“The tradition started as a college party for a good cause and evolved into a grown-up philanthropy that shatters expectations.”

We are so pleased to announce additions/changes to the Leve board!!! Please join us in jumping as high as Saleh from “The Air Up There” because we are THAT excited about our newest members. (Jimmy Dolan high five for vertical distance)

Britney Renner and Lindsay Ford will be joining our Events committee. These ladies are the complete package, probably the nicest most sincere women you will ever meet…..so we feel incredibly lucky they wanted to take on a larger role in Leve. Professionally Britney works for Nike planning all their wonderful events, while Lindsay works for Corporate Rentals and Destination Services. They have already dove into the world of Leve and are making such an impact….we cannot wait to spend the rest of the year with them!

Our president has a new sidekick!!! Just like every Lewis needs their Clark, every Hall has an Oats, every Mac must have their Cheese…..we have a new VP!  Kiernan Doherty’s right hand lady is  the amazing Megan Dobson! Megan was the chair for the Events Committee last year and is brining her skills/pizzazz to the Vice Presidency role. Round of LOUD applause please!

Kendall Murphy will stay on as our Development Chair and June Yoshida, Courtney Mersereau, Caitlin Smethurst and Courtney Francis will round out her crew. Hilary Colton is filling Megan Dobson’s shoes as our Events Chair, Maddie O’Neill, Lindsay Wallace, Britney Renner and Megan Dobson will be assisting her. Anne Lawrence & Lisa Wynn will co-chair the Marketing Committee with members Maddie Thies and Kiernan Doherty to help out. Finally Courtney Francis will be taking on the exec role of Treasurer with Maddie O’Neill continuing on as our fantastic Secretary.

Wooohhhheeee!!! We are going to have a truckload of fun this year! Currently we are in the process of selecting our 2011 non-profit partner…..so stay tuned!!

tick.tick.boom.

By now we’ve all packed up the last of our holiday decorations, tucked away our winter wardrobes and lamented on the fact that Clementine season is almost at a close. Those of us that made New Years resolutions have either kept them….or not…..and most of us are looking forward to this Sunday where we’ll don our comfiest attire and cozy up to some chips, dip and brew for the collision of athleticism and comical commercials otherwise known as the Superbowl. Before you dash out to order your pair of pajama jeans (free gray crew neck while supplies last!) we would like to just take a moment to sum up 2010.

Each and every year the ladies of Leve work hard for a bigger, better and brighter Charity Ball and this year was no accept ion. From start to finish it has been a fantastic ride and our sincerest thanks go out to the following for being a part of it all.

Dustin Cook-the one and only DJ Nomsayn

Benny Christiansen-our wonderful photographer

Zach Putnum-our hero and all around computer genius and filmmaker

Disjecta & Bryan Sureth-thank you for venue space

Zest Floral & Event Design-Hailey you’re downright the coolest

Lindsay Alecson-the creative cat who whisked up our fab invitations

Manimalhouse, Mark & Brody-our live band who set the night off right!

Luie Martin del Campo-Our sound guy who always lends us a hand!

Ponzi Winery-your support throughout the year has been amazing

North 45-those sliders were such a hit, thank you so much for helping us out!

Bunk Bar, Zupans, Pedal Kettle and Elephants-we thank you for such kind donations.

Deschutes Brewery and Bend Distillery-it meant so much to have you be a part of our event.

The wonderful items donated to us for our Auction and Raffle were made possible through the generosity of these fine people: Sean McMenamin (McMenamins), Jared Moe (Widmer Brewing), Kelly Johnson (Umpqua National Bank), Wendy Farjami (Tribe Hair Studio), Chris Pew (Trew Gear), Shana Freimark (Sweet Pickle’s Design), Bryan Steelman (Por Que No), Kevin Cradock (Mississippi Studios), Shannon Frischknecht (Jeff Sanders Promotions), Melissa Wilson (Garden Vineyard), Ali Norwood (Columbia Sportswear), Britney Renner (Nike Inc), Ryan O’Meara (Wildwood Golf Course), Suzanne Hein (Lexi Dog), Joe Vaughn (INDIGO @ twelve|west), Kent Thies, Allan Zee (Allan Bruce Zee Fine Art Photography), Barb Borovicka & Cheryl Petrie (Lakeside Home and Gift), Brad Macomber (Element), Greg Houser, Adam Blank (William-Sonoma), Yoon Cho (Mio Sushi), Tom Templeton, Vanessa Authier (Adidas), Maddie Thies, Joe Cleary (Bar Mingo), Kirsten Gunst (Kirsten Gunst Jewelry), Juli Dobson, Jane Wynn (Wynn Designs).

Okay, one last thank you…..it’s a big one….Thank you to Regina Ellis and all of the amazing/gifted/stupendous/marvelous heroes over at the Children’s Cancer Association. You welcomed us into your family and we wish you all the success and happiness in 2011. We feel deeply that the work you do is dramatically changing lives and are honored to have partnered with you for 2010.

Last but most certainly not least, we would like to thank everyone who came to our event or who donated to it. We were able to raise $37,000 for the Children’s Cancer Association, the most we’ve ever raised to date. There were over 500 precious Portlanders who came….we hope to see you all again next year! We were also able to raise another $6,500 for our venue Disjecta, who are also a non-profit dedicated to providing essential resources for artists to create and exhibit their work.

Next up we’ll be heading to the coast for our annual board retreat, electing new board positions and deciding on our 2011 non-profit partner.  Busy as little bees!

*you can check out pics from our 7th Annual Charity Ball here, feel free to tag away!!!

Salud!

The Emotion of the day is Motivated. Google motivated and the first thing that pops up:

mo·ti·vate (m t -v t )

tr.v. mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing, mo·ti·vates

To provide with an incentive; move to action; impel.

mo ti·va tor n.

Delve a little deeper and you’ll find a Wikipedia page dedicated to the word motivation, which explains the difference between Intrinsic motivation and Extrinsic motivation (it’s fascinating, I highly recommend you check it out) as well as a number of uncited theories on what drives motivation. After this google offers up sites that claim to have “the BEST motivational quotes,” mostly Churchill bye the bye. Next come what I have dubbed the “self help” section of the search engine where you can learn how to Get Off Your Butt: 16 Ways to Get Motivated When You’re in a Slump! (you’re welcome by the way).

So why, this lengthy intro to the word “motivate,” well like I said, it’s the emotion of the day and here readers is why.

(nah just kidding-that’s the first Google image to pop up-Motivational indeed!)

Let’s bring it back, way back…to last week….where we sat enclosed in the walls of the Portland Art Museum…clapping and hollering our hearts out for our incredible board member, Megan Dobson. You see, Megan not only wears that proud label of teacher, she owns it. I have always had great admiration for teachers. They work tirelessly to shape the young minds of tomorrow, give breath to inspiration and a strong refusal to allow failure either in themselves or their students. Maybe I’ve romanticized it a bit, or maybe we sometimes forget how little they ask of us in return. Megan is a Spanish teacher. She worked for Athey Creek Middle School and has since moved on to Self Enhancement Academy, a local non-profit that for the past 29 years has helped at risk youths realize their potential. During her time at Athey Creek Megan created a class called Community Engagement, which asked young teens to get involved philanthropically and help become representatives for their community. It is for this reason that we fast forward to the Portland Art Museum and Bank of America’s Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Banquet and why Megan won the Local Hero Award. The honor is great indeed as she was 1 of 5 Portlanders chosen out of hundreds. The reward is generous as each of the 5 are given a $5000 check to be directed to the non-profit of their choice. However what circulated like air through that banquet room was motivation. Seeing someone do something great despite whatever circumstances provide a plethora of obstacles calls out something in each of us. A call we can choose to answer to choose to ignore. Make no mistake it is a call sent to inspire us, to challenge us, to motivate us….thank you Megan for picking up.

check out a recap of the event here

….and a couple pics

A couple weeks ago I was cutting through Basta’s parking lot from Flanders on my way to 21st when I noticed a large clear sack of bread chilling by the garbage.  Although not uncommon especially in regards to bakeries, bagel joints and coffee shops, many restaurants are left at the end of the day with unsell-able extras and nothing to do but chuck them/leave them/or give them away.  Laboring under such simple restrictions as late hours and low man-power…restaurants sometimes don’t have a choice but to toss their leftovers.  Well, Urban Gleaners is one of the best solutions to their predicaments.  A network of unpaid volunteers rescues food everyday throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area and delivers it to groups that feed the hungry.  Some of these groups include: Blanchet House, Sunshine Pantry, Friendly House, New Avenues for Youth, Loaves & Fishes and PEAR.  The statistics are shocking-in Portland alone, close to 200,000 pounds of food end up in landfills, which create greenhouse gases.  If only that food could have been distributed to the 4-5% of Oregonians that went hungry last year…or the 13% that were food insecure.  In a city like Portland where you can’t go five feet without bumping into a new restaurant, it’s unimaginable how much food potentially ends up in the dumpster.  If you or anyone you know can contribute in anyway possible please e-mail info@urbangleaners.org or phone Tracy Oseran/Jane Anne Morton at 503 226-8061.

The Portland Tribune did a great article focusing exactly on this conflict and is well worth the read.

Some of us might not be the strongest cooks in the kitchen, so dining out is a way of life.  Try and remember that old proverb “Guard lest the eyes be bigger than the stomach.”  Spilt plates or order small if you’re feeling like lighter fare…anything left on it will most likely meet the trash.

*Thank you to Courtney Francis for highlighting this wonderful organization