June 2021 • Partnerships that sustain our community
June 2021 • Portland Open Bible Community Pantry
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
PARTNERSHIPS THAT SUSTAIN
OUR COMMUNITIES
Lydia is a 16-year-old girl that called the pantry one morning in severe pain. She was unable to eat because of the toothache she had been suffering from for several months. Her family had no dental insurance, and the pain had left her unable to eat any solid foods. Providing fresh nutritious food for those in our community is at the center of POBC Pantry’s mission. That food cannot serve our families if they are not able to consume it due to tooth decay. For this reason, we have partnered with Medical Teams International for almost a year now.
On the third Thursday of every month Medical Teams bring a dental van to our property fully equipped with a dentist, hygienist and other volunteers to provide a fully operating dental clinic. Here are some of the statistics acquired over the past few months:
Over 99 patients have been served
The clinic is free of charge to everyone that is seen
A total of $36,947 in procedures has been performed
Here is a quote from the mobile dental program coordinator Kristi Nolan:
“Portland Open Bible Community Pantry is a very good clinic partner for Medical Teams! It is DEFINITELY worth coming out. Your location is also very good for patients using public transit, and we have a few grants to cover clinics specifically in the city of Portland. The fact that the mobile dental clinic is open at the same time as the food pantry has proven to be a good strategy.”
Every month we have multiple individuals in our community that call, often crying, because of the tooth pain they are suffering. Your generous contributions to the work our pantry is doing in our community helps to ensure these individuals can obtain the relief they are desperately seeking.
COVID-19 VACCINATION CLINIC
In the past, we have mentioned our partnership with Oregon Health Authority working together to support our community to decrease the spread of the COVID-19 virus. During the months of June and July in partnership with the Outside In organization, we will be hosting a vaccination clinic on the second and third Saturdays. These clinics will provide access to the vaccine for those individuals in our community who did not get the vaccine for many reasons, including lack of transportation. We are excited to help support our community members in this way. We will be offering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for adults, and the Pfizer for youths. These clinics will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. If you are interested in knowing more about these two organizations just click the buttons below.
Lastly, we want to thank all of you who came out and supported the plant sale to benefit the pantry that took place late April. We are grateful to inform you that the sale was very successful, bringing in $5,128. Again, we want to thank Sarah and her dedicated volunteers who worked tirelessly to ensure the event was a success. They are planning to host another plant sale this fall, and we hope you can join us!
Your continued support to our pantry has enabled us to make a significant difference in the lives of so many people. As our community works hard at recovering from all that has taken place in the past 18 months, your faithful willingness to contribute to this pantry has positively impacted lives, and we want to thank you for that. Below you will find a link to donate. Thanks again for your support.
Betty Brown
Executive Director POBC Pantry
