United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Hands On Greater Portland will host the fifth annual Community Impact Week from Tuesday, October 6 through Saturday, October 10, with more than 30 volunteer projects across Washington, Multnomah, and Clackamas counties. Registration is open now here.
Projects run mornings, afternoons, and evenings throughout the week, with opportunities that include sorting donated school supplies, assembling care kits for neighbors experiencing homelessness, restoring local trails, and preparing classroom materials for early learning programs.
Community Impact Week is the largest week on the calendar for Hands On Greater Portland, a program of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette that has connected volunteers with local nonprofits for 30 years. In that time, volunteers contributed more than 1.1 million hours of service.
“People tell me they want to help but they don’t know where to start, and that’s exactly the problem this week solves,” said John Afryl, Senior Program Manager for Hands On Greater Portland. “For one week we take down every barrier. You don’t need experience, you don’t need a group, and you don’t need to commit to anything beyond a couple of hours. What surprises people is what happens after. They come for a shift and they leave knowing the name of the nonprofit down the street, the person who runs it, and three neighbors they’d have never met. That’s the thing that lasts long after the week is over.”
The week also serves as an entry point for local businesses. Companies can register teams and take on a project together, which several regional employers have used as an alternative to a traditional volunteer day. Community Impact Week partners with hundreds of local nonprofits working across housing stability, early learning, food security, and community resilience. Project spots are limited and several fill quickly each year. Media are welcome to attend and film at select projects. Contact Casey Lombino to arrange site access and interviews.
This story is based on submitted information and has not been verified by our news team.
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