Proximate Service Pathways

Move closer
to the needs
of our city

Who can serve in these areas?

Community Groups: Opportunities for whole community groups (8-14 people) to serve together or “wrap around” a project are available.

Small Groups: Opportunities for small groups (2-6 people) to serve together are available.

Individuals: Individual opportunities available. 

Kids: Kid friendly proximate service opportunities available under the supervision of parents (we encourage parents to serve once without their kids to better understand the opportunity and environment before bringing their children along).

Kids*: Opportunity to host a supply drive, curate and deliver/distribute supply kits

Limited Accessibility & New Neighbors

  • Africa Family Holistic Health Organization

    AFHHO wraps around Portland’s African Diaspora communities and help each family identify their unique needs and ways to improve their lives.

  • Neighborlink PDX

    A web platform that connects volunteers with neighbors in need for services like home maintenance and other support to provide practical expressions of God’s love to our neighbors in need.

  • Pamoja House

    Pamoja House is an organization serving the diverse immigrant community of Southwest Portland through education, counseling, and vocational services, providing education (ESL and citizenship classes), tutoring, and driver’s education support to refugees and immigrants while focusing on building community and individualized care.

  • Refugee Care Collective

    Refugee Care Collective provides newly resettled refugee families with immediate support (like “restart kits” of essential household items) and long-term mentorship and community partnerships to help them rebuild their lives in Oregon.

  • We Carry Kevan

    A nonprofit that empowers individuals with disabilities by redefining accessibility as a cooperative effort—supporting them through specially designed carrier backpacks and community connections to enable adventure, freedom, and joy.

Foster Care & Aging

  • The Contingent – Every Child PDX

    In partnership with the Department of Human Services, Every Child PDX connects caring community members with vulnerable children & families impacted by foster care through storytelling, empowering volunteers, raising up new resource parents & supporting foster families. Opportunities: Become Resource Parents, Join The Neighborhood, Support My NeighbOR, Curate and Deliver Welcome, Flash & Launch Boxes, Serve the ODHS Staff through Appreciation & Service Projects, Foster Parents Night Out (FPNO).

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids*

  • Kindred Partners – Safe Families for Children PDX

    Safe Families supports vulnerable, isolated children and families. Working upstream from foster care, Safe Families creates extended family-like relationships—including a safe home for children to live in temporarily—that give parents space to get their lives back on track until they are in a better place to care for their children again. This network of relationships keeps children from entering the foster care system and, ultimately, helps keep families together. Opportunities: Become a Host Family, Become a Coach or Mentor, Community Groups can create a Circle of Support.

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids*

  • With Love Oregon

    With Love provides resources that nurture dignity, hope and community for children ages 0-6 impacted by foster care. They focus on tangible goods, community events, and classes to equip and support foster parents. Opportunities: Volunteer to wash, inspect, sort, curate + deliver bags of clothing and supplies for resource families, Contribute to the Holiday Stocking Supply Drive*.

    Availability: Small Groups, Individuals, Kids*

  • Shepherd's Door

    Shepherd’s Door, a part of the Portland Rescue Mission, seeks to help women and children find healing through addiction recovery, vocational training, spiritual encouragement, and transitional support in a safe, retreat like setting for one year. This vital work dignifies women who have experienced unimaginable hardship and empowers them to live a new story.

  • The Family Room

    The Family Room seeks to reunite families and strengthen communities. They provide homelike visitation spaces within the community to increase the quality of supervised family visits to increase the likelihood that children living in foster care can successfully be reunited with their birth parents. Opportunities: Volunteer at a Visitation Location, Provide a Monthly Meal for a Family during their Visitation.

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids*

  • Choice Adoptions


    Choice Adoptions supports pregnant women with no-cost advocacy and also facilitates adoptive placements (infant adoption, foster child adoption, home studies) to create loving, permanent homes for children.

Homelessness & Addiction

  • Night Strike

    Night Strike exists to develop, demonstrate and sustain love and generosity lived out in the world within groups and individuals. They work to create relational environments that provide and deliver Mobilization, Relief, and Development. Through Night Strike, they provide space under the Burnside Bridge for folks in the houseless community to hang out, enjoy a hot meal, receive a free haircut or shave, have their feet washed, and have their old shoes/clothes/sleeping bags replaced.

    Opportunities: Serve with Night Strike

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids*

  • Community of Hope

    Community of Hope is a women's program under the umbrella of CityTeam. It is a 6 month to 1 year recover program for women struggling with addictive behavior and instability.

    Opportunities: Make & Enjoy a Monthly Meal with the women and children at Community of Hope, Partner on Projects at Hope House

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids

  • CityTeam

    City Team serves houseless + homeless folks in the city of Portland, their goal is to restore lives and rebuild communities through innovative programs which provide food, shelter, clothing, training, and spiritual transformation.

    Opportunities: Become a Mentor, Front Desk Support and Hospitality, Prepare & Serve Nightly Meals.

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids

  • Portland Rescue Mission

    Portland Rescue Mission provides shelter, meals and personal services, Christian discipleship, life skills training and addiction recovery for people of Portland & has been serving our city since 1949. They currently have three locations: The Mission on Burnside, Shepherd’s Door their addictions recovery live in program for women, The Harbor their addictions recovery live in program for men.

    Opportunities: Help Re-launch Dinner Service with The Mission, Serve Meals & Mentor with The Harbor or Shepherd’s Door.

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids

  • Transitional Youth

    Transitional Youth is a faith-based nonprofit serving at-risk and homeless youth in the Portland–Vancouver region by offering outreach, mentoring, housing and life-skills development to help them move toward independent, healthy futures.

  • The Underground PDX

    The Underground PDX is a Portland-based youth mentorship and fitness nonprofit that empowers under-resourced young people to build physical and mental strength through community-based training, teamwork, and leadership development.

Other Opportunities

  • Neighborhood Clean-Up

    Volunteers engage in cleaning and restoring neighborhoods and natural areas, fostering a legacy of environmental care and community involvement.

    Availability: Community Groups, Small Groups, Individuals, & Kids

  • Garden Space

    An urban sanctuary where individuals and communities come together in prayer & worship, engage in creative expression, and foster connections within the city, thus planting seeds of revitalization, hope, and renewal.

    They have a need for room hosts, worship leaders and prayer facilitators. Reach out for more information if interested in volunteering.

    The prayer room is also available for individual or group use during the week, Friday through Tuesday. Contact us for more information

Are you already serving?

Let us know if you are already engaged in justice work, either individually or with your Community. We would love to know more about your mission.

Let Us Know