[Portland, OR: May 26, 2020] The 107 Independent Supporters Trust board of directors, the nonprofit engine behind the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters, is pleased to announce the award of $10,000 in mini-grants to 20 locally based community organizations, in direct response to the COVID-19 crisis.

To mitigate the impact that the pandemic has had on so many in the Portland community, the 107IST board announced in April a revised budget for 2020 that allocated $20,000 for grants to community partners. This money is a combination of a reduction of expenses, a reallocation of current funds, and a redirection of other donations.

The first round of mini-grants were awarded this week to the following organizations: Equitable Giving Circle; Friendly House; Howard’s Heart; Gather:Make:Shelter; Grow Portland; JOIN; Latino Network; The Northwest Catholic Counseling Center; Oregon Worker Relief Fund, Causa Oregon; p:ear; Parkrose High School; Portland Action Medics; Rose Haven CIC; Rosehip Medic Collective; The Rosewood Initiative; Urban League of Portland; Voz Workers’ Rights Project; William Temple House; Write Around Portland; and Y.O.U.T.H.

“This process has shown us how much need exists in our community at this time and the incredible array of organizations stepping in to fill that void,” said Rachel Greenough, 107IST community outreach committee member and mini-grant subcommittee lead. “Many of these organizations are absolutely vital, trusted sources of information, food, or other resources for the communities they serve. It is an absolute honor for us to stand with these organizations and support their work.”

For more information about the mini-grants, please contact Rachel at rachel@rosecityriveters.org. Grant applications are available here.

The 107 Independent Supporters Trust (107IST) is a member-based non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that is open to anyone who loves soccer, the Timbers/Thorns, and Portland. Its mission is to support soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level. For more information, visit www.timbersarmy.org.

The following is a post from Rachel Greenough, Community Outreach committee member.

This past Saturday, May 16th, would have been a home game for the Thorns against the newly rebranded OL Reign. I can just imagine the tifo that might have gone up that day. How many choruses of build a bonfire we would sing. Fanladen would have been open, and we were planning to collect match day donations for Grow Portland, a great organization that plants school gardens and does a ton of work with food resources and gardening in our communities. I can almost feel what it’s like to be in the stands for a game such as this.

As Sheba and Gab have recently written, in much more eloquent words than my own, we miss that stadium and all of you — but the attention of the Rose City Riveters and Timbers Army are currently focused elsewhere. The “town” of “team, town, and TA/Riveters” is currently where our focus lies.

A few weeks ago, I started reaching out to organizations to help gather information for mask distribution and grant applications. Every organization I reached was in need. Every individual spoke of the increasing needs in our community: how many more meals they’re serving, how hard it is to find shelter beds for women who need them, and how some populations are being left out of the resources offered by our city, state, and country. They all spoke of the importance of donations and support from the community.

When we talk about community outreach from the 107IST, a frequent question is, “What can we offer?” Thanks to the generosity of our members, and the success of our merch teams, we can often support organizations with money or material donations. The biggest asset we possess, however, is our membership — a whole lot of people who care about the well-being of others in our community and are willing to help out when they can.

You. You are the most valuable part of the 107IST.

We are all in different spots right now. If you need help, we hope you will reach out to us via email or social media. We might be able to find help. If you are in a position to help others, we are here to facilitate that. When I reach out to organizations about masks or grants, I am also asking them what else they need. Do they need volunteers? How will those volunteers be kept safe? Do they need items? Do they have an online wishlist of vital needs? Do they need money to continue doing what they do in the community? The answer is yes.

We have added pages to the 107IST and Riveters websites to list these needs and spread the word. As needs come in, we will post them on these pages. The idea is that this is a place you can go if you have time, money, or other donations to offer. All of these organizations are doing great work. They all need help. May would have been a big month for both teams: two home games for Timbers, four for the Thorns, rivalry games for both teams ... Maybe some of those beer, cider, parking, transportation, or pizza dollars can go to one of these organizations.

Thank you for joining us and doing what you can.

Like much of the rest of the world, since the advent of COVID-19 worldwide, everything at Providence Park and the surrounding neighborhood seems frozen in time. The pitch remains clear and pristine, the turf remaining upright and untrodden for months. The voices and drums of supporters are silent. The stands are empty. The tifo rigging remains untouched since early March. Painting in the warehouse has ceased, and places we haunt for our pre-and post-game rituals are mostly shuttered. When you’re a footy supporter in the midst of a pandemic, what is your role? What are you to do when the game has ceased for the moment?

At this moment of navigating uncharted waters together, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust has turned our focus to the “town” part of the “team, town, Timbers Army & Rose City Riveters” part of our mission. We may not be able to show our support in the stands, but we are working to support our communities:

This past month, supporters have given their time and their volunteer efforts to supply cloth face masks to community members in need — and more opportunities to provide this support are starting this week.

In April, the 107IST board also announced a revised budget for 2020 that allocated $20,000 for grants for community partners. This money is a combination of saving on expenses, a reallocation of our current funds, and a redirection of other donations. We are happy to report that we are currently accepting applications, and we expect to begin awarding grants shortly after receiving applications.

Who is eligible?

Applying organizations should be based in or around the greater Portland metro area, and money must be managed and spent locally.

Applying organizations must be established with the goal or mission to serve communities in the Greater Portland area. Examples of services provided include, but are not limited to, those addressing hunger, houselessness, domestic violence, and education; and serving populations such as houseless persons, undocumented persons, native populations, LGBTQIA, and other underserved communities.

Priority will be given to organizations that serve populations that are more likely to be neglected by other forms of subsidies, such as loan programs, unemployment support, and government stimulus monies.

How much will each successful organization be awarded?

Individual grants have no minimum amount. The maximum awarded will be $1,000 per grant.

How much will be awarded altogether?

At this time, a maximum of $20,000 is the total amount of the budget that the board of directors agreed was a cost we could incur and still remain fiscally responsible stewards of member dollars.

How do organizations apply?

Grant applications are available here. For more information, or for questions about how the grant is administered, drop us a line.

Hello, all! We wanted to provide an update about the Face Mask Project we started on April 12. As of this writing, we are donating 7,200 masks and sold 4,500 masks for a total of 11,700 masks to help supplement other supply chain efforts.

Since the masks started to arrive from Poland last week, we have distributed more than 1,600 masks to eleven local organizations or groups in need:

• South Lane Fire (Cottage Grove, OR): This was in support of the Make Masks project, helping to reduce their requests.
• El Programa Hispano (Estacada, OR): This was in support of the Make Masks project, helping to reduce their requests.
• Meals on Wheels: 107IST member request & partner organization
• Aloha Community Library: 107IST member request
• Mooberry Elementary: 107IST member request
• Woodburn Elementary schools: 107IST member request
• Join PDX: 107IST partner organization
• Providence Sports Care Center: 107IST member request
• Family Solutions: 107IST member request
• SnowCap: Asked for assistance
• The Alliance of Guardian Angels: Asked for assistance

Family Solutions picking up their masks

More than 5,000 masks are arriving this week and next. We are hopeful to be able to get all of the masks we ordered from the first two batches in a very timely manner because we know there is a severe need in our community. We are in contact with each organization that has been suggested to us to ensure that we understand their needs and whether they can come pick up the masks or we need to deliver them to their office.

But we are also hearing about how the demand for masks is much greater than our initial effort, which is why we have started taking orders for our third batch of face masks! This event will remain open for the next couple of weeks, but we have already placed an order for 2,000 masks, with 1,500 earmarked for donation. Our hope is that this third batch will arrive in Portland the second week of June to help get masks to folks as soon as possible. We have, however, experienced some delays with supplies, customs, and shipping schedules during the pandemic. We will communicate to participants as we learn more about the anticipated dates.

Please consider supporting this project even if you personally have enough face masks. We have heard from many organizations that there is a lot of concern and worry about how to help those most vulnerable at this time — be it the elderly, houseless neighbors, low-income families with young children, immigrants and refugees ... the list goes on. We want to do what we can to help our partner organizations provide face masks to the people they assist, as well as their own staff and volunteers.

Right now, we cannot quantify the demand for face masks. As you saw with the list of organizations above, most of these masks were supplied because our membership saw a need and reached out. Now we are ready to reach out to local organizations to officially ask them what they need.

You may have already read about the new mini-grants we’re offering. In addition to applying for the mini-grant, we are asking applicants if they have mask needs. We are hopeful to be able to supply them with face masks — but we need your support.

To order, please visit the event registration. You’ll see some differences this time:

First, there is a bit of a price increase from April. This is because of an increased price for supplies and because we were part of the initial learning for our production house, Euroscarves. Since the first couple of runs, they have been able to have a better sense of the cost of production, and these new prices reflect that. As with the first two batches of masks, the 107IST is selling these masks at cost.

So, we're now offering two different price points or options:
You can buy and donate 107IST-branded masks or blank masks. For both branded and blank masks, there are five options:

• Give 5
• Buy 5, Give 5 (shipped)
• Buy 5, Give 5 (pick up)
• Buy 2, Give 8 (shipped)
• Buy 2, Give 8 (pick up)

If you would like to add multiples of your order, enter a number in the guest registration. If you would like to order different sets (such as Give 5 + Buy 2, Give 8), you will need to place separate orders.

If you are having technical difficulties with registration, please email us! We’re happy to help.

Finally, to those who have already participated in this project, a very big thank you!! Without your awareness and willingness to help the community, this project would not be as successful as it has been. We are hopeful that this effort will continue to grow!

To give a quick breakdown of who participated in this project to date:

• 1,113 people in 29 states have helped fund this project.
• 765 107IST members participated, which is more than 70 percent of the orders! 

The following is statement from the 107IST board.

During this unprecedented time, many of us have seen our lives — and the lives of those we care about — markedly impacted. Like many other nonprofits, the 107IST organization has felt a substantial impact as well. Nevertheless, our organization continues to think of ways we can support others in our community.

As you've seen, the 107IST recently launched an effort to manufacture masks for our members and the community. This has been wildly successful, resulting in more than 4,700 masks for donation as of this post.

But there's more we can do.

Last night, the 107IST board approved a budget that will allocate $20,000 for grants for our community partners, with the ability to grant additional money should the financial situation improve. This money is a combination of saving on expenses, a reallocation of our current funds, and a redirection of other donations.

Stay tuned in the next few weeks for more information, as well as how you can help.

We’re all in this together. Team. Town. Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters.

As we end the third week of the stay-at-home orders from Oregon’s Governor, many grassroots activities have started up to help our community during these challenging times. Be it an attempt to get additional resources for the Oregon Food Bank or Meals on Wheels, or schools and businesses raiding their own N95 face mask and glove supplies for front-line healthcare workers, Oregonians have come together to help each other prepare and respond to this pandemic as best we can.

There has also been an increasing need for face masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE). Professional-grade equipment is required for healthcare workers and first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers. This equipment is professionally made to a certain medical standard. This is the equipment — such as N95 masks, face shields, and other equipment — you see hospital workers using.

We should also be wearing our own face masks when in public. The CDC has recommended cotton face coverings and social distancing whenever someone is out and about — be it exercising or getting essentials at the market. There are many ways to make your own face mask, and the CDC has compiled a list of ways to make different masks.

There are also groups that are organizing mask-makers to help meet the growing demand from various organizations for these face masks. One group, Make Masks, was featured in our latest member newsletter. To date, they have coordinated the creation of more 16,000 masks. If you can get involved with them (can sew or can make a donation), please see their website.

In an effort to help the supply chain for personal cotton masks, and to support the efforts to get more cotton personal face masks to our community, the 107ist board has purchased one thousand, 100 percent cotton face masks, which we plan to donate to local organizations that need these items. One of our scarf producers, Euroscarves, has recently adjusted their operation to make cotton face masks, and we are proud to purchase from them.

The 107ist is asking our membership to fund this donation through a buy one, give one model. In addition to the one thousand masks for the community, we have also ordered an additional thousand for our members to be able to purchase for personal use. While buying face masks for yourself and household, you will be paying forward the donation to our local organizations.

We are offering this through a few different options: You can buy 5 facemasks and donate 5, buy 2 and donate 8, or just donate 5. If you have the means to support this effort, please see the event on our website to order. We expect to be able to start shipping the orders from batch #1 in 2 to 3 weeks, and orders from batch #2 in 3 to 4 weeks.

All of the masks are being sold at cost for both production & shipping, this is not a fundraiser.

Important notes:

• 100 percent cotton face masks will not protect you from getting the COVID-19 virus. These masks are intended to help you protect others by covering your nose and mouth at all times while in public. The CDC, as well as Oregon’s Health Authority, continue to advocate for social distancing when in public, in addition to wearing personal face masks.
• Please do not consider these face masks a solution for social distancing. These are not medical-grade masks.
• While these are not single-use masks, it is recommended that you wash the mask after each use. Please wash with soap and water and let air dry before you use the mask again.

In alignment with the advice of the Oregon governor and other organizations in our community, we are suspending all in-person 107IST gatherings until further notice. This includes the upcoming bystander intervention workshops, committee or other meetings, office hours, and any other organized activities. We will be rescheduling workshops and other events as more information comes available.

Please stay safe, and we hope to see you in four weeks!

Relive those early day of USL, NASL, Timbers Army, and more with the hot new podcast, The 107 Report, brought to you by Obi and friends.

The first two episodes are out now, ready for your listening pleasure!

#KnowYourHistory
#RCTID

https://www.buzzsprout.com/864310

The 107 Independent Supporters Trust is as strong as we are because of you, our members. More than just forking over dues and buying merch (both great, BTW, don’t stop), our members carry our mission and our ethos with them wherever they may go. You’re the eyes on the street and the boots on the ground. With this, one of our members brought something to our attention that our collective can have a strong impact on.

Last month there was a fire at Timber-Linn Park in Albany. Several structures at the park were destroyed, including the storage shed for the Mid-Willamette Valley chapter of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO). We’ve had the opportunity now to meet with them and figure out how we might be able to help.

AYSO Region 870 has grown since 1992, now running their programs in Albany, Lebanon, Sweet Home, Tangent, Halsey, Jefferson, Scio, Turner, and Brownsville, and are planning growth into the Silverton area. With the embrace of the principles that everyone has a chance to play, positive coaching, good sportsmanship, player development, open registration, and balanced teams, Region 870 is completely volunteer-run and already has a system similar to GCSF in place funded through their community.

While they’ve received in-kind donations of much of the replacement equipment they need, they could use our help closing the gap in their fundraising. So far, we’ve been able to hook them up with pinnies, boots, and shin guards from our cache of equipment that flows through the 107ist for these types of occasions. They’re now good on size 5s, but will need the smaller sizes sooner than later. Once we get our overall budgets in order, we’re hoping to close the gap for them through some additional fundraising as their end goal is close to $10,000 to replace what was lost. On a side note, they’ll be coordinating with OPI to see how they can grow similar efforts in their region.

The soccer universe works in strange ways at times. Not only has this led to us building stronger relationships in the Mid-Valley, as you know, we are all greatly saddened by the recent passing of Jimmy Conway. Jimmy's work growing the game in Oregon was integrally linked to by the reps we met as they could draw a direct line form his efforts to their's and is a reminder of how many lives he's touched.

Aiding in the services celebrating his love of the beautiful game, we combed our archives for materials that represented his work in our community to be a part of the service. One of the things we came across was a box with a full set of Jimmy Conway shirts in all sizes from our 2016 Walk to End Alzheimer’s team. We’ll be selling them at the No Pity Van on Sunday, with proceeds going to the above effort. The supply is limited with just 69 in total (nice, right?), so check ‘em out when you hit up the Van.

What better way to Spread the Love and celebrate Jimmy’s life and contributions than to once again support youth soccer in Oregon?

And if you’re able, check out AYSO Region 870's fundraising page and throw some duckets their way.

A Legend is dead. Long live the Legend. Pints Up!

The following is a post by Joel Vos.

Traveling support is something the Timbers Army takes pride in — and, many times, there are 107IST members across the country who help make the experience go smoothly and be a hell of a lot of fun. In some rare cases, it’s the Portland supporters at home who made a connection with another team’s supporters. The North Star Casuals, the Minneapolis/St. Paul-based regional supporters of the 107IST, have been fortunate to find the same type of friendly reception from their counterparts at the Wonderwall from Minnesota United.

To keep the pseudo-rivalry going beyond our teams on the pitch each season, the Wonderwall and the North Star Casuals have collaborated again for the second annual Flannel Cup supporters match. As a casual, fun, and light-hearted way to share our love of the sport and find creative ways to socialize and welcome opposing supporters, this year’s Cup is going to be a two-leg, hardware-at-stake set of matches. How on earth did it come to this?

The rivalry between Portland and the Twin Cities can take many forms for supporters. Despite on and off battles for “best bike-friendly city,” and fights over the most delicious and creative microbreweries, the two cities share a love of the outdoors, flannel-clad people felling trees — and a passion for soccer. With match-day animosity put aside for a few hours, the supporters for each team enjoy quite a friendly history, including joint prematch meet-ups and a few kindly, “I guess I’ll cheer for you when we don’t play each other” pleasantries.

Back in 2017, the MLS-fresh Minnesota United happened to end up with a trip to our very own Providence Park for that season’s home opener. Dating back to the 1970s, Minnesota and Portland soccer teams have had a long history of battling it out, and we'll have another round of cracking a season open in a few short days.

The Flannel Cup, designed and made by Ali Vos in 2019; courtesy of Joel Vos

The Flannel Cup, however, is a rather new tradition between us. Looking back to 2017, when a new team in the league came to Portland for a 5-1 shellacking, we saw a few great collaborations between the supporters ahead of the league debut of the Loons: a split scarf and a session of open play at Rose City Futsal.

2017 Timbers Army/Dark Clouds split scarf, via Scarfage.com

Inter-supporter match at Rose City Futsal in 2017; courtesy of Timbers Army FC Twitter

With the Timbers Army playing host to a handful of traveling Minnesota supporters in 2017, a few were lucky enough to meet Diego Valeri, who dropped by to visit with IRCO players during their practice. The casual, fun atmosphere of the game helped cement an ongoing friendly relationship with the Timbers Army and what is now the Wonderwall from Minnesota.

Fast-forward to the following 2018 season: Timbers supporter Nate Zell worked to gather supporters together for another match in Minnesota. A small group played an early friendly at La Doña Cervecería’s outdoor court in Minneapolis ahead of the Thorns’ NWSL Championship appearance, and the later MLS match. That 3v3 match planted a seed for a great idea.

In 2019 the North Star Casuals found its ranks growing, and worked hard to set up another away weekend experience. In coordination with Minnesota’s True North Elite, supporters joined in on a hot and sunny August afternoon for another 3v3 match at La Doña Cervecería. A solid mix of athletic wear, turf shoes, jeans, and even a pair of work boots made the rotation onto the field in front of a loving barrage of heckling from the gathered Minnesota supporters.

The first half was a sweat-drenched slugfest, but, in the end, a second half surge from the Timbers Army put the game away for a final score of 24 to the Wonderwall’s 16. The first annual Flannel Cup was ours! Moments after the match, plans were already rolling to make it all happen again in 2020.

Timbers Army and Wonderwall pose after the first annual Flannel Cup, courtesy of Ali Vos

Supporting our team can take many forms, and the 107IST gives us all an opportunity to join together and do amazing things in our communities and with each other. The North Star Casuals take pride in our efforts to support the Timbers when they come to town and be an excellent host for our Timbers Army family for away days. Joining in the new tradition of the Flannel Cup gives us the opportunity to spread some love to the visitors from the land of the flannel-clad lumberjack Paul Bunyan and share the welcome the True North Elite and Wonderwall provide when the Timbers Army are comin’ down the road.

This year, we're taking the Flannel Cup to a two-leg affair, with the first leg hosted at Rose City Futsal on Saturday, February 29, at 8:00 p.m. (PT). Anyone is welcome to attend the match — and if you’d like to play, you can!

Leg two will be hosted on Memorial Day weekend. If you’re coming to Minnesota and want to play, contact the North Star Casuals via:
Email
Twitter 
Facebook

Written by Joel Vos. A native of Minnesota who transplanted to Portland in the mid-2000s, he is one of a small handful of founding members of the North Star Casuals, the Minneapolis/St. Paul regional supporters group under the 107IST.