During these harsh winter months, warm socks are one of the biggest priorities for many men and women suffering from homelessness. Jesse, an employee at Cycle PDX in Northwest Portland saw the need first hand,
“When I started working in Old Town, it was very apparent that there were many homeless residing in this area. My first morning opening the shop, it was very cold after a long and rainy night, and I arrived to a man lying outside our front door suffering with a severe case of trench foot. I’ve had many interactions with the folks that live around here but this one in particular stuck with me. This issue is more common than most think and it is problem that can be fixed.”
When asked why they reached out, Jesse responded, “The Downtown Location of the Portland Rescue Mission is around the corner from our shop. When dealing with problems like this, I think it is important to work with those in your community, as we live together, and best understand the issues at hand. After researching the needed items on the Donations Page, we knew it was a good fit for our donation plan.”
Evan, the owner of the store, makes sure serving others is a top priority, “We’ve been involved with the community association for several years and wanted to continue to work on livability issues in the neighborhood.”
Evan, Jesse and our friends at Cycle PDX are making a difference in other people’s lives daily. “Portland doesn’t turn its back on the less fortunate,” notices Jesse. “Since I’ve moved to this city I’ve been surrounded by people, groups and organizations that are dedicated to improving the community. I am grateful to live in a place where neighbors take care of each other.”
When meeting with Jesse to pick up the donation, he shared that the response from customers was overwhelming. A sign near the “sock tree” had appealed customers to consider joining the cause, and people enjoyed the knowledge that their purchase was directly comforting a person in need.
“Seeing STILL how many people don’t have socks on their feet is the hard part,” shares Jesse. “Just taking the small time to do this for my neighborhood, I know I am making some sort of an impact. It feels really great, and I would encourage anyone to try to take the importance off of driving profits, and instead think of how we are choosing to build our community. To me, that seems like a better way to build your business.”
Portland is a beautiful city filled with amazing people like Evan and Jesse who see the daily needs in our community and found a simple but effective way to become a part of the solution. You can help, too! Your donation of food, blankets and other supplies to Portland Rescue Mission gives love and support to men, women and children looking for a way out of homelessness and addiction.
Thank you to our friends at Cycle PDX and thank you for all of the love poured out onto people in need in our community!
See how you can help at our donations page here: