Businesses Embracing the Spirit of Community Service
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, observed on January 18 this year, originated as a day of service. In honor of the spirit of community service, we’re recognizing businesses in Tualatin Valley that do good and serve others.
Ponzi Vineyards founder Nancy Ponzi helped start ¡Salud! to provide healthcare to vineyard workers and their families. The organization has grown and partners with Tuality Healthcare to provide care to hundreds of workers at 150 vineyards in Oregon. An annual auction hosted by Ponzi has raised more than $13 million since it was founded in 1991. Support their cause by donating to ¡Salud! or by visiting Ponzi Vineyards for an outdoor tasting.
The youngest member of the team behind Staghorn Mercantile in Beaverton is inspiring others to be heroes in their own community with “Hannah’s Heroes.” Lionheart Coffee and Hannah starting planning to host street and sidewalk cleanups before the pandemic but finally made it happen on January 16. The plan is to continue the events monthly. Support these businesses as they give back by shopping at Staghorn Mercantile for plants, home goods and more or by enjoying a warm drink from Lionheart Coffee.
Adelante Mujeres, which organizes the Forest Grove and Cornelius Farmers Markets, provides education and empowerment opportunities to low-income Latina women and their families. Since 2002, the organization has been working to help every Latina family thrive by helping girls graduate high school, helping aspiring entrepreneurs get started, leading cooking classes and more. The Forest Grove market runs on Wednesdays, May-October and the Cornelius market is Fridays, July-September.
In December, 649 Taphouse raised $4,862 in aid for families in need during the holidays and in 2020, it gave a total of $8,520 to fight for racial justice and equity. The bar also helped the community during the early days of the pandemic by offering free soup to anyone who needed it. The “pay what you will” soup kitchen remains, but The 649 is also open with plenty of outdoor seating and offering beer cans, takeout and cocktails to go.
The past year has been difficult for many businesses, including those in Oregon’s Tualatin Valley, but it’s heartening to see organizations continuing to step up in many ways to serve others.
