About Us

Who We Are

 

Welcome! Let’s grow older together!

 

Eastside Village (EV) is a community of Members and Volunteers in Portland. We’re neighbors helping neighbors live independently and thrive. While most of us are seniors (55+), membership is open to all residents who are at least 18 years old, including people with disabilities.

 

 

 

EVers help each other garden, declutter, fix burnt-out lightbulbs and ornery plumbing, learn new technologies (including how to participate in Zoom meetings), recommend professionals who can provide the support we need, and much more.

 

We stay active: we walk, hike, bike, share travel adventures, explore global relations, study French, play mahjongg and cards, write, discuss movies and books, share gardening tips, volunteer with and raise funds for community groups—and anything else we dream up. Most of all, we support each other and our neighbors.

 

Please visit our Membership Benefits section to learn more about what your EV membership can do for you.

 

Eastside Village is one of 10 Villages in Clackamas, Multnomah, Tillamook, and Washington counties in Oregon, and Clark County in Washington State. We cooperate through a “hub-and-spoke” model overseen by Villages NW (VNW). We’re part of the rapidly growing nationwide Village-to-Village Network (VtVN), which began in Boston in 2002, and now includes more than 140 Villages.

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Where We Are

 

Click on the map for a larger version. The Eastside Village boundaries are the Portland city limits on the south; the Willamette River on the west; I-84/Banfield or Halsey (east of I-205) on the north; and SE 122nd on the east. This area includes the neighborhoods of Brentwood-Darlington, Brooklyn, Buckman, Creston-Kenilworth, Eastmoreland, Foster-Powell, Hazelwood, Hosford-Abernethy, Kerns, Laurelhurst, Lents, Mill Park, Montavilla, Mount Scott-Arleta, Mount Tabor, North Tabor, Powellhurst-Gilbert, Reed, Richmond, Sellwood-Moreland, South Tabor, Sunnyside, Westmoreland and Woodstock.

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Our Mission and Values

 

Our mission is to build a strong, lasting, intergenerational community and to engage and coordinate a network of trained volunteers and high-quality service providers to ensure that our members are able to age at home and in community safely, affordably, happily, and healthily for as long as they choose.

 

Eastside Village is guided by the following values:

• Enabling people to age in community and do as much for as little cost for as long as possible. To that end, we are a “volunteer first” Village that develops smart, practical, and cost-effective ways to address our members’ needs.
• Recognizing and celebrating our mutual interdependence and our lasting commitment to each other over time.
• Fostering community and building strong, caring relationships.
• Appreciating the richness and diversity of our Eastside Village neighborhoods.
• Being inclusive of and welcoming to people of all ages, races, faiths, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations and gender identities, and socio-economic levels.
• Treasuring the willingness of the members of our Village and the wider community to volunteer their time and expertise in support of our mission, and striving to ensure that volunteers’ work with Eastside Village is always meaningful and appreciated.

• Valuing intergenerational connections as an integral part of Village life.
• Honoring the privacy, dignity, and independence of our members and volunteers.
• Protecting the security of our members and volunteers in dealing with vendors and service providers.
• Valuing the advice and opinions of our members and regularly soliciting their feedback on village programming and volunteer and vendor services.
• Fostering a climate of growth, exploration, and lifelong learning in our community.
• Valuing and actively seeking opportunities for mutually beneficial partnerships and collaboration.
• Creating a Village that is owned by its members and stewarded by community-elected servant leaders.
• Being innovative and agile with our programs and services; staying abreast of new approaches and technologies; responding gracefully tochanging times and evolving member needs.
• Being committed to enduring and sustainable growth and the wise and prudent use of all Eastside Village resources.

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Our Organization

 

Governing Council

 

Jin Darney, Village NW Liaison
Mike Greenfield, Circle of Representatives, Strategic Planning Team

Pete Jacobsen, Council Recordkeeper, Editorial Committee, Strategic Planning Team

Lee Lancaster, Programs Committee, Circle of Representatives

Jackie Lemieux, Council Co-chair, Strategic Planning Team

Dennis McNulty, Technical Support, Website Development Team

Jim O'Connor, Council Treasurer

Alison Starkey, Marketing Committee, Resource Development Team

 

Staff

 

Kathi Schroeder, Office Manager

 

Committees

 

Editorial - Produces our monthly newsletter and provides other writing and editing services

EV Gives Back - Directs donations to nonprofit community groups.

Marketing - Communicates about us to the community.

Membership - Supports our existing Members and attracts new Members.

Programs - Develops and directs activities that engage our Members and Volunteers and the broader community.

Rain or Shine - Offers nurturing support to any member recovering from surgery or illness, or suffering from the loss of a loved one or pet. This support can include meals and friendly visits.

Speakers' Bureau - Schedules presentations to external audiences.