For folks who might have missed February’s newsletter, the DEIA Committee will now be applying their work directly in the General SNA meetings and no longer meeting separately on the first Tuesday of each month. The committee felt that this work was important enough that a DEIA lens should be applied in all of our neighborhood association’s efforts. The Board is currently working on building a Community Agreement document that will help guide our practices and communication with each other. SNA’s goal is to create a diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible environment for the community to participate in and be a part of.
Author: Ash Hester
Last Month’s News. This Month’s Plans.
We kicked off the first SNA meeting of 2022 welcoming new members and taking time to get to know one another by sharing what we’re looking forward to in the year ahead. There was a good amount of optimism for better days ahead in regards to dealing with Covid and folks wanting to get more involved within the neighborhood.
We currently have two open positions: Land Use & Transportation Committee Chair, and Newsletter Communications & Advertising Lead. If you would like to learn more about these positions and how you can get involved, please email [email protected] for further details.
The group then brainstormed fundraising strategies to generate incoming revenue to sustain the neighborhood newsletter. In the past, a large portion of funding was provided by a communications grant from SE Uplift. As the community needs have shifted to reflect appropriate equity, assistance grant funds have scaled back. We need to generate $5,000 yearly to continue publishing our monthly newsletters. This publication reaches nearly 3,000 households and 8,000 people in the Sunnyside neighborhood. We are adding a donation link to the SNA website (https://sunnysideportland.org/donate) for folks to make personal contributions. We are also planning an outreach advertising campaign to local businesses within the Belmont and Hawthorne districts and establishing package rates to advertisers for an extended amount of time. If you would like to get involved or have fundraising ideas, please reach out to the SNA at [email protected]. We look forward to your support.
The SNA hosted Josh Rolls, from Portland’s Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) Pedestrian Advisory Committee, to speak on behalf of reinstating the traffic calming program. While the group did not support the proposal for residents to self-fund speed bumps, the SNA did support the idea of alternative traffic calming solutions that are more cost-efficient and provide a call to action for safety. Ideas proposed were to paint traffic control signage around crosswalks, stop signs, and schools as well as to install planters and trim back landscape overgrowth near stop signs to help create clearer visibility. The SNA encourages continued conversation with the PBOT Pedestrian Advisory Committee with hopes that we can still participate in welcoming back this necessary program for public safety.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming February meeting on Thursday the 10th. The general meeting will be dedicated to learning what our neighborhood would like to see more support towards. The SNA Board is curious about how we can build a stronger community for local residents, business owners, and members of local worship. Meeting details and the agenda will be posted on the SNA website (https://sunnysideportland.org) on Tuesday the 8th. The General meeting is held 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. with the Board meeting to follow directly after from 8:00- 9:00 pm. We encourage you to participate in local civic service and join us in making Sunnyside and Southeast Portland a thriving community.
Sunnyside Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee Update
While the DEIA committee work has proved valuable to start important conversations, we feel this work should be incorporated into the core of the SNA organization. We want to grow as a community and apply best practices to ensure everyone feels they have space and access to contribute towards the organization. Therefore, we are disbanding the DEIA.
One of the first initiatives we’ll look to build as a group is a Culture Statement for the Sunnyside neighborhood. While we understand the DEIA work is a continual process, the group wants to ensure this is a collective commitment by our neighborhood. If you have ideas on how to incorporate DEIA practices into the General meetings please reach out to [email protected] to start the conversation.
Last Month’s News. This Month’s Plans.
On December 9th, the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association welcomed Oregon State Representative Rob Nosse who shared legislative highlights and answered questions. Chris Waldmann, SNA Board member, shared an overview of the City’s Charter Review. Highlights from the Charter Review are in a separate article in the newsletter. SE Uplift is still accepting applicants to apply for their Small Grants and DEIA Capacity Building Grants. Learn more and apply by January 10th at https://www.seuplift.org/grants-application-2021-2022.
The SNA was recently approached by Josh Roll, a member of PBOT’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee, seeking our support for the city to restart its Traffic Calming Program. Josh will be joining us at our January general meeting to discuss this program and other low-cost solutions for pedestrian safety on our neighborhood streets.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming January meeting on Thursday the 13th. Meeting details and the agenda will be posted on the SNA website (https://sunnysideportland.org) on Tuesday the 11th. The General meeting is from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. with the Board meeting to follow directly after from 8:00- 9:00 p.m. Every resident living within the Sunnyside neighborhood is a part of the Neighborhood Association so we encourage you to join us in making Sunnyside a thriving community. We’d like to hear your feedback and ideas!
Last Month’s News. This Month’s Plans.
Holiday gathering, endorsements, and December’s SNA meeting guest
On November 11th, the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association welcomed some new faces to the general meeting and held an open forum to discuss a neighborhood holiday event. We decided to meet on Saturday December 18th at 6 p.m. to walk the Peacock Lane holiday lights event. Event details are in a separate article.
Johanna Brenner from the Portland Metro’s Peoples’ Coalition spoke about the Portland Committee on Community Engaged Policing (PCCEP)’s recommendations to City Council and asked for the SNA’s endorsement, which we gavet. The November issue has an article by Johanna with details (https://sunnysideportland.org/tag/newsletter-nov-2021/). The Board discussed a response letter to support SE Uplift’s (SEUL) bylaws amendment. The letter has been sent to the SEUL Board and all SE Neighborhood Association Chairs for consideration. The vote for the SEUL bylaws amendment will be held on Monday, December 6th. Lastly, the SNACC Committee will be hosting a clothing drive on Saturday, December 4th. Event details on when, where, and what to donate are posted on both the SNA website (https://sunnysideportland.org) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SunnysidePortland).
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming December meeting on Thursday the 9th. The SNA will be hosting Oregon State Representative Mr. Nosse who will provide legislative updates and lead a Q&A. Meeting details and the agenda will be posted on the SNA website (https://sunnysideportland.org) on Monday the 6th. The General meeting is from 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. with the Board meeting to follow directly after from 8:00- 9:00 pm. We encourage you to participate in local civic duty and join us with making Sunnyside, Southeast, and Portland a thriving community.