Oregon Change for Children Organizations

Children’s Cancer Association

The Children’s Cancer Association knows that for seriously ill children and their families every moment is precious. That’s why their JoyRx programs leverage music, nature, friendship, and resources to create transformative moments of joy for 35,465 children, teens, and their family members annually. They believe kids deserve long, wonderful lives. Or at the very least, short wonderful lives. Unlike many organizations dedicated to the worthy goal of someday finding a cure for cancer, CCA is all about creating joy today through our innovative, free-of-charge programs.

One of the programs Change for Children helps to fund is CCA’s MyMusicRx program. MyMusicRx delivers the healing power of music to kids facing cancer and other serious illnesses. Their bedside and digital programs engage hospitalized children of all ages and diagnoses, relieving stress, anxiety, and perception of pain. Key program benefits: reduction in stress, anxiety, perception of pain.

Change for Children funds also support CCA’s Link program. CCA’s Link program takes the profound emotional and financial hardships of serious pediatric illness head on, engaging a network of caring people and organizations to provide families with essential needs assistance and support. Key program benefits: essential needs assistance, support and resources to primarily low-income families.

Doernbecher Children's Hospital

Doernbecher Children’s Hospital’s dedicated physicians, registered nurses and clinical support staff specialize in the development, health and diseases of newborns, infants, children and adolescents. They are committed to providing children with the best personalized care including well child care, immunizations, coordination of care for chronic medical conditions and mental health issues.

 Change for Children funds help support the Novel Interventions in Children’s Healthcare (NICH) program. This population health program serves children with complex medical conditions and co-occurring social vulnerability, such as mental health concerns, domestic violence exposure, and food insecurity. NICH supports these at-risk pediatric patients and their families through 24/7 access and case management in the patient’s home, school, and community. This innovative program–a unique model nationally–works to achieve the triple aim in healthcare reform: improved health, improved care, and reduced healthcare costs.

Portland Rescue Mission

Since 1949, Portland Rescue Mission has provided hot meals and emergency shelter as well as hope, practical support and addiction recovery for men, women and children experiencing homelessness and addiction in the Portland area. Their mission is to offer a path to life transformation for every person who walks through our doors.

CFC Grant funding will specifically go to the Family Life Center (FLC), a program for children whose mothers are in the Shepherd’s Door recovery program. FLC programming includes: Educational readiness, Preschool, after-school tutoring, restoring joyful experiences (outings, holiday celebrations, performances, etc.), parenting training.

The FLC provides childcare and preschool while mothers attend adult programming and older children attend school. The program also includes after school hours during which all children participate, as well as special summer programming for elementary-aged children. Since the children in the program have been living in environments with adults facing substance addiction issues, they have often experienced tumultuous backgrounds, instability, and even abuse. The FLC serves both mothers and children to promote healthy family relationships, close educational gaps and restore the normal childhood experiences that many children have missed out on due to traumatic upbringings. 

Safety Compass

Safety Compass provides in-person support to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and sex trafficking. Safety Compass offers culturally specific trauma-informed advocacy and support to CSE crime victims. They exist to meet a gap in services that is not being met by other agencies. They offer free and confidential support to victims as they navigate the various systems they come in and out of including, hospitals, juvenile detention, law enforcement, shelters, and others. They provide 24 hr. consultation and emergency response at law enforcement request, on-going advocacy and resource navigation for victims, basic case management, support groups, 24-7 case support in partnership with law enforcement, training and technical assistance for first responders and social service providers on identifying and appropriately serving victims of CSE, and provision of emergency resources: hygiene supplies, hotel room, bus fare, food, clothes closet.

They believe the best way to extend compassion to those they serve is by respecting them. They respect the victim's coping skills, strengths, and personal insights as guidance for how best to support them. They believe in resiliency. They are committed to a highly collaborative multi-disciplinary approach and hope-filled, strengths-based services. They offer support for any victim of the sex industry regardless of whether they are still in “the life” or not, regardless of what type of exploitation they experienced. In addition to complying with all applicable non-discrimination statutes, They offer services regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, or immigration status.

First Image

A local clinic that specializes in caring for women facing an unexpected or unsupported pregnancies. They provide FREE pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and education on the options a woman has in her stage of pregnancy. Their mission is to educate and empower women to make informed decisions about her health and her baby. A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy needs support and to know what resources are available to her. The heart behind the PRC model is no shame, no judgement, no politics, no pressure, just a commitment to education, early medical care and ensuring the woman knows she is not alone.