Yep, that’s right…the title tells all.  Throughout the year, members of the Levé board will get to put on their blogger caps and blast away into cyberspace.  Please enjoy Hilary Colton’s incredible experience and join me in congratulating her on a serious job well done!

      All I can say is “phew!” …I have officially wrapped up another successful event at the Alliance for the Healthier Generation. My efforts and dedication to an organization that works to end childhood obesity nationwide culminates at the Healthy Schools Program Forum. The Forum is an annual event that recognizes schools and their leaders for efforts to establish healthier school environments for students and staff. We recognized 179 schools from across the country that have transformed their campuses into healthier places for students and staff at an event in New York City. Many of the schools have diverse student populations, and more than two-thirds are located in lower-income communities. Each has distinguished itself with healthy eating and physical activity programs and policies that meet or exceed stringent standards set by the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program.

    As the event planner for the Forum, I am happy to say the event was a huge success and ran remarkably smooth. We open with a fancy dinner at a midtown Manhattan hotel. The schools had the opportunity to share their successes and celebrate. As a former teacher, I know all too well that school folks are rarely treated to such recognition. One of my prouder moments was on the second morning where a few colleagues and I hosted an exercise event. Many didn’t believe we could get people to rise at 6:00 am for an aerobics round robin. But to my surprise, I had to run and find a hotel staff person to move the air wall and expand the room because over 200 showed up ready to zumba, kickbox and attempt a little yoga. It was an amazing site! The event ends with our keynote speaker and founder, former President William J. Clinton. His charisma and commitment to the cause helps motivate the school leaders to continue their efforts as they gear up for the 2010-2011 school year.

Hilary and former President Clinton

     Coming straight at ya is our second “Day In The Life” series.  It’s none other than the glue that keeps us all in check….Presidente Kiernan Doherty!  Professionally Kiernan is the Communication Director for Metropolitan Group a full-service social change agency  located in the heat of Downtown Portland.  She’s been with Levé almost since it’s inception…last year serving as Vice President and co-chair of the Marketing team….but don’t go asking me to describe Kiernan…her character has so many layers that inevitably this blog would just run out of room.  But, it must be said that Kiernan is that lovely combination of poise and personality with a dash of some’in strong and we all look up to her with complete admiration.  On with it Kiernan!

Day In the Life

by Kiernan Doherty

9:05 After a morning physical therapy appointment, I¹m at my mom's office in the Fox Tower to return her car key. Proud to admit that I haven't owned a car since high school. But my pride often comes at the price of my parents' and friends' sanity who inevitably have to shuttle me around.

9:08 That's me. With my sweet thumb tape the doctor is making me wear. Apparently I have what he calls game keeper's thumb from playing catch on the beach with a kid's football. Only me. Now off to work, rolling in only two hours late.

10:10 My office. It's normally even messier.

Noonish On my way to Friday lunch bunch but first a quick stop by fellow board member Maddie O'Neill's office. Princess forgot makeup this morning, so I've come to help. BEFORE....

AFTER. Pretty Friend.

12:15 Lunch outside in beauteous downtown Portland.

5:25 pm It's finally nice out so a quick beer to decompress from the really tough day. Slainte!

9:40 pm Hawthorne comedy show. Ladies Man Tim Meadows was part of the group but, admittedly, wasn't nearly the funniest. Ever since seeing a 2nd City show in Chicago earlier this year, I am obsessed with finding a good comedy show here in Portland. In fact, just bought a Groupon for one. We'll see...

That’s it!  Thanks for the opportunity to talk about myself for so long:)

     I remember middle school as….well as most of us do…pretty darn confusing.  One minute you were wondering if poor little Johnny Tremain would ever recover from the cracked silver crucible accident, next you’re shoving that sweet floppy disc into one of the first…ever…Apple computers to get as many games of Oregon Trail in before the bell rang, then it was off to shop class where you tentatively step up to the bandsaw to begin construction on the famed rainbow ice scraper…more conscious than ever of Mr. Anderson’s motivational tales on lost fingers due to careless behavior and a lack of respect for “the machines.”  We might not have realized it then, but many of us found the trails and tribulations of those beginning teenage years far too time consuming to think much about how we could assist our community other than donating those beloved treasures we sewed in Home-Ec to the local Goodwill.  

    Well, obviously it’s been years since most of us attended middle school, (hello Floppy discs!) but it’s refreshing to see that nowadays Teacher Dobson expects more out of her kids.  

    Ms. Megan Dobson is the Spanish teacher at Athey Creek Middle School and her day is chalked full as she teaches roughly 130 kids the grammatical difference between ser and estar and just how irregular the verb poder can be in the subjunctive.  Megan is also on the Levé board and serves as the Events chair running everything from the auction to our venue.  Tired yet?  No…she’s only getting started.

    Megan decided to get creative in the kitchen and merged her work with Levé and her work as a teacher.  She proposed and was granted by the Athey Creek School Board a class dubbed Community Engagement or as she put it “LiftTeen.”  It’s centered around the belief that kids care and can play a pivotal role in the education and continuation of community service.  Throughout the semester her teens engaged in a bevy of activities which included: volunteering at over 5 local non-profits, preparing and presenting proposals, engaging in mini tutorials with non-profit professionals (hey, grant writing can be fun!), collecting over 2.500 books to be donated to Children’s Book Bank, and raising an unbelievable $2,000 at their talent show.  They also blogged about the entire experience so please check out their undoubtedly inspiring entires here!

     Ms. Dobson graciously invited all of us Levé ladies to contribute to her class and we had a blast whether is was chaperoning them at the Oregon Humane Society or teaching them how to deliver a solid PowerPoint presentation to a group of potential donors…regardless, it was refreshing to see a group of kids striving to make a difference.  

*Thank you to: MacKenzie, Gus, Elise, McKenna, Ty, Jordyn, Kaelee, Logan, Maddie, Taylor, Hanna, Jake, Jessica, Tyler, Nick, Christian, Hannah, Nikko, Megan, Sammy, Derek, Sara and John.   We commend you for showing such unwavering commitment and we hope you continue your roles as community ambassadors.

*Thank you also to Megan Dobson for taking a path far less traveled.

Da-dadda-da-da-dadda-da!!!!  (fireworks emploding…sparklers a dazzling… trombones a playing…people jigging…okay enough…enough)

WE HAVE CHOSEN A 2010 CHARITY BALL BENEFICIARY!!!!

Levé gives a huge welcome to….

Children’s Cancer Association

       I mean what an INCREDIBLE organization, we are thrilled to partner with them.  Just to give you the smallest slice of background, CCA was founded by the force that is Regina Ellis…in her own words “CCA is the voice of experience, compassion and hope for families whose needs extend beyond medical treatment. CCA was established in loving memory of five-year-old Alexandra Ellis who courageously fought cancer for two and a half years before she died on May 7, 1995. In the year of Alexandra’s death, CCA was born.”  

Take a moment to check out their website and don’t forget to sign up for their e-newsletter.

Our board is off to meet with Regina and Jennifer O’Bryan this week…we can’t wait to soak up some more CCA!

*Thank you to all who applied this year…it has been a grand time getting to know each and every one of you and wish you health, happiness and success this year and all the years to come.

     It’s March, a month for me that is both the greatest…and the not so greatest time of year.  For one, it’s been pouring down rain for 10 straight days…sideways rain…but on the other hand, it’s the month that Levé chooses their 2010 Charity Ball beneficiary!  We started this process back in February at our retreat and all of us agreed a blog entry would give a bit more insight into how we get from point A to point Z in making this terribly difficult decision.  

     So, what’s step 1?  Good question Carol, step 1 is January 1st-January 31st.  The time period a non-profit can apply to be our beneficiary  (If you missed it this year we STRONGLY encourage you to apply next year-you can learn more here).   We then gather all information potential beneficiaries have sent us and they  become “The Packet.”  A better name might be “larger and thicker than a Victor Hugo novel,” as we are so fortunate to have an incredible amount of applicants every year!  Once “The Packet” has been assembled we each grab one to seriously review.  No skimming, no browsing, no perusing…just straight up researching each and every one along with offering notes/comments in the sidelines.   It’s tremendously important to all of us that we give our fair and undivided attention to all interested in being our beneficiary so that we can make the most educated decision.  

     Next comes part 1 of a 3 part meeting series devoted solely  towards picking our 2010 partner.  Our full board, collectively goes over all interested applicants and offer our thoughts on each one.  We have the unique outline of being both professional and genuine friends so no one holds back…in fact not one of us has a qualms about saying “I respect what you’re saying, but disagree…do you think we can go over this again.”  It’s generally a 4 to 5 hour meeting and once it’s completed we have narrowed it down to 15 beneficiaries.  

      Meeting 2 is up on deck and one of the more insightful meetings anyone of us attends throughout the entire year.  Out of the narrowed down 15 each Levé board member nabs one she thinks she can best represent…an ambassador role so to speak.  We each visit our beneficiary to delve deeper into what goes on year round.  It’s a serious interview no question but it’s more about letting the organization present things on their terms, in their home, and in their words.  Year in and year out we are all blown away by the dedication, inspiration…and let’s face it…a whole lotta heart each non-profit posses.  Meeting 2 is all about taking those incredible feelings we are left with along with a mountain of information and converting it into a 5 min presentation to our board.   To be honest…5 minutes is not enough (as this meeting ticks up to the 4 hour mark as well)…all of us go over…some of us spend hours on elaborate poster boards…others prefer a more technical approach in the form of PowerPoint…while some work in Marketing and just have a way with words, whatever methods we may use…one thing is for sure we each get to personally know 15 Pacific NW non-profits that have an immense impact on our community. From there we each get 5 votes and choose the ones we feel can utilize Levé’s resources the best.  Through years past it’s not uncommon to see a Levé board member become so attached to their temporary ambassador role that they end up taking a more permanent spot in the organization.  

     Our last and final meeting is to announce the 5 beneficiaries we narrowed down to…and again…more discussing…only we change perspectives a tad a look at each one through the eyes of our donor base.  How will the potential beneficiary resonate with THEM?  Are there multiple ways for donors of all ages to be involved?  Will they continue to be a part of the beneficiary after the conclusion of Charity Ball?  ….and about a hundred others…from there it’s simple…(not really)….1 vote is all you get…and after it’s all said and done, we have our 2010 Charity Ball beneficiary!

    Hope this gives a little more info on our process….stay tuned for our announcement!

Keep reading »

          Ever been to one of those corporate company retreats where you spend the entire weekend delving into the meaning of synergy whilst doing “trust falls”  and interactive breakout sessions?  Is it possible that the sweet XL logo’d sweatshirt and accompanying fountain pen were all you took home from said retreat?  Did you even remember what the team building lego puzzle was supposed to represent?  Joking aside, we really wanted our first Levé retreat to be meaningful, productive, and let’s face it…fun!  

         So, after much planning all of us headed west on February 5th to the lovely and surprisingly clear coast to take aim at our aspirations for this year and years to come….and yes, we returned with much more than fountain pen memorabilia.

        The weekend was an overwhelming success to say the least.  We began the process of picking this year’s beneficiary, got comfortable in our new board positions as well as set forth a strategic plan that is ambitious in all the right places.  We also got a chance to critically evaluate our event, our roles in Levé, our committees, our future as well as our impact on the community.  With 14 board members we grounded out a pretty solid outline of expectations and fueled some incredible energy towards areas of improvement.  We hope to be announcing our beneficiary in March so stay tuned for a blog recounting what it all takes to make that down right tough decision!

     For now….enjoy some snapshots of the weekend.

2009 Charity Ball Recap

Strategic Session for 2010

Caitlin S. and Kendall

Gift Exchange

Hilary leads us in a trivia game...with lunges.

Lisa and Maddie O proudly display their trophies.

The evening's shenanigans

FDR once famously said, “There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.”  With 14 pairs of legs standing still is really not an option. 

      With open arms we welcome the joy of a New Year as well as the launch of our very own Levé blog. We hope to bring you up to the minute details of all matters Levé as well as insight into the wonderful world of the Portland non-profit community.  

2010 has already brought some marvelous changes to the Levé lineup.  We are thrilled to have two new editions to our board.  Hilary Colton and Anne Lawrence already played major roles in our 2009 Charity Ball and we’re so excited to have them come on as full Levé board members.  Hilary works for Alliance for a Healthier Generation, and Anne from Mahlum Architects. Anne will be lending her talents and pizzaz to the Mar/Comm team while Hilary’s creativity will no doubt come in handy as she will join the Events Committee.

     We also welcomed a new president.  Kiernan Doherty will be bringing her infectious laugh and enthusiastic spunk to the head honcho seat at the Levé round table…expect big things…as she has always had big ideas!

     Lastly, and on a more personal note…we’re bursting with joy as two of our board members got engaged recently…Cheers, Prost, Kampai, Salud…and Opa too!!  

…see what we mean…the ‘10 is going to be a great grand wonderful kind of year.