The Rosewood Initiative Annual Report 2022

The Initiative

ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Building a safe, healthy, and vibrant community where neighbors can thrive together.

Dear Friends of The Rosewood Initiative,

What an exciting year it has been!

We started the year off with a big leap into our new space in the Rosewood neighborhood. This was an intentional move to a more dynamic site that will ensure we fully realize the vision of community ownership. As you have seen throughout the year we are actively fundraising to purchase our site, and we are more than halfway there!

We closed the year doing the important internal work of setting our intention as an organization. The full Rosewood team came together to assess, analyze and vision. We developed our theory of change and our strategic roadmap which is setting us up to deepen our work in the community.

As big and exciting as those two milestones have been, it’s all the events and partnerships in between that’s really the heart of Rosewood.

wellness resources in a culturally inviting environment. Our Economic Development work expanded to include direct grants that supported our local non-profit and small business community. With our focus area of Community Resilience, we continued to bring communities together to learn, connect, and build lasting relationships and skills.

welcoming and incredibly diverse in lived experience, skill sets and visions for seeing our neighbors thrive.

We learn from each other, support each other and this has cultivated into a collective vision for our role in supporting East Portlanders.

Our Health & Wellness programming continues to be a staple in the community, connecting neighbors to a wide range of health and

We lived our value of collaboration by hosting partners in our new space. With our Community Hub activated, it became a place where ideas and solutions came to life. The Rosewood Community Hub facilitated learning through sewing, weaving, knitting, and music classes, celebration through cultural gatherings for mothers and families, skill building through community resilience training, and community engagement through listening sessions and open houses with decision makers about issues that impact our neighborhood.

As you look through our work over 2022 it is important to know the people behind this work. The people behind Rosewood - our whole team - not only make this work possible but make it personal. Our team is dedicated,

To our many supporters, I thank you for continuing to join us, in partnership, to build a safe, healthy and vibrant community where neighbors can thrive together.

Sabrina Wilson Executive Director

Strategic planning process

In 2022, we took the time to go through a strategic planning process with our full staff and board to re-align our organizational values, priorities, and capacity to the internal practices and community programming in a post-pandemic landscape. This past summer, we worked with Camille E. Trummer Consulting to co-create a theory of change and an actions focused roadmap that will guide our team as we move into this new phase as an organization.

tHEORY OF CHANGE

As a community anchor, The Rosewood Initiative will foster community building and be a resource hub for East Portlanders most impacted by systemic exclusion. We strive to improve access to support systems that foster economic stability and upward mobility, health and wellness, and community resilience across East Portland neighborhoods.

To improve programming and internal operations, leverage external partnerships, and establish long-term financial sustainability, The Rosewood Initiative will complete biennial organizational assessments and make strategic investments informed by the needs of East Portland families.

Putting down roots

2022 was a big year for The Rosewood Initiative. In partnership with p:ear, we took a giant step towards putting down roots and purchasing a permanent space in the neighborhood that Rosewood Neighbors can call their own. We are moving into 2023 positioned to complete our purchase and expand our programs. Our exciting plans for transformation include a community hub with:

Suite of classrooms rooms, multipurpose spaces & commercial kitchen.

Green space with a community garden.

Early Childhood Education Center

Admin building with flexible spaces and meeting rooms for our community members and partners. Bike & Coffee Shop by p:ear.

Putting down roots

As we moved into our new space and COVID restrictions began to ease, we were excited to open up our space to more community partners again this year. We are lucky to have a flexible, multi-use space that can host a variety of partners providing resources and programming for the community.

Women-SEW Sewing Classes

TriMet Community Listening Session

City of Portland Digital Inclusion Week

PBEM Community Resilience Training Series

Multnomah Arts Center Weaving Class

Craton HIGHWAYS

Multnomah Arts Center

I’m a queer social worker with an immigrant/ refugee background who advocates for political and socioeconomic justice for those most vulnerable in our society. A lot of what The Rosewood Initiative does for the community aligns with both my personal and my organization’s values. I witness the fruition of our collective efforts towards social change at the heart of The Rosewood Initiative through community building and engagement, and that means a lot to me.

In addition to my involvement in the ongoing Health & Wellness events at The Rosewood Initiative, in the fall of 2022 we programmed a tapestry weaving class for women, a weekly Zumba class, and a holiday themed special arts workshop. We are also in the planning of developing a piano lab and expanding regular arts classes made easily accessible and affordable to everyone at Rosewood Initiative in 2023.

Economic Development Resource

Distribution & Navigation

48,000 diapers distributed to 68 participants

76 people signed up for a TriMet LIF pass

$6,926 in transportation fare relief

$10,030 in Rosewood Bucks distributed $32,664 distributed for small business enhancement

52 people served at Legal Services Day

Health & WELLNESS cOMMUNITY RESILIENCE

held 19 language specific conversation circles

82 English class students across 7 classes

10 participants in weekly inaugural digital literacy class

1266 COVID-19 vaccines administered

1012 community member visits to Health & Wellness events

33 vaccination events held

603 food boxes distributed

104 bikes distributed to 45 families with Bike Works by p:ear

$260,684.07 in fines & fees waived

24 participants in preparedness training with PBEM

COMMUNITY RESILIENCE

The Conversation Circles program grew this past year into a larger, cross-cultural platform for community members to access information and resources they may not typically have access to. We had lots of wonderful community guests join us, including Community Energy Project, the Portland Water Bureau, Legal Aid Services of Oregon, and more. As a part of this program, we aim to bridge the language gap by either providing or advocating for interpreters and/or translation services for each Conversation Circle meeting.

This year, we launched our Digital Equity and Literacy program! After we received a tech grant through the Office of Community Technology, our friends at MetroEast agreed to work with us to put together an amazing, thoughtful curriculum in order to bring our first Digital Literacy Club for iPads to the Rosewood community. It has been an incredible experience thus far, with program participants already expressing their own increased comfortability with the iPads.

English Classes

One of our most sought after programs at Rosewood, our English classes continued this year with students at various levels seeking out both English language education as well as overall community support. The class time seeks to accommodate and address the various challenges that life may bring - students are always welcome no matter what their circumstances may be. Our teachers have worked especially hard this year to passionately engage with students as we pick back up our in-person classes.

Conversation Circles Digital Equity & Literacy Program

sANTIAGA Community Member

I first got involved with Rosewood through attending English Class, and also with the [TriMet LIF Pass] program. I thank Rosewood for all the support they have given me, especially with the bus pass for me and my son and the English classes. I really like all the support that Rosewood has available, because I have had bad times and all the help that they have offered me has made a difference, especially the bus pass, which allows me to go to medical appointments and to all the programs and events that Rosewood offers.

Health & Wellness

Vaccine Clinics Wellness Wednesdays Health & Wellness Fairs

When the pandemic started, we quickly brainstormed a solution to make vaccine clinics accessible to East Portlanders. Since 2021, Rosewood has consistently hosted vaccine clinics to our community members. Our partnerships with Multnomah County REACH, Providence Health & Services, and the Oregon Health Authority allowed us to host 33 vaccine clinics and helped provide 1266 COVID-19 vaccines. We incorporated vaccine clinics into community events to successfully reach high risk communities.

Our monthly Wellness Wednesdays provide an intentional space for community members to access health and wellness resources. They began in early 2022 as a continuation of our Health and Wellness Fairs with an intent of connecting community members to resources on a regular basis. These events are more service-focused, allowing community members to sign up for government assistance programs, enroll in Portland Parks and Recreation programs, access culturally-specific food and fresh produce, and get vaccinated.

This year we hosted 3 Health and Wellness Fairs in partnership with Community Services Network (CSN). Each fair involved more than 25 partner organizations, featuring free chiropractic exams, acupuncture, eye exams, free food pantries, school supplies, and more. This allowed for community members to connect with new organizations and access much needed resources.

Amy wren

Patient Experience Specialist, Providence

It has been amazing to see patients be able to receive COVID-19 vaccines in a location that is easy for them to navigate and have help with onsite interpreters and often be able to access other services at the same time that are offered to them by Rosewood. It is great to see the neighborhood be able to access services on their terms and not have to navigate what can be very complicated barriers if English is not a native language and/or healthcare access feels daunting to try to navigate.

eCONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In June, we hosted the first inperson Legal Services Day since the pandemic began. We worked with Metropolitan Public Defenders and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s office to register community members to participate and get their fines and fees removed and go through the expungement process. $260,684.07 was waived in fees for 52 participants. Folks were excited to have the event back in person so that they could participate in a way that was accessible to them.

Rosewood Saturday Celebrations serves as a maker’s market-meetsresource fair. These summerlong community events provide a low-barrier platform for microentrepreneurs to practice their entrepreneurial skills and serve as a launchpad for businesses to connect to the wider marketplace. The market is anchored by wellness resources, in which participating nonprofit and government partners share information and resources critical to community members.

In Spring 2022, we launched our new Small Business Enhancement Grant program, funded through Prosper Portland, which distributes grants of up to $25,000 to small businesses or nonprofits within Rosewood’s Neighborhood Prosperity District. The grants are awarded for businesses to repair or renovate their buildings. In our first grant cycle, we awarded two grants, totaling $32,664. We are excited to be opening a new avenue of support for current small businesses in the neighborhood

Legal Services Day

Rosewood Saturday Celebrations Small Business Enhancement

To support both the makers and the shoppers, Rosewood provides $10 of Rosewood Bucks, which are vouchers funded by rosewood, for event attendees to use throughout the market. The Rosewood bucks have been instrumental in the success of these events, allowing anyone to participate in the events regardless of whether they have disposable income, and guaranteeing earned revenue for the vendors.

$10,030 in Rosewood Bucks went to community

Attended by over 300 community members

The events involved 24 micro entrepreneurs and 49 nonprofit and government partners

Please reach out to info@rosewoodinitiative.org if you would like to participate as a vendor or a partner organization in our 2023 Rosewood Saturday Celebrations.

Juanny Benetiz

Juanny’s Salon Owner

This [Small Business Enhancement grant] was like a gift to me. For a while now, I’ve been wanting new signage, but it was very expensive. When I heard about this grant, I applied to see if I was qualified, and thank god I qualified. Truthfully it was a big gift for us and the salon, it improved the appearance of our business on the outside and our entrance. Our customers will even say “wow this looks beautiful.” It has helped our business a lot, once our customers have their hair done, they want to take a selfie at the entrance because it looks great now. This helps us because they upload the photos online and we are able to get more exposure for our business. Thank you very much.

Saturday Celebrations Vendor

As a Latina small-business owner, I appreciated the sense of community, support, and cultural responsiveness that these markets brought, that isn’t present in other market spaces. The staff and volunteers at Rosewood plan these events with extreme love and care that is visible to the vendors and the shoppers. After being in business for almost two years, and attending several markets throughout town, there still has not been a market as thoughtful for each individual in the process, as this one.

Patricia Rincon

Pati-Ya

Madalyn Bach Development Director

Azaria Coakley Programs Coordinator

Abidah Jamaluddin Community Center Support

Merrill Liddicoat Communications Manager

Kaylee Sales Programs Coordinator

Fabiola Sanchez Resource Navigator Tsering Sherpa Programs Director

Sabrina Wilson Executive Director

Neema Yangi Health Equity Coordinator

Anne Castleton

Nancy Molina Secretary Malia Pham Vice Chair

Georgia West Chair

Aja McLeggan

Adrienne Enriquez

Cynthia Castro

Sharon Thomas

Ginger Damron Treasurer

Outgoing Board members

Jorrel Bello Ian Galloway

EXPenses REVENUE

$1,268,888 $2,516,048

Administration 4.58% Fundraising 7.42% Community Center 12.13% Community Wellness 46.59% Economic Development 10.18%

Participation & Engagement 18.75% Other Programs 0.35%

Contributions 2% Non-Profit Grants 7.3% Government Grants 82.1% Facilities Use 0.7%

Earned Revenue 1.4% In-Kind Revenue 6.5%

How to Support

Consider becoming a monthly donor. Monthly contributions of any amount make a huge impact and help to ensure the long term sustainability of resources and programs delivered. Want to learn more about what your donor dollars can do? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Linkedin and look for #donordollarsatwork posts or contact our Development Director, Madalyn Bach and schedule a personal tour.

Link to donate (using QR code): www.rosewoodinitiative.org/donate

Sign up as a volunteer. Volunteers are integral to our programs, and we have a variety of long term and short term volunteer needs. Fill out our volunteer form at the QR code to find out about future volunteer opportunities. bit.ly/VolunteerRW

The classroom community is a joy, especially since we can again meet in person. All of us are learning from one another, and even when language fails, laughter makes the class a success. We highly recommend volunteering at Rosewood in one of their many programs. It’s a great way to meet people of other cultures and find out how much we have in common. Volunteering has not only expanded our minds, it’s opened our hearts.

Julie Burns Christensen - Donor and English Class Volunteer Teacher

Left to right: Julie, Abidah, and John