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SEEDS Community Service Odysseys
About the SEEDS trips
Greetings! SEEDS set up this page to give incoming Reed students more information about what to expect on each of the different SEEDS Odysseys. Every year, we work with some of the same and some new community partners.
As in past years, this year you may choose from among four venues. All groups will sleep and eat together within the community, but each group of up to 10 students, led by two returning students, will have its own program of activities. Each group will also learn about other service opportunities available within Portland and surrounding areas.
If you still have questions, you can always feel free to contact SEEDS
at seeds@reed.edu or 503-777-7563. We hope to see you in August!
Hunger and Homelessness
In 2007, this group started the weekend harvesting vegetables and working in the beds of the Oregon Food Bank Eastside Learning Garden. In the afternoon, they helped deconstruct donated materials at Dignity Village, a community of formerly house-less individuals and families that started as a tent city. (You can also watch see a video about Dignity Village.) On Sunday, the planned a meal, shopped and brought produce that they harvested from the Oregon Food Bank to the Transition Projects’ Men’s Transitional Housing Program. They prepared a meal for the men there, then got to check out one of the many Farmer’s Markets in the area, an important part of our local food system. On Monday morning, all the groups learned more about volunteering and activism at Reed during the student and alumni community involvement panel, which featured 3 alumni and 4 current students talking about how volunteering in the community and activism around social issues on campus shaped their lives and their time at Reed. The group spent the afternoon at one of Janus Youth Program’s shelters, getting a tour, learning more about homeless youth in Portland and organizing their clothing closet.
Education and Youth
In the morning the Education and Youth group helped set up for a community block party and learned about a local initiative to increase access to health care for Oregon’s children. In the afternoon, the group planned and led games at the annual Woodstock Neighborhood Association community picnic. On Sunday, they spent the morning volunteering at a variety of stations at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). In the afternoon, a group of students from nearby Lane Middle School joined the Reedies who were “mentors for a day” to these students as they explored OMSI together. On Monday, after the community involvement panel (see above under Hunger and Housing for a description), the group planned activities, including games, sidewalk chalk, art and face painting for children at a local Human Solutions' apartment building serving low-income families.
Community Development
In the morning the Community Development group did yard work for a senior in the Southeast Portland who herself is unable to maintain her yard and receives support from Portland Impact. Portland Impact's mission is to help people achieve and maintain self-sufficiency and to prevent and alleviate the effects of poverty. Through this and other support, seniors like this woman are able to stay in their own homes independently. In the afternoon, the group joined the Cycling and Sustainability group at the Community Cycling Center to clean and prepare children’s bicycles for their annual Holiday Bike Drive, at which 500 kids get their very own free refurbished bike, a new helmet and safety information. On Sunday, the group worked with Reed’s neighbors on an intersection repair project called the Arleta Triangle Project. Folks in the neighborhood have transformed an empty, overgrown triangle in a dangerous intersection into a traffic-calming neighborhood gathering spot by adding cob benches, trees and other landscaping. On Monday, after participating in the community involvement panel (see above under Hunger and Housing), the group sorted donations at the Rebuilding Center. The ReBuilding Center is a popular destination for homeowners, do-it-yourselfers, contractors, artists, and enthusiasts interested in building with affordable, environmentally low impact materials. With widespread community support, the ReBuilding Center diverts 4.5 million pounds of reusable building materials from entering our landfills each year and uses the profits to support the community building efforts of Our United Villages.
Cycling and Sustainability: Cycle to Service!
The group started their weekend by biking up to SCRAP, the School and Community Reuse Action Project, and helping them prepare for their annual Iron Artist event (think Iron Chef, but with donated craft and art supplies.) Next they biked over to the Community Cycling Center to volunteer with the Community Development group on preparing bikes for their annual Holiday Bike Drive, at which 500 kids get their very own free refurbished bike, a new helmet and safety information. On Sunday, the group volunteered with Bikes to Rwanda, learning about their work to support sustainable coffee farming in Rwanda and distributing posters and other materials about the non-profit’s efforts to local businesses. On Monday after the community involvement panel (see above under Hunger and Housing), the group biked back down to Southeast Portland. They started the day doing environmental restoration at nearby Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge with Reed alumna Sue Thomas from Portland Parks and Recreation’s Environmental Education program. They finished their day on the Reed Campus with our very own Reed Canyon manager, Zac Perry, on a guided tour of the restoration work that has taken place here in the last 10 years.
Questions?
Read more about the Odysseys at the Orientation 2008 page. If you have any questions or concerns about the trips, please feel free to call SEEDS 503-777-7563 or email us at SEEDS.
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