Want to volunteer? Come to the "Encounter"

Do you want to volunteer at Union Gospel Mission? We invite you to come to the Union Gospel Mission volunteer orientation, called the Encounter. At the Volunteer Encounter you will learn about the many different volunteer opportunities available, tour the Mission and see firsthand the activities at Union Gospel Mission.

The next volunteer Encounter takes place on Tuesday, March 16 from 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm. Encounter events will take place on the third Tuesday of the month throughout the year.

Interested? Contact Volunteer Coordinator, Heidi Hege at 503-274-4483 ex 513, or email Heidi at heidih@ugmportland.org

To learn more at the Encounter, check out this video!

Thrift Store Thursday: Did you know you can volunteer at the store?

Did you know that Union Gospel Mission has volunteers at the Thrift Store? It's true! We have several wonderful volunteers that work alongside our LifeChange recovery residents to make the store run smoothly.

We have some volunteers that are at the store on a regular basis. And, we have some that come for a special project or a short term volunteer opportunity.

This summer a church youth group volunteered to spruce up the outside area of the store and parking lot.

The volunteers are a great blessing to the LifeChange recovery community and to Union Gospel Mission.

Learn more by inquiring at the store at 11611 SW Pacific Hwy. in Tigard, or call the store 503-639-6488, or call Union Gospel Mission at 503-274-4483.

Compassion Southeast- A chance to reach out

Join Union Gospel Mission in reaching out to our neighbors in Southeast Portland at Compassion Southeast. The Compassion Southeast event takes place Saturday, June 20 at Woodmere Elementary School, 7900 SE Duke St. from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Volunteers are needed!

Compassion Southeast will provide basic medical and dental services, connect with other social service agencies, and a free lunch for people in need. New this year- some free pet care services.

Learn all about it at http://www.compassionse.org/

Also, Cheryl White, one of the wonderful and fabulous staff members here at UGM is helping to coordinate the event, you can send her an e-mail at cherylw@ugmportland.org

Thank you adidas!

You might think from the hats that Santa's elves were at work, but actually, it was an awesome volunteer group from adidas. This is the second group that came to Union Gospel Mission with donations of clothing and hygiene items which will be handed out Christmas Day to Portland's homeless and needy.


The adidas team donated bags as well as clothing and hygiene items. A team of 60 people were here this morning assembling these gift bags, which will be distributed on Christmas Day. For some people, this gift bag is the only Christmas present they will receive.

The adidas team engineered an assembly line in the Mission dining area and quickly put together the gift bags, and labeled them and sorted them! Generous and efficient- who could ask for more?

What a blessing...thanks to the adidas team, people who are struggling will know that people care this Christmas.

It's not too late to help out- For the Christmas event, boneless hams, instant potatoes, and yams are still needed. Clothing and blankets are always welcome in this cold weather.

You can make a donation online at http://www.ugmportland.org/donate.html

Thank you adidas for spreading Christmas cheer!

We Need Blankets! We had great volunteers here today!

This is turning out to be a busy Friday! First of all, with the cold weather coming, Union Gospel Mission may become a temporary overflow shelter for the homeless. If that happens we REALLY NEED BLANKETS. We don't have cots so we make bedrolls out of blankets, and right now, we don't have nearly enough. If you can drop off blankets, please do so at 15 NW Third Ave. in Portland (nearest cross street is Burnside) or give us a call at 503-274-4483 for more information.

We had some awesome volunteers here today from adidas. They had (and are still having) a clothing and hygiene item drive. They are sending a second volunteer team on December 14. This is a huge blessing! We will be handing out the clothing during the cold weather and also as gift bags on Christmas Day.

Here's the adidas volunteer group assembling clothing bags. They brought a lot of clothing that will help people who are homeless or in need.

The volunteers from adidas also assembled hygiene kits to give away. Hygiene kits consist of toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deordorant, and lotion. These kits are given to the homeless and will be part of the Christmas Day give away.

It was really awesome to have the adidas group volunteering and it will make a great difference to people in need this holiday season.

The holidays and the cold weather are times of great need for the homeless, so donations of blankets, clothing, hygiene items and food are very appreciated. Donations can also be made online at http://www.ugmportland.org/donate.html

Thank you and God Bless...