Dr. Jill in their Everyday Heroes series. Watch the video on their website here (click the “video” link).

Thank you New Seasons!!!

Dr. Bonnie Reagan enjoys a hot dog for a good cause

Thank you to New Seasons Market – Concordia for donating the proceeds from their May 30 & 31 Benefit BBQ to North by Northeast! On Saturday alone, New Seasons raised over $600 for our clinic; with that donation, we can purchase a year’s worth of prescription medication for twelve patients. New Seasons has been an enthusiastic supporter of the clinic since we opened almost three years ago, and we are privileged to count them as a great local partner in supporting healthy neighborhoods.

Thank you as well to the dedicated, friendly, outstanding North by Northeast volunteers who helped staff the Benefit BBQ: Helen Farrenkopf, Julie Gust, Richard Howells, Michael Krall, Margo Russell, Priscilla & Jerry Stewart, Isabelle Trepiccione, Mary Beth Yosses and Karen Zwickert.

We could not fulfill our mission without the consistent support of business like New Seasons and volunteers like these. Thank you!

We Will Have a New Home Soon!!!

rough floor plan of our new space

We will be moving to a new home soon! At the end of February we signed a lease for a 1900 sq foot space in the Garlington Center at 3034 NE Martin Luther King Blvd. The center is a community institution in inner North and Northeast Portland, serving African Americans and members of other minority groups with mental health needs. The relocation will quadruple our treatment space and allow us to provide quality health services to a greater number of uninsured neighbors. This is wonderful news for us and will open a new chapter for the community. Check back for updates and stay tuned for an announcement about a community Open House!

Dr. Jill Ginsberg honored with Marylhurst University Women of Distinction Award

Dr. Jill Ginsberg and Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith

Every year at their Women of Distinction Luncheon, Marylhurst University pays tribute to successful women who depict the ideals of competence, leadership and service in their chosen fields. The awardees are professionals and philanthropists who demonstrate excellence in the Arts, Business, Faith, Science and Service. This year, Marylhurst honored our own Medical Director and co-founder, Dr. Jill Ginsberg, as the Woman of Science awardee. Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith delivered a stirring, energetic introduction of Dr. Jill, whose acceptance remarks included stories and quotes from North by Northeast patients. Board members, staff and volunteers were in attendance at the February 25th luncheon to celebrate and honor Dr. Ginsberg’s achievement. Also honored were: Eloise Damrosch, Executive Director of the Regional Arts and Culture Council; Joan Austin, Co-Founder of A-Dec; Cecilia Ranger, PhD, SNJM, Co-Director of Marylhurst’s University Ministry; and Nancy Wilgenbusch, PhD, President Emerita of Marylhurst University. Past awardees include: Mariah Taylor, Julianne Johnson, Rachel Bristol, Julie Vigeland, Peggy Fowler, Arlene Schnitzer, Gert Boyle and Vera Katz.

Haircuts for North by Northeast!

A big “Thank you!” to Barberama, a local neighborhood salon, for donating 50% of their profits on Saturday, January 24th, to North by Northeast! We especially want to thank Brian Fuqua for approaching North by Northeast about this generous donation, as well as all the stylists and staff of the salon whose workday efforts helped make a difference in the health of our shared neighborhood. We are so privileged to be in a community where wonderful partnerships like this one abound. Thank you Barberama!

Thank You To Our Donors!

Thank You, Year-End Donors!!

We had an amazing response to our year-end appeal. Thank you all!

The Willamette Week Give!Guide raised an astounding $787,000 for 55 local non-profits, an increase of 50% over last year’s total. We are very grateful to the Give!Guide staff and the 185 individuals who donated to North by Northeast, making it possible for us to raise over $27,000. We are especially excited that over 100 of these donors were new to us, almost half were under 35, and 40% live in the neighborhoods served by our clinic. Special thanks to Tompkins Consulting Companies for matching the first $5000 in donations!

In addition to the Give!Guide gifts, we received many other generous donations from new and prior donors through the mail and via our website. 

As 2009 begins, we will be caring for our patients and focusing on our plans for a move sometime this spring (we will provide more details as we have them!).  Know that your support is saving lives and enriching our community.

Thank you for your generosity.

Dr. Ginsberg Named Local Hero

Roger Hinshaw, BofA local Market President, and Dr. Jill

Dr. Jill Ginsberg was named one of five Local Heroes by the Oregon and SW Washington Bank of America. North by Northeast Community Health Center will receive a $5000 grant from Bank of America’s Charitable Foundation’s 2008 Neighborhood Excellence Initiative. Dr. Ginsberg and the other winners were honored in a ceremony at the Portland Zoo on November 12.

Watch Our New Video on YouTube!

Link to North by Northeast Video

When David Smith of Magaurn Video Media was introduced to us last fall through the Light a Fire awards, he was captivated by our story and our mission. He approached Michael Magaurn about the possibility of producing a promotional piece about the clinic to help spread the word about our work. The company has a long history of giving to the community, and Michael did not hesitate in agreeing enthusiastically to support the project. David put in many extra hours and the entire staff pitched in to produce a professional video which does a masterful job of telling our story. Watch the six minute video on YouTube!

Thank you, Michael, David and everyone at Magaurn Video Media!

Thanks for a successful house party!!

Dr. Jill, Charrese and Liz at the clinic

Charrese Edwards and Liz Wayne came to us a few months ago and said they wanted to hold a house party to benefit the clinic. They mobilized an impressive force of volunteers and contributors and organized an amazing event! It started with a cocktail party, with music by Janice Scroggins and Sharon Martini, and some fabulous food and wines provided by McGinns Wine Merchants, Clyde’s Restaurant, Fife Restaurant and Echo. An after-party –ended around 4AM with lots of great music and dancing, and a keg provided by Widmer Brewery and more beer and snacks provided by Case Forensics (our neighbor on N. Williams). A silent auction featured many wonderful donated items and services. The event brought in over $2000, which will allow us to provide medication for a full year for 20 patients. Thanks to Charrese and Liz and everyone who supported and contributed to this event!

Whole Foods Community Support Day

North by Northeast was selected as the recipient of the March 13 Whole Foods Community Support Day.  5% of net sales at the Pearl District store on that day was donated to support our work, a total of over $3500!  Thank you, Whole Foods!

Thank you all!!

We are proud to have been featured in the 2007 Willamette Week Give! Guide and excited to announce that over $19,000 was donated to North by Northeast, with many new donors living in the clinic neighborhood. These gifts will fund a large portion of our prescription needs for the coming year. Thank you all!

North by Northeast Wins Light a Fire Award!

Portland Monthly, in conjunction with the Oregon Community Foundation, established the Light A Fire Awards in 2005 as a way to honor and celebrate the critical work of local nonprofits and the individuals who support their missions. This year, North by Northeast is the recipient in the “Keeping Us Healthy” category. Pastor Mary delivered the keynote address at the Award Gala on October 30 at the Portland Art Museum. For more information about all the award recipients, see the November issue of Portland Monthly magazine.  You can read the feature story here.