Cheers to those traveling up to the fishing village this weekend as we do our part to get the lights turned back on in the trophy case at the Fanladen that houses our beloved Cascadia Cup. While our rivalry with our neighbors to the north goes beyond the 90 minutes it does with other supporters/clubs, there is one thing we come together on more than anything. When it comes to providing a safe place for members of our communities at risk of experiencing discrimination and hate, our efforts go well beyond the terraces and deep into our region.
For those of you sticking around town, we have a unique opportunity for you that celebrates this.
A little background: over the last few months through our close relationship built through the Portland United Against Hate (PUAH) coalition of organizations doing the hard work locally, we were reached out to by the City’s Office of Community and Civic Life’s Immigrant and Refugee Integration, Equity in Practice, and New Portlanders Policy Commission to provide assistance in the form of equipment and shoes for participants in the Portland Parks & Rec’s annual World Cup Soccer Tournament. While PP&R has a lot of capacity to do events like this, they have limits on expenditures that we can help with. Our original goal was to tap relationships with companies like Adidas for the shoes, however the ball was moving slowly so we ended up just buying all the shoes they were hoping for (we have the equipment since we run things like the Donut Derby). As we got closer to the event and hand-off, Adidas ended up sponsoring the event, which is awesome, but we were then sitting on cases of shoes. This year’s tournament was a screaming success, once again, which is the most important part of this chapter. However, what to do with all these kicks? Don’t worry though, there’s always need.
Tomorrow, while our busses of traveling support are stuck in some random slowdown on I-5, PP&R’s Parks for New Portlanders program with Portland Bureau of Transportation’s (PBOT) Sunday Parkways are hosting a Walk with Refugees & Immigrants event in East Portland and have invited us to participate. One of the big parts of the event is the distribution of school supplies but we’re going to be dropping a bunch of soccer equipment (including those shoes). Given the power of the beautiful game, the event will be bracketed by soccer activities prior to the walk and at the final location. We’ll have a 107ist table at the event as well as our donation and have been invited to be one of the speakers to help tell our story and help make people aware of aspects of the org like the Gisselle Courier Scholarship Fund. All funded by your 107ist membership dollars and merch purchases from the No Pity Van and Rivet Gear.
If you would like to attend this event:
Soccer events start at 10am at the East Portland Community Office (1017 NE 117th Ave) with people amassing for the walk at 11am. The walk will then go from there to Knott Park where there will be food, music, and tons of family fun in celebration of all who call the Rose City home. Of course, there will be more soccer in the park running through the event till around 2 or 3. If you have questions, feel free to comment below or, hit us up here.
We realize this event conflicts with a scheduled tifo painting in the warehouse. But don’t worry, we’ll be in touch with the people running things down there and will let you know if we need more help painting as things wrap up at the park. So, bring a change of clothes if you plan to do both.
Before we let you go, we thought you’d like a side story to this. One of the soccer coaches that works with 10-15 year-old refugees and immigrants had his car broken into this last week and had all his equipment stolen. We’ve been working with our partners at Tursi Soccer to use our bulk discount and have replaced EVERYTHING on his list and more. He’s helping to run some of the soccer stuff tomorrow and we’ll be dropping it all on him. Again, all funded by your membership in the 107ist and purchases made at the No Pity Van and Rivet Gear.
All of this reiterates the spirit of our involvement in the community as an organization and our members. This is our ethos in action and where the rubber meets the road. So please, come join us if you’re in town and have some fun Spreading the Love.
Let’s do this, Portland.
