I love Portland!

I am very excited to be visiting one of our national affiliates, Metropolitan Family Service (MFS) in Portland, OR. From the eco-friendly toilets at the airport to the awesome public transportation, giant bookstores and little coffee shops, this is a great city. Today I had the opportunity to meet the executive team at MFS, facilitate a training for program managers, site coordinators, activity leaders, go out for a healthy lunch with the program managers, and still have time to visit two after-school program sites. Metropolitan Family Service is a non-profit organization dedicated to building stronger communities by providing services, connecting people with resources and offering volunteer opportunities throughout the Portland, Oregon region (www.metfamily.org). I was so impressed with the thoughtful questions and comments participants had during the training and seeing them "in action" at the sites. One school site I visited had a welcoming and calming environment. The quiet area below was in the hallway (left) and the cafeteria included a living room area (right). Tomorrow we are going to hold a focus group with the site coordinators to identify their needs for training and support for inclusion and next steps to ensure every child is successful.