Quaker Voluntary Service opened a QVS house in Portland, Oregon in August 2013. We are thrilled to welcome Fellows to Portland every year!

Sponsoring Quaker Meetings/Churches:

QVS Portland is jointly sponsored by West Hills Friends Church, Reedwood Friends Church, Multnomah Monthly Meeting, and Bridge City Friends Meeting.

There are many ways for Friends to get involved and provide ongoing support for the QVS Portland program. Want to get involved with the local QVS program? Reach out to Rachel, our Portland Coordinator.

 

Rachel Logan-Wood (she/her)

Rachel Logan-Wood (she/her)

Portland Coordinator

Portland 2024-2025 Fellows (click on any logo for more information)

Corbin Katner

Corbin Katner (he/him) grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended Oberlin College. A midwest native, he's very excited to explore a different area of the states in Portland! He loves creative writing (fiction and autobiography), reading across most genres, listening to music and playing it (on the piano), dancing with friends and in contact improv spaces, meditating for long periods, and focused introspection/mental health work. He does not belong to any particular religion and would rather not get into that here. He's very excited to work with JOIN PDX this year, particularly in the developing of relationships and community with and for unhoused people, improving the crossover between his logistical and social skills, and honing his sense of empathy to work along materially useful lines.

Edward Buck-Shannon

Edward Buck-Shannon (He/him) was born and raised in Tucson Arizona. Edward graduated from the University of Arizona in 2024 with a BA in global studies with an emphasis in political economy and a BA in Latin American studies. Edward previously worked as a researcher and translator at Keep Tucson Together, an organization that provides pro-bono legal services to asylum seekers, DACA recipients and other people in immigration court. As a native of Southern Arizona Edward is passionate about the culture and politics of the US-Mexico borderlands. Edward is thrilled to work at Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Public Policy Advocacy and develop the skills necessary to affect change in his own community.

Gabriel Nafziger

I am from Crozet, VA and attended Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, VA graduating with a degree in Environmental Science. I played 3 years of college soccer at EMU and love to play all types of sports. I also enjoy camping and hiking as well as pretty much any activity that is outside. I will be working with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon: Northeast Emergency Food Pantry this year.

Paloma Sharangpani

Paloma is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, where she studied English and spent most of her time reading in hammocks. She loves to write, play piano and meander through random neighborhoods. She is so excited to be joining Outside In as their Reproductive Health Specialist!

Salem Heideman
Salem is a labor-revolutionary canvasser and folksinger. He grew up in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities area, doing theater, making music, and studying math. It now enjoys wandering cemeteries, making zines, patching ripped clothes, and learning about histories of rebellion and mutual aid in the United States. He also loves collecting stories and talking with strangers on the bus. Salem is excited to do a second QVS year in Portland, where he will also continue his work on a budding event called Labor Church, where folks gather in a basement each month to learn and sing songs of workers' revolution and overall liberation.
This year, Salem is overjoyed to get to work with Hillsboro Friends Church! He is looking forward to opportunities for spiritual growth, working with unhoused folks, and bringing his passions into a new role and space.
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2024-2025 Portland Site Placements (click on any logo for more information)

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) meets the immediate needs of communities in the greater Portland area through our six direct service programs, while seeking long-term solutions through state-wide public policy and advocacy work. Our direct service programs support refugees and immigrants, food insecure people, low-income people living with HIV, unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness, and survivors of domestic violence.

Fellow Position Description:

EMO will sponsor two fellows in 2024-2025.  One at the Northeast Emergency Food Program and the other at will be a Public Policy Associate.

Hillsboro Friends Church

Hillsboro Friends Church: We desire to live out our Quaker heritage with love for Jesus and affirmation for all our fellow human beings.

Fellow Position Description:

The QVS Fellow helps to coordinate a community meal and associated support services:

Houseless community members as well as a small and growing group in transitional housing and a significant number of trans and gender non-binary houseless people who are at significant risk of assault and sexual violence. For some, our community meal is a temporary refuge, and we want to do a better job of supporting them throughout the week. 

On Sundays, between twenty and thirty folks, mostly houseless but some in transitional housing, show up at 10 a.m., enjoy a light continental breakfast followed by a hearty lunch cooked on-site and hang out together for conversation until we start handing out brown-bag dinners (sandwiches and other snacks). We close the dining area and lock up the building at 1 p.m. The coordinator plans menus, recruits and collaborates with volunteers, coordinates supplies with our local food bank and a designated shopper who picks up whatever supplies are needed and that can't be provided by the food bank, works with a small team to begin cooking at 8:30 a.m. Greet community members at 10 a.m. Resource community members with clothing and other supplies from our "store," closes the building at 1 p.m., and finishes clean-up at 2 p.m. The coordinator will have a designated office space and time to dream about how to strategically expand program services in small but sustainable ways.

JOIN PDX

JOIN works to support the efforts of individuals and families experiencing houselessness to transition into stable housing. Founded in 1992, JOIN is a regional leader and innovator of “Housing First'' social work; our relationship-based, trauma-informed, and collaborative service model celebrates and uplifts each person’s self-determination, dignity, joy, and resilience.

Today, JOIN’s seven programs and ~50 staff provide culturally-responsive services in support of Portland’s most important housing initiatives across the Adult and Family Housing Systems–Rapid Rehousing, Permanent Supportive Housing, Primary Leasing, and provision of very-low-barrier essential services at JOIN’s Dayspace. We serve individuals and families living in places not meant for habitation, doubled up, unstably housed, and in transitional housing to support their move into stable housing and help them retain that housing with support from Housing Retention workers. Our Dayspace, JOIN’s drop-in service center, serves approximately 100 individuals per day and provides access to regular meals, a mailing address, showers and hygiene products, system resource navigation support, weekly onsite medical services, and other support.

Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility

Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility was founded in 1981 by a group of local physicians and scientists who advocated against nuclear weapons and for the cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. We are the local affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War which was awarded the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Guided by the values and expertise of medicine and public health, Oregon PSR seeks a healthy, just and peaceful world for present and future generations by protecting human life from the gravest threats to health and survival.

Specific programs include advocating for a healthy climate and environment, ending nuclear power, and promoting peaceful alternatives to militarism, nuclear weapons, and gun violence. In addition to bringing the health perspective to issues of social responsibility, we intentionally prioritize the voices and needs of communities of color. We work to incorporate racial and immigrant justice into our environmental, anti-nuclear, and peacebuilding work.

Program Assistant:
The QVS Fellow will assist with outreach and program responsibilities for our various programs. This will include: Staffing outreach table at community events related to climate change, peace, and other social justice issues; Overseeing volunteers and coordinating outreach for our annual peace writing scholarship for Oregon high school students; Assisting with outreach for our annual Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemoration; Assisting with social media and news media outreach; Outreach to health professional, student, and other organizations; Assisting with organizational fundraisers, events, and other activities; Representing Oregon PSR at meetings with partner organizations and coalitions, including continuing and developing relationships with environmental justice, immigrant justice, and equity groups. Other details of the job description will be tailored to meet the skills and interests of the volunteer. The volunteer will work with Oregonians of all walks of life (Portland community members, health professionals, Columbia Gorge tribes, and activists on diverse issues, to name just a few) and a wide age range (from high school students to the elderly).

Most Recent Blog Posts from QVS Portland

The 2024-2025 Fellow Cohort

The 2024-2025 Fellow Cohort

Photo: The QVS Fellows (from left to right top to bottom): Kateri, Aaditya, Atuhaire, Michael, Paloma, Palmo, Salem, Solange, Edward, Anna, Luai, Nora, Abbie, Gabriel, Gaven, Susan, and Lucas.We’re so excited to introduce you to the 2024-2025 QVS Fellows! ________ We...

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Portland House Epistle

Portland House Epistle

This is an Epistle from the Portland 2023-2024 House to the incoming Portland Fellows, written during their final retreat: To the 2024-2025 Portland QVS Fellows:  We are Imani, Salem, Samantha, and Tas. Our end of year retreat hasn’t quite gone according to plan, as...

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