Over 60% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck!
At Birch Community Services, we address the root causes of financial difficulty by providing financial literacy education. Families receive weekly groceries, relieving the emotional and financial burden of feeding a family and in turn, grocery budgets are repurposed to get out of debt and create emergency savings accounts.
BIRCH FAMILIES:
- Give $80/month in program dues
- Serve at least 2 hours per month in the warehouse
- Meet one-on-one with a Financial Literacy Counselor
- Enroll in our 4-session re$tart course
- Receive access to weekly “shopping” trips in the warehouse, taking home an average of $1,400/month in food and household items
$30 is enough to sponsor one family for a month. Support a family TODAY!
Birch’s Values
From 1992 to the present day, we strive to be good stewards of everything that we have been entrusted. Every member of the Birch Community from our employees and participants agrees to practice our seven cultural values:
- Relationship-Focused. We create value for others in a supportive community that fosters inclusiveness, true belonging, and acceptance.
- Respect and Integrity. We model a culture of honesty, grace, and dependability.
- Teachable. We promote combining self-awareness, ambition, curiosity, and guidance in striving toward growth through success and challenges.
- Gratitude. We express appreciation for the opportunities provided and the benefit of our community.
- Safety. We empower responsibility to take a knowledgeable, deliberate, and mindful approach to a holistically safe environment.
- Solution-Oriented. We encourage a community that works humbly and collaboratively to provide creative strategies to problem-solving.
- Celebration. We pause to reflect on successes and setbacks and rejoice in our collective growth.
Read Our Complete Cultural Values and Principles
Birch’s Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Birch Community Services is here to serve our whole community and we celebrate the diversity of each of our participants (now and in the future). As an organization, we value the varying perspectives and thoughts of others so we can continue to grow and meet the needs of each area of our community. We are committed to learning and growing as we seek to make Birch a safe and welcoming space for everyone regardless of age, race, nationality, gender, religion, sexuality, or ability.
By giving to Birch Community Services you are allowing more families throughout our community to achieve financial stability!
Birch’s History
Birch Community Services began in 1992 with a donated bag of squished bread on the front porch of Barry and Suzanne Birch. They shared the bread with some single moms and other families in need in their neighborhood. Within the following weeks, other food retailers who had heard of the Birches’ spirit of giving were donating their surplus for re-distribution by the Birches to a growing number of needy families. The organization has steadily grown to become one of the largest food-distribution programs in Oregon, and has been within the top 25 organizations in the Portland Business Journal’s annual list of “Top 100 Portland Non-Profits.” (Read more about Birch’s History)
How Birch Community Services is Different
- A theory of change based on a dignified, holistic approach
At its core, BCS’ unique model of service delivery is founded on a belief that true charity comes from empowering each individual to restore his or her capacity to be self-sufficient, and that the most effective way to accomplish this process is within the context of a community where participants work together to attain their goals. - Efficient redistribution of market surplus
What local producers of food and other staples consider as “excess inventory” is also the means for working, struggling families to meet their basic needs; BCS is the vital connection diverting those products that would otherwise be added to landfills to the pantries and closets of people who can use them. - An operational structure that is sustainable because it is mostly internally supported
Since many operational functions are carried out and funded by program participants, the BCS model is able to sustain itself with a much smaller proportion of external cash revenue (in the form of individual donations and grants) than most nonprofit organizations. The organization is staffed by a dedicated group of five full-time and seven part-time employees—a fraction of the number of paid personnel at other nonprofits of BCS’ size and impact.
Read more about the Impact of Birch Community Services.
Every dollar you give goes right back into our program so we can reach all of the individuals and families living paycheck to paycheck in the Portland area.
Financial Counseling & Classes
At Birch, our heart is to solve the root cause of food insecurity by providing individualized financial education to each family. Every family is required to meet with a financial counselor twice annually. Their goal is to:
- Give guidance on how to best navigate your season of life
- Help thinking through financial decisions
- Provide direction on how to teach their kids about money and wise financial decisions
- Be a resource
Every family has access to financial classes throughout the year including:
- 4-Session re$tart Course (required)
- Paying for College Without Debt
- Estate Planning and Wills
- Time Management
- First Time Home Buying
Participant Perspectives:
“I originally did not want to take [Re$tart] because I thought it was pointless for us. I thought we were going to be broke forever and there was no hope of financial freedom. After this class, I feel so encouraged and knowledgeable. Now we can start controlling our money and actually make headway for our dreams.”
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Are You Interested in Helping Out in the Warehouse?
We love our volunteers around here. Check out how you can join us by volunteering in our warehouse!