Together We Can Help Orlando

A few short months ago, Oregon was rocked by the shootings at Umpqua Community College.  We lost our innocence as a state and took our place in the company of other communities and states who suffered senseless and horrific violence before us.  People across our region came together in a demonstration of solidarity and community – refusing to be defined by an act of violence.  The Ford Family Foundation has chronicled the story of Roseburg’s response in the latest edition of Community Vitality.  Monday we shared that resource with the Central Florida Foundation – the latest funder to assume a role no one wants.

We join with our colleagues across the country in mourning the deaths of the 49 people killed in Orlando, an act of violence against race and LGBTQ identity.  We hold their families, friends and the Orlando community in our thoughts and in our hearts.  We support those who are working to recover and rebuild – and deny those who would who would use this atrocity to divide us.

This weekend, as Portland celebrates Pride, our community can come together in solidarity, believing that the common good is inclusive of all people.  We can overlook differences and focus on our shared humanity.  We can look to a future when everyone feels safe and yes, even loved.

Do your part today.  Let’s revive the practice of random acts of kindness and speaking out in support of those who work to end acts of violence and discrimination of any kind.  We invite our grantmaker community to reach out with your ideas for how the philanthropic community can work to break the cycle of violence, address disparities, and promote unity, and how GRANTMAKERS of Oregon and Southwest Washington can play a role in creating a more equitable region, by contacting jwhite@gosw.org.