We believe that people, planet, and profit work together to ensure a better future for us all. We invest in efforts that make a difference to our coworkers’ families and our local and global communities, to help our environment, to ensure safety, health, equity, opportunity for all. Below are organizations we support; groups who are working hard towards these efforts in our backyard and beyond. Our thanks to them for their tireless work and additional thanks to those who join us in supporting these causes.
GirlsBuild
What happens when you place a tool in a child’s hand and the skills to use it? Girls Build teaches girls 8 - 14 years old the basics of carpentry, electrical, plumbing, roofing, painting, auto and bike mechanics, sheet metal and more. During summer camps, participants learn through 20 different workshops over five days.
We’re excited to support both GirlsBuild camps and the Wild X project: Wild X is a project to support Black, Indigenous, People of Color and low-income youth through outdoor hands-on experiential learning opportunities during virtual education challenges. This full-time educational program offers children the safe learning options they need and parents the free public education their children deserve.
NOMA
National Organization of Minority Architects–NOMA’s mission, rooted in a rich legacy of activism, is to empower local chapters and membership to foster justice and equity in communities of color through outreach, community advocacy, professional development and design excellence. We’d like to see more minority community members follow their passion for design and building. We’re supporting NOMA in their effort to reach out, build awareness, and create a more diverse design community.
YCAP
The Yamhill Community Action Partnership (YCAP) assists the residents of Yamhill County, Oregon, diligently focusing on four primary service categories: Client Services and Housing, Energy Services, the regional Food Bank, and Youth Services. They advocate for and assist persons toward self-sufficiency, helping with utilities, food, youth safety and counceling, and more. We partnered with YCAP to find a family in need for our holiday family efforts and we’re supporting their efforts throughout the year as an event sponsor and more.
FoodLink
For more than 40 years, FoodLink has leveraged the power of food to end hunger and build healthier communities. They have been mobilizing a diverse network of community partners to address both the symptoms and root causes of food insecurity throughout the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region of New York. Food insecurity is something we’d like to see the end of, and we’re supporting FoodLink events as they continue to take steps towards that goal.
Oregon Food Bank
Oregon Food Bank and a Statewide Network of 21 regional food banks and approximately 1,400 food assistance sites that help our neighbors facing food insecurity throughout Oregon and Clark County, Washington. Oregon Food Bank collects food from farmers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and government sources. But they’re also pushing to end the root causes of hunger through public policy, nutrition and garden education, and public awareness. Their multi-pronged efforts are certainly worth supporting.
Gleaners Community Kitchen
The Gleaners Community Kitchen opened in February of 1987 with a mission: to serve healthy meals, free of charge, to those in need, no questions asked, no one denied. They now serve more than 12,000 annually within the Finger Lakes NY communities. We join other local grocery stores, restaurants, service organizations and individuals who generously support their efforts. The Gleaners are committed to continuing to provide meals for many years to come.
RAIHN/Family Promise of Greater Rochester
Family Promise of Greater Rochester (formerly RAIHN) is a not-for-profit, interfaith, culturally-competent organization that assists homeless families to achieve sustainable independence by supporting them with tailored services including shelter, food, personalized case management, and a diverse network of caring volunteers. This group is recognized as a model of social justice and advocacy by social service providers, and the community at large, as the premier provider of services to families that have been temporarily displaced from their homes. Helping families find housing, getting kids to school, making social change? Yes, we’re on board.
Sewpportive Friends
Started by one of our timber frame clients, Julie, Sewpportive Friends is a volunteer community providing home-sewn, washable, reusable feminine hygiene products to girls and women in need in rural villages of Africa which allows them to remain in school (rather than missing time each month). The group has expanded to donating sewing machines/materials and educating women/girls in African communities on crafting. Their goal is to provide hope, encouragement and opportunity. We're thrilled to see (and help) Julie and other volunteers do exactly what they intended to.
ShelterBox
ShelterBox is made up of people who believe in shelter as a human right – that shelter from the chaos of disaster and conflict is vital. They provide the tools that enable people to rebuild homes and transform their lives. Every minute, more families lose everything in the chaos of conflict. Their homes, their livelihoods, and even family members are brutally snatched away. Across the globe we see occurrences of this upheaval. We’re impressed with ShelterBox’s ability to reach those in need and we’re glad to foster their efforts.
Hospitality Cares
We realize the needs of those in many industries have been great during the past year, though perhaps one of the hardest hit has been hospitality. When we discovered Hospitality Cares, a non-profit organization that targets hospitality professionals who have experienced misfortune through either a job loss or a housing/medical condition, we knew we needed to lend a hand. By collecting money and volunteer time, the organization gives these individuals help and hope for the future.
MADRE
For 37 years, MADRE has partnered in solidarity with communities worldwide harmed by oppression and injustice, to support their efforts and amplify their voices and leadership. Beginning with their earliest work with grassroots women’s organizations in Latin America, they have committed to partnerships rooted in respect and trust, with an understanding that overall liberation is tied to the liberation of oppressed people everywhere. MADRE remains committed to the work of advancing racial and gender justice and to confronting white supremacy. In supporting efforts for equality and women’s rights, we believe we're supporting a better future for all.
Black Resilience Fund
The civil unrest of 2020 inspired the creation of this nonprofit which has raised over two million dollars to help struggling Black businesses and individuals in the Portland OR area. Their project has blossomed from a fundraising effort into a “mutual aid” network that includes 300 volunteers doing everything from passing out food boxes and delivering groceries to running errands and doing yard work — and yes, handing out cash. We realize how far dollars can go, especially in times of crisis. Helping those in our regions is vital to our own ethos and simply the right thing to do.
EcoTrust
EcoTrust creates and accelerates triple-bottom-line innovations to benefit our Northwest region and inspire the world. Their work is rooted from California to Alaska in productive lands and determined people. On the farm, at the coast, in the forest, and across our cities, they work in partnership towards an equitable, prosperous, climate-smart future. They recognize the legacy of colonialism and the deep inequities of this place, and believe that radical, practical change is possible and necessary. We support their goal to foster a natural model of development that creates more resilient communities, economies, and ecosystems locally and around the world.
El Porvenir
The El Porvenir group believes all people deserve clean water, safe sanitation, and the knowledge to sustain it for the generations to follow. They partner with the people of Nicaragua so to build a better future for themselves through the sustainable development of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) education projects. They also hold a watershed management program, which promotes water flow, increases food security, and reduces the impact of climate change. Clean drinking water for all Nicaraguans—no matter how remote or how bad the road is—is at the core of everything they do, now and into the future.
While in the past we’ve supported other clean water and solar oven projects for communities in Nicaragua, we’ve recently supported the Latrine Project and Hurricane Relief via El Porvenir. Each latrine helps families improve their health protects the environment and reduces the impact of waterborne illnesses. Multiple hurricanes have impacted Nicaragua; the relief funds support the restoration of the important latrine, clean water, and other projects.
350.org
An international movement of ordinary people working to end the age of fossil fuels and build a world of community-led renewable energy for all. 350.org seeks to have: A fast & just transition to 100% renewable energy for all; No new fossil fuel projects anywhere; Not a penny more for dirty energy. As we watch the impacts of global warming across our planet, we want to do our part to slow things down by supporting organizations like 350.
The Borneo Project
The Borneo Project brings international attention and support to community-led efforts to defend forests, sustainable livelihoods, and human rights in Borneo. Protecting human rights and environmental integrity in Borneo is a critical component of the global movement for a just and peaceful world. Their fight to end the loss of habitat for the indigenous peoples of Indonesia amongst other necessary environmental changes receives 1% of all reclaimed Teak sales from our sister company, Pioneer Millworks, and our additional support.
NRDC
The National Resources Defense Council – NRDC - works to safeguard the earth—the people, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the places we treasure. They combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild. We realize we’re nothing without a habitable environment and we’re thankful groups like the NRDC are helping protect our priceless planet.