NWHF Video Channel

Nichole Maher Message - September 2012

NWHF president Nichole Maher shares the foundation’s current process of examining it’s potential role in helping create the next healthiest generation. While the foundation’s core principles will not change, over the next six months, the board and staff will be looking at new ways to achieve the most impact in our work. We will be seeking input from community and sharing our progress via e-news and social media. Subscribe to e-news here. You can find a list of NWHF staff, including contact info, here.

The Dreamer School - Higher Education Begins in First Grade

This is the story of Alder Elementary School, the first “Dreamer School” in the nation as part of an innovative collaboration between Friends of the Children and the “I Have a Dream” Foundation of Oregon. The project serve some of the community’s most vulnerable youth and encourages higher education beginning at a young age. Through a $50,000 implementation grant from the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund, the project builds on the success of the “I Have a Dream” foundation, and will expand the number of students served from 300 to 3,000 per year over the next decade.

Getting to Health Equity through Health Care Reform

How do we get to health equity? How does advocacy play a role? Where does NWHF grant making fit in? Watch this video to find out.

When We Count: From Data to Action

This the story of a Community-based Participatory Research (CBPR) project funded by Northwest Health Foundation. The Coalition of Communities of Color and Portland State University worked together to generate data about the lived experience of people of color in Portland. The result: “Communities of Color in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile.”

For the first time in the city’s history, diverse communities held a leadership role in such a project. It was also the first time such robust data was generated for many populations, such as the African immigrant community.

Urban Oasis: Village Gardens and Village Market

Village Gardens and the Village Market are both examples of what can be accomplished when neighborhood residents, non-profits and government come together in support of people’s health and well-being. The project was funded by the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund, among other organizations.

Urban League of Portland’s Tribute to Thomas Aschenbener

In November 2011, NWHF president Thomas Aschenbrener was honored with the Urban League of Portland’s “Equal Opportunity Day Award,” bestowed on an individual who has made significant contributions to the cause of equality. This video was presented by the Urban League at the event.

Public Health and Zombies - Theater Edition

“You can substitute any unforeseen public health hazard for ‘zombies’ and it would make perfect sense,” said one of the judges of Northwest Health Foundation’s first annual public health PSA contest. The point being that our public health departments are there to protect us from unforeseen threats. This expanded theatrical edition, which played in movie houses in Oregon in January 2011, shows the diversity of our public health services, and the diversity of Oregon’s population - all in less than a minute!

2010 “Public Health Matters” Video Contest Winner

The winner of our NWHF “Public Health Matters Video Contest, entitled “Public Health and Zombies.” This 30-second spot was directed by Anthony Hudson, a student at Pacific Northwest College of Art. For his prize-winning entry, and hard work, Anthony earned a $3,000 cash prize and a visit with Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant.

For more on the contest, visit the Community Health Priorities website.

Construction Leadership Program Focuses on Women

From KGW TV Portland, a story about Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., a project funded by the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund at Northwest Health Foundation.

Cambodian Oral History Project

Oregon and Southwest Washington is home to as many as 10,000 Cambodian-Americans. Many lived through the horrors of the Khmer Rouge and came here as refugees in the early 1980s. A large number of people in the community are still plagued by nightmares and post-traumatic stress. Yet between wariness of Western doctors and mental health stigmas, many are reluctant to seek treatment. Cambodian-American communities see high rates of diabetes, stroke, drug addiction, alcoholism and family violence.

In 2008, the Kaider Permanente Community Fund (KPCF) at Northwest Health Foundation funded an oral history documentary project that trained Cambodian-American youths to interview their own parents and grandparents about their experiences under the Khmer Rouge. The interviews were compiled into the documentary previewed here.

We have already heard that this project has helped Cambodian-American youth better understand their families, and has given Khmer Rouge survivors catharsis so the community can begin to mend.

For more information about the film, please visit the CACO website.