Category Nonprofits
Salem-area food pantries continue to see climb in visits
Food pantries in and around Salem continued to see a sharp increase in visitors as residents content with inflation and high gas prices. It’s a change the Marion Polk Food Share first detected in March, though it was too early to determine if it was…
Immigration rights nonprofit Causa announces abrupt closure amid labor dispute with employees
Former Causa leaders at a rally at the Oregon Capitol in 2019. The Salem-based immigrant rights advocacy organization’s board announced it would dissolve Causa in July 2022 (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) An Oregon immigrant rights nonprofit is shutting down amid a dispute with its labor union…
State insurance requirements hinder Salem nonprofits planning summer programs
Oni Marchbanks wants to see more Black kids studying science, technology, engineering and math classes in Salem. Marchbanks, an activist and educator focused on equity and diversity, said she recently spoke to a young Black student in Salem whose teacher reacted with surprise to seeing…
Nonprofits blend art, history to rethink the Bush legacy in Salem
A portrait of Mariamou, a Portland woman who came to the U.S. as a refugee from the Central African Republic, hangs next to a painting of early Oregon statesman Asahel Bush in the Bush House Museum in Salem, part of a still-untitled exhibit opening in…
Foundation honored for support of Salem’s library renovation
A stairway to the teen and children’s level at the Salem Public Library on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter) The Oregon Library Association recognized the Salem Public Library Foundation with its Library Supporter of the Year Award earlier this month, an honor aimed…
Salem expands its welcome – and housing – for refugees
Luke Glaze, executive director of Salem for Refugees, speaks about the organization’s goals in a donation room at the new Welcome Center at 1440 Broadway St. N.E. on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) When Jules Lipanda came to Salem at 18, he was…
Better vet care, cost savings ahead as Willamette Humane Society merges
Rapunzel, a three-year-old domestic shorthair, at the Willamette Humane Society shelter in Salem. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter) If a dog at Willamette Humane Society’s Salem shelter needs an x-ray, it’s not always easy to come by. BJ Andersen, the nonprofit’s executive director, said vet care can…
With whirlwind 90-day effort, YMCA inks victory in capital campaign
The Salem YMCA under construction on Feb. 16, 2022 (Rachel Alexander/Salem Reporter) After more than four years of lobbying and courting donors, leaders at Salem’s YMCA are declaring victory. The nonprofit last week succeeded in a challenge to raise $3 million toward its new building…
$100,000 donation will help Catholic Community Services get more families housing
Jag Daswatta, regional manager for Ashley HomeStores in Oregon, left, poses with a donation check to Catholic Community Services with board members and CEO Josh Graves, second from right. (Courtesy/Catholic Community Services) Each year, Catholic Community Services workers help thousands of Salem families get aid…