In July, support Street Roots!

We will be collecting donations any time Fanladen is open. This includes membership hours, pre-game, and (in some cases) post-game. Check the weekly newsletter or social media for updates and open hours.

Since 1999, Street Roots has been publishing a weekly newspaper in Portland — and employing vendors to sell that paper. Street Roots vendors are independent contractors who are experiencing homelessness and poverty. By selling papers for Street Roots, these vendors not only make an income, but they become a part of the organization’s advocacy. Their voices and experiences heavily influence how Street Roots advocates for systemic change. This organization also publishes the Rose City Resource, which exhaustively lists resources and services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty.

They are specifically asking for items to help combat the heat of summer: sunscreen, sun hats, reusable cooling towels, misters/personal fans, sun hats, aloe vera, sunscreen lip balm, reusable water bottles, and bottled water.

Tina Drake, vendor liaison for Street Roots, says:

We at Street Roots strive to create a comfortable environment for our vendors at all times. This sometimes includes them selling in inclement weather. Any donations brought by you ... will be made available to our vendors to keep them safe during these strange and unusual times during the Portland and Oregonian weather changes. Thank you from Street Roots."

As with last month’s drive, limited edition donation merit badges are available for folks who drop off donations! We know you don’t need an incentive to do something good for the community, but you get one anyway! There are still three designs available, so get there while you can.

You can also donate to Street Roots via their Amazon wishlist or donate financially online. If you are out of area and wish to receive a donation merit badge, send a screenshot of your receipt to community@107ist.org with the subject “Donation merit badge” and your mailing address. We ask that you only use the shipping option if you can’t get your badge in-person at Fanladen, but you’re also welcome to bring electronic proof of donation to Fanladen if that’s how you prefer to donate.

As an organization, the 107IST is actively working to strengthen our youth engagement. We have an exciting opportunity to partner with another local nonprofit, Elevate Oregon.

Elevate Oregon is hosting free summer activity camps for kids in grades 1 through 8. We're looking for any volunteers who have recent or current experience working with kids. We're also looking for anyone interested in leading an intro to soccer clinic for one afternoon during the June 21—24 activity/sports camp. 

Sign up for a spot before June 18 here! 

Elevate Oregon builds relationships with at-risk youth to promote education, self-reliance and leadership. You can learn more about this organization on their website.

The following is a post from Rachel Greenough, a member of the Community Outreach Committee and the Rose City Riveters Steering Committee.

Happy Pride, everyone! It means so much to me to announce that the 107IST will be collecting donations for the community in person this month, and that our Pride Month collection will support Outside In. To add a little extra hype, we will have donation merit badges available for folks who drop donations at Fanladen on match days! Please see below for details, and check in on social media for match day information — plans are evolving quickly and we’ll do our best to keep information current. Update: Fanladen will be open before all Thorns and Timbers home matches in June!

Here are some details of what you can do to support our community during Pride month:

1. Pledge to a Prideraiser! The Rose City Riveters are supporting Outside In,  and the Timbers Army are supporting TransActive. Pledge to one or both, with amounts as low as $1/goal or as high as you want!

2. Bring material donations for Outside In on home match days for both teams! Please bring new items only, including: socks (larger sizes), underwear, toothbrushes, deodorant, sunscreen (travel size), chapstick, reusable water bottles, and shorts (size M+). Check the newsletter and social media for fanladen open hours before matches.

3. If you’re out of the area, you can also donate to Outside In via their Amazon wishlist. If you wish to receive a donation merit badge, send a screenshot of your receipt to community@107ist.org with the subject “Donation merit badge” and your mailing address. We ask that you only use this option if you can’t get your badge in-person at Fanladen.

4. Buy Pride merch items from RivetGear and No Pity Originals! A new item (and some from past years) are available now, both online and at the Fanladen before thorns matches. This year's pride item benefits The Living Room, an organization that supports and celebrates LGBTQ+ youth in Clackamas County.

5. Keep watching the 107IST channels for more.

So why, specifically, is Outside In our chosen recipient for the Riveters Prideraiser and the 107IST donation drive in Pride Month? Outside In has been here for as long as I can remember. In fact, they’ve been operating in Portland since 1968. They provide medical and other services for anyone who needs them, but their roots are in service to the youth of Portland — providing shelter, medical care, job training, food, and so many other needed services to young people. About 20 to 40% of the youth experiencing houselessness in this country identify as LGBTQ. Trans youth, in particular, find themselves at incredible risk of violence and harm if they are on their own, and the gender-affirming medical and other care provided by Outside In is one important way to support these young people. We need to stand up in support of trans and queer youth — and Outside In has always done that.

This Pride Month, we'll do our best to actively support our LGBTQ+ community members. In particular, we recognize that legislation targeting trans individuals is on the rise across the country, and violence toward trans individuals has already taken too many lives this year, including in our own state. We also recognize that intersectionality means that the overlapping aspects of an individual’s identity might make them more susceptible to inequality, discrimination, violence, and harm.

Please feel free to send things our way or help the community engage further with these topics.

Over the last year we’ve worked on reimagining how we do things as an organization to foster a more open and inclusive environment. In doing this work and making these changes, we’ve identified areas where we know we can do and be better.

One of those areas is volunteerism.

The 107IST, the Timbers Army, and the Rose City Riveters would not exist without the thousands of hours of volunteer work done by our community. And, in turn, our community has benefited from the work our volunteers have done outside of the organization.

But we recognize that we can go bigger and that we can address the changes needed to open our volunteer spaces to folks who may not have been comfortable stepping up in the past.

From the outside, it isn’t always easy to find a way in and when people have said this in the past, we haven’t responded in a way that opens doors.

So maybe we just take the doors off.

When you think of volunteering for the org, what do you think of? Capos. Drums and trumpets. Tifo crew. Merch. But where do you go if none of those is a good fit?

We’ve had good luck with the Bad Knees Brigade over the last few years, creating a space for folks to do less physically strenuous work. What other groups can we gather and for what purposes?

One of the next steps we've taken is changing the volunteer form on the 107IST website. It still has the traditional areas of interest, but we added space to dream: We’re asking you what talents you can bring to the table.

Maybe you’re really good with spreadsheets. Let us know. Maybe you’re an excellent baker. Let us know that, too. Electricians, plumbers, dentists. People who are good at gardening. IP or civil rights lawyers. Tell us what your skills are, and we’ll see how we can put them to good use in the future.

We’re also looking at ways to reach outside of our organization to lend a hand to our community partners. Do you know of a local organization whose work we might be able to complement? Speak up. We’re listening.

There are more pieces to the 107IST volunteerism puzzle that we’re still talking about and will continue to talk about.

• Recognizing volunteers
• Keeping occasional volunteers engaged
• Welcoming new volunteers and those returning after an absence
• Encouraging folks to find or create opportunities, both within the org and without

If you're willing to help out, fill out the form.  If you have questions or comments, please feel free to email kristen@107IST.org. I’d love to hear your past experiences and challenges, as well your ideas for how we can dream bigger.

We’re so glad to announce APANO as our first Match Day Drive recipient of 2021!

About APANO

March and April were devastating months for AAPI communities across our country, but the hate and violence experienced were not new. The history of this country, and this region, are rife with exclusionary, discriminatory, and harmful actions toward these communities. The pandemic has only made this worse. The Portland area has seen many incidents of anti-AAPI events over the past few months, including physical assaults, use of slurs, and intimidation.

Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) organizes to change this. The organization unites communities and organizations across Oregon in an effort to achieve social justice and advance equity. Their work is widespread and impressive, from youth organizing via ONYCS (Oregon’s Nesian Youth for Change in Society) to events, workshops, arts and culture support, political organizing, and beyond.

About Match Day Drives

As many of you know, the 107IST made the decision in November to put a hold on in-person donation drives. Until Fanladen opens back up, we are continuing to focus our Match Day Drives on supporting local organizations through financial means or other community support. We'll be highlighting a couple of organizations each month to bring attention and resources to these community partners. When we have a match at home, we’ll have an organization for you to support — whether you’re headed to the stadium or continuing to support from home.

On match day, many of you make it a habit to swing by the store and grab supplies for the match day drive. For now, we ask you to do the same, but by making a direct donation of any size to these organizations. Your generosity is always so impressive — and our community needs it this year more than ever.

If you’re not in the position to donate financially, we totally get it. You can also visit their websites, see what events or projects they’re doing, write a letter on their behalf to a newspaper or politician, spread the word, or support them in any way you feel helps.

What you can do for APANO

APANO has two funds you can donate to, and they both support the goal of advancing social justice through organizing and community support. Please consider making a donation today or on match day to show support for this community. 

APANO is also hosting a series of antiracism workshops. These events are free and open to BIPOC community members. If you don’t identify as BIPOC, there is an event celebrating AAPI heritage and solidarity on May 14th from noon to 1:30. Click here to learn more or register for these events!

Thank you, as always, for your generosity as we support the organizations working toward social justice in our community.

Dear Providence Park,

Well, this is awkward. We miss you. We can’t wait to fill you to the rafters, make the roof reverberate with the noise of drums and trumpets, and stir up billowing smoke bombs with frantically waving flags. There is no better place on Earth than Providence Park on match day.

This is different. This will be different. There will be no flags, no trumpets, no fervent encouragement from capos extolling the North End to drag our beloved teams across the line to victory. This is a time where the dedicated volunteers that make each match day happen have to make decisions about their comfort level. Decisions based on when vaccinations are available to them. Decisions based on the needs of themselves and their families. Decisions that will change the way the North End looks, feels, and sounds.

It will be the same, too. It will be the same because at the end of the day, all those things we do we do for the men and women representing the Rose City. Our City. Soccer City, USA. The passion, love, and support for our players is unwavering and while it might seem a little different in the stands as we support from distance, know that we sing wherever we go — we sing for you, whether we’re inside Providence Park or not.

We look forward to the day where we can all be united, 25,000 strong, in one voice. We’re still figuring it all out and intentionally not rushing things. 

This year will be weird. Embrace it. This is Portland, after all.

Always,

The Timbers Army & The Rose City Riveters

To our supporters: If you’d like to help us figure it out, reach out. If you have more questions, start here. We’ll be adding more information as the season moves along and we know more.

We continue to provide updates to broader membership on the progress we are making across the five areas of focus we have committed to improving this year. As a board we are taking intentional steps to:

• Improve accessibility.

• Hear from members.

• Communicate more.

• Increase accountability.

• Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.  

This week, we’d like to focus on Increase accountability, specifically looking at hiring a DEI consultant and creating a 107IST code of conduct.

What we’ve accomplished

DEI consultant: This effort, with advisement from the BIPOC group, has been an ongoing effort to shortlist and request bids for engagement from organizations and individual consultants in the PNW region. With the events taking place last year on both a national stage and also within our organization, we are prioritizing this effort to make sure we continue to foster an inclusive, equitable organization and culture. 

• Next steps: We have held conversations with multiple individuals, articulating our needs and scope of efforts, and plan to make a decision in the coming weeks.
  
  

Code of conduct: Related to creating an inclusive organization is the establishment of a Code of Conduct. This effort was mentioned during our February monthly board meeting and a breakout session during our March 6 AGM. While we have an away travel code of conduct that outlines expectations for members attending away matches, a 107IST code of conduct would plainly state the norms and expectations in alignment with our ethos and the accountability to uphold these. We heard rich feedback and recommendations during the AGM session as well as those of you who reached out via email. 

• Next steps: We are taking the feedback received over the last few weeks and drafting an initial code of conduct to socialize with membership before broadly adopting.  

To read previous initiative updates click here.

As we have discussed in several past posts, the board has committed to improvement in five areas of focus this year. We have promised to:

• Improve accessibility.
• Hear from members.
• Communicate more.
• Increase accountability.
• Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

We’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken in these areas with our members and with the general public.

This week, we’d like to focus on Hear from members.

This Saturday, March 6, is the 107IST annual general meeting for members. We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight what the AGM is, why we have them, and why you should join us.

What is an AGM?

The annual general meeting, or AGM, is pretty much what we make it. As stated in our bylaws, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust holds an annual meeting in the offseason of the Portland Timbers and the Portland Thorns. It is generally a place for members to hear reports about the work of the organization over the past year, discuss future plans, and for you to give us input.

What can we expect?

In the past, board members have reported out activities in various areas of work, from game day operations to community outreach to away days and more. Because 2020 was a year like no other for all of us, some of the activities we typically talk about clearly will have different sorts of reports. (What do you say about game day operations during a pandemic, for instance?)

On the other hand, because this is a remote event, members who may have not otherwise been able attend before now have the opportunity, which is pretty exciting.

We’ll still be reporting to the general membership about where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. You can expect time to hear from board members and committee leads, and you can also expect time to talk to and listen to fellow 107IST members.

What will we talk about?

To some extent, that’s up to you! While the board has some ideas, we’d really like to hear from you! Let us know what you’d like to talk about at the AGM by contacting Kristen Gehrke. Be sure to sign up to attend so you get the link in your inbox before the meeting. We’re looking forward to seeing all of you!

As we have discussed in several past posts, the board has committed to improvement in five areas of focus this year. We have promised to:

• Improve accessibility.
• Hear from members.
• Communicate more.
• Increase accountability.
• Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

We’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken in these areas with our members and with the general public.

This week, we’re going to look further at our next steps to Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities, this time looking at our recent strategic planning sessions.

Every year, as the board is re-formed following elections, the 107IST board of directors meets for strategic planning. This year, instead of meeting for several hours on a weekend day, the board held three separate sessions over the course of three weekends, to renew and review our mission and values, and to evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

What we’ve accomplished

Roles and responsibilities defined: Over the years, the board has had a rotating set of executive officers, not always composed of the same offices and without clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities for officers. In one of the strategic planning sessions, the board worked together to clearly define roles for president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer, and to spell out these responsibilities in the board handbook, so future board members will not have to start from scratch or rely on institutional memory when determining how best to fulfill these responsibilities.

Committee structures refined and documented: Over the past year, the board has worked to more clearly define the structures of committees, as well as the relationships among them. At another of the strategic planning sessions, the board reviewed the work from the past year around committee roles, responsibilities, and relationships, and worked together to refine and document these new structures.

Next steps

During strategic planning, the board discussed areas of focus for the organization for the short term, medium term, and long term. We will be evaluating these with respect to their relationship to ongoing initiatives from last year, and determining which of these fits under existing initiatives and which rise to the level of a new initiative for the coming year. We’ll share this work in coming blogs, as well as at the upcoming annual general meeting.

As we have discussed in several past posts, the board has committed to improvement in five areas of focus this year. We have promised to:

• Improve accessibility.
• Hear from members.
• Communicate more.
• Increase accountability.
• Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

We’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken in these areas with our members and with the general public.

This week, we’re going to look further at our successes and our next steps to Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities, this time looking at the structure of our online presence.

What we’ve accomplished

As we have grown and evolved as an organization, with two supporter groups for two local teams, it is critical that we structure our online presence to reflect the relationships among the Independent Supporters Trust and our two supporter groups: the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters.

Domain name change: As we noted earlier this week, the place where 107IST lives online is no longer timbersarmy.org; it is now 107ist.org. Content on our website that is specific to the Timbers Army is now found under 107ist.org/timbersarmy; content on our website that is specific to the nonprofit organization is found under 107ist.org. When you sign up for events with 107IST, the event addresses will also have 107ist.org links.

Everyday communications: In alignment with the work on the website, we have also spent the last several months reviewing how we use our social media and blogs. We realized the need to communicate similar messages, while also maintaining a distinct voice and presence for each branch. Our communications team has broadened its scope and increased its focus, giving each branch a dedicated group within the comms team, while also ensuring that each branch communicates within the committee regularly. This ensures messaging from each group maintains its unique identity, while also keeping the broader message consistent across groups and platforms.

Next steps

Next steps include a migration of Rose City Riveters content so that ultimately it “lives” online under 107ist.org in the same way that Timbers Army content does, as well as continuing to build out content specific to each branch on the organization’s website.