Community Investment
The NECA and IBEW Local 48 Board gave thoughtful consideration to the partnership’s mission and launched a new strategic plan to achieve its goals. The overarching theme is “NECA/IBEW is the electrical industry standard. We lead the industry through integrity, quality, skill, competence, and value.”
One aspect of this strategic plan is Community Investment: establishing and promoting a Giving Initiative to community programs, and promoting current community initiatives through newsletters and surveys, as well as increasing BALMCC visibility and reputation through public awareness campaigns.
Below are some of the different community organizations the NECA-IBEW Local 48 partnership has helped through its Giving Initiative.
Store to Door Receives Generous Donation from NECA-IBEW 48
The NECA-IBEW Local 48 partnership recently donated $10,000 to Store to Door of Oregon. Store to Door supports independent living for seniors and adults with disabilities by providing an affordable, personal, volunteer-based grocery shopping and delivery service in Portland, Oregon. “Thank you to NECA/IBEW Local 48 for your generous community investment grant awarded to Store to Door,” states Mark Fulop, Executive Director of Store to Door.
“We’re excited to leverage funds to expand our volunteer-driven grocery delivery and free food box delivery service to over 600 homebound seniors and adults living with disabilities across Portland. Equally important, your financial support will help reduce the social isolation of our clients and help us provide connections to other community services. Together, we empower those we serve to live independently. We have the deepest gratitude not only for helping build our program but for the work you members do every day!”
To learn more about this worthy charity and consider donating either money or time, visit Store to Door of Oregon.
NECA-IBEW 48 Volunteers Light Up Portland
For over a century, the members of NECA/IBEW Local 48 have been leading the electrification of Oregon and SW Washington. The Portland Winter Light Festival is just another example.
The Portland Winter Light Festival (PDXWLF) is an annual event of the Willamette Light Brigade, a non-profit arts organization. PDXWLF is presented to guests for free and builds community by bringing art and technology to inclusive audiences while invigorating Portland in the winter.
NECA-IBEW 48 electricians volunteer their time to install and maintain the electrical systems for PDXWLF. The PDXWLF can’t reach for the stars without electricity, or the people behind the installing and maintaining its electrical systems electricity, ELECTRICIANS!
iUrbanTeen Benefits from BALMCC Support
On January 16, the BALMCC partnership was a presenting sponsor of the iUrbanTeen’s 13th Annual MLK Jr Breakfast in Vancouver, Washington. iUrban Teen is a STEM+Arts education program that brings together underrepresented teens and young adults for career exploration and mentoring. They design and deliver highly sought-after skills training and experiences for teens and young adults in a variety of STEM industries, and pave pathways that lead students toward economic empowerment and sustainability. Chapters are located in Washington, Oregon, California, and Texas.
NECA-IBEW 48 Continues to Invest in the Community
In November 2022, the partnership contributed to these causes:
Labor’s Community Service Agency’s Presents from Partners event. LCSA has served 1,000 children in families of labor workers over the past two years and expects to do the same this year. It is anticipated that working families will be impacted vastly by the instability of our region. The partnership’s donation is expected to have an impact on over 500 children and almost 200 families. With the donation, LCSA will be able to provide these families with toys and gifts, a full holiday meal, stocking stuffers for each stocking given to every child, among other needed items and services.
The partnership will be the presenting sponsor for the 13th Annual MLK Jr Breakfast supporting the programs of iUrban Teen. iUrban Teen is a STEM+Arts education program that brings together underrepresented teens and young adults for career exploration and mentoring. IBEW Local 48 has sponsored this event just about every year since its conception.
IBEW Local 48 Volunteers Wire Up The Grotto
On October 22, IBEW Local 48 members volunteered their time and services to pre-wire the Christmas Festival of Lights at The Grotto. The lighting at The Grotto is one of IBEW Local 48’s largest volunteer projects of the year.
The Festival of Lights runs from Friday, Nov. 25 through Friday, Dec. 30 (Closed Christmas Day), 5:00-9:30 PM. At the door pricing is $18 for ages 12 and over, $8 for youth ages 3-11, and children 2 and under are free. Reduced pricing is available on value days or if purchased online in advance. The Grotto is located at NE 85th & Sandy Blvd. in Portland, Oregon.
NECA-IBEW Supports Portland Interscholastic League
The partnership of NECA-IBEW Local 48 also sponsored the P.I.L. Open on September 28, 2022, in the amount of $2,500. The Portland Interscholastic League Foundation promotes participation and sportsmanship through a competitive interscholastic athletic program. Every athlete is provided with opportunities, positive recognition, and learning experiences that support and maximize academic goals. Athletics utilizes experiences that are inherently educational to foster lifelong lessons such as teamwork and self-discipline, while facilitating the physical and emotional development of student athletes.
Raising Money for Children’s Charities with B.U.L.L. Session
The B.U.L.L. Session is one of the partnership’s largest annual contributions. NECA-IBEW Local 48 was a founding sponsor of the organization in 1991, participating in the golf tournament and silent auction ever since to raise money for local children’s charities.
The nonprofit partners supported by the B.U.L.L. Session include Albertina Kerr’s Crisis Psychiatric Care Unit, Gales Creek Camp Foundation, March of Dimes, Swindells Resource Center of Providence Children’s Health Foundation, Shriners Children’s Portland, and Wheel to Walk Foundation.
The B.U.L.L. Session (of Business, Union, and Labor Leaders) was conceived by local business leaders in 1991 as a way of bringing representatives from various industries together with one common goal: to raise money for children’s charities. Since then, the B.U.L.L. Session has become one of Oregon’s largest charity events and has raised more than $7 million for our nonprofit partners.
NECA-IBEW 48 Supports Local School Supply Drive
As part of its mission to support the community, the NECA-IBEW 48 partnership sponsored the KGW School Supply Drive that ran August 2-September 2, 2022. The funds raised go to Schoolhouse Supplies, which supports public education in the Portland area by providing free school supplies to students in need.
NECA-IBEW Local 48 was a “Matching Grant” sponsor for one week during the drive period, matching contributions during the sponsor week up to $25,000. We are proud to announce that over $28,000 was raised in those seven days, making NECA-IBEW Local 48’s total contribution $53,000.
NECA-IBEW Donates to Local Causes
The partnership donated to a couple local causes in the spring and summer of 2022:
The partnership contributed $2,500 to the Kelso Rotary Club for its 35th annual “Quacker 5000.” The Quacker 5000 is the main fundraiser for the club, which helps to support the Kelso and Castle Rock high school scholarships for graduating students, Youth and Family Link, Drug Abuse Prevention Center, and the Emergency Support Shelter, among other programs.
The Maurice Lucas Foundation Celebrity Golf Invitational also received a $5,000 donation. The Maurice Lucas Foundation gives opportunities for inner city middle school students by providing a combination of education and activity-based after-school programs. Their youth programs develop personal and life skills, positive adult and peer relationships, and create a supportive environment of learning, mastery, teamwork, and autonomy.
Saving Grace Maternity Home
The partnership is also a contributor to the Saving Grace Maternity Home, a residential home experience for single young homeless women in an unplanned or crisis pregnancy, between the ages of 18-25. The home welcomes women of all cultural, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.
The funds raised during the non-profit’s Annual Dinner and Silent Auction help to reach more homeless, pregnant young women in need, and help in paying off the home’s mortgage.
NECA-IBEW Donates $50,000 to Local Food Banks
The partnership donated $40,000 to the Oregon Food Bank and $10,000 to the Clark County Food Bank in January 2022. Oregon-Columbia Chapter Manager Tim Gauthier and Local 48 Business Manager Garth Bachman delivered the donations personally.
The Oregon Food Bank works to ensure free food is available to anyone experiencing food insecurity in Oregon and Southwest Washington. They work on policies and programs to address the root causes of hunger, and to break down barriers that prevent equal access to housing, health care, employment and more.
The Clark County Food Bank is a regional food bank that distributes over 8 million pounds of food and 6.7 million meals a year to serve the 65,000 hungry individuals in Clark County. Its mission is to alleviate hunger and its root causes by providing emergency food relief to individuals and families, as well as implementing a preventative stance against the various causes of hunger.
NECA-IBEW Partnership Lights Up the Morrison Bridge
As a sponsor of the Portland Winter Light Festival, NECA-IBEW was offered the opportunity to light up the Morrison Bridge for a week. Leadership selected Memorial Day 2021 to celebrate our country, using a red, white and blue color scheme.
The Portland Winter Light Festival is an annual event of the Willamette Light Brigade held in February that builds community by bringing art and technology to inclusive audiences while invigorating Portland in the winter.