folding human care and business ideas together so they can fly

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folding human care and business ideas together so they can fly *

ABOUT US

Paper Planes PDX is a community development corporation created to fold business and human care ideas into one another and help them fly. Our current non-profit ideas/initiatives include Neighbours Table Coffee Shop and the U.ME.US Food Pantry, both in Portland Oregon. 

For many of us growing up folding a piece of paper into a paper plane was part of our pre-digital imagination and play.  From folding, to launching, to watching them fly. There was a child-like excitement wondering how far they would go. Making paper planes and creating ideas are metaphorically similar. You start with a fresh piece of paper and start folding. The folding is the imagination, the listening, the plotting, the planning, and the belief, while the launch is the time, energy, resource, resilience, and execution of the idea. How intricate the fold depends on how intricate the idea. And when you think the plane is ready, you let it fly.We welcome you to check out our current initiatives and join us as we fold and fly.

paper planes inistiatives

UMEUS Food Pantry

Established in 2011, the U.ME.US Food Pantry is a shopping cart style environment valuing inclusion, hospitality, dignity, and partnership. For many families and individuals living in Portland food insecurity is all too common, and for the hundreds of people who have experienced this place, it’s become more than a food depot, it’s a place of encouragement, community, and consistency. The U.ME.US Food Pantry does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, sex, gender, marital status, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability. Read more.


We are open the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sunday of each month from 1:30pm - 3:30pm. We are closed the 1st and 5th Sundays. Our partners include The Oregon Food Bank, Whole Foods Burnside, Cultivate Initiatives, Alongsiders PDX, and supportive neighbors. The U.ME.US Food Pantry is a 501c3 non-profit.

@NEIGHBOURSTABLE

Neighbours Table Coffee Shop

We are Neighbours Table Coffee and Commons, a non profit 501c3, located in the Kerns neighborhood of NE Portland. Our vision is to ‘table together,’ to be a place where you enjoy great coffee and good company.

Our job training initiative is one way we tell our story of neighboring. NTJT is a paid three month job training experience for marginal youth, those in recovery, or those needing to gain job history and/or experience due to a gap in employment. In partnership with Cascadia Coffee Roaster’s our three month training will focus on learning the coffee trade from "beans to barista". This training will develop and enhance both personal and professional skills, build confidence, and provide a way forward through hard work and determination.

We proudly serve Love Coffee. Love Coffee is an initiative between Portlands very own Cascadia Coffee Roasters and Laundry Love a national non-profit who washes the clothes and bedding of low to no income families and persons. With every 5 pound bag of coffee served $5.00 goes straight to Laundry Love national efforts and with every 12oz bag of Love Coffee purchased at Neighbours Table $4.00 goes straight to the national efforts of Laundry Love.

Neighbours Table Coffee and Commons leases space from Alongsiders Inc. We are not affiliated with any entity who leases space at 2830 NE Flanders St, but due to being in a mixed-use property, cross pollination happens. Neighbours Table Coffee and Commons does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, gender, sex, marital status, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or disability.

The Neighbours Table is an initiative of Paper Planes PDX a charitable nonprofit corporation created to unfold ideas around business and human care.

LEADERSHIP

  • Greg Russinger

    FOUNDER of PAPER PLANES PDX
    & BOARD PRESIDENT

  • Jeffrey Lowe

    BOARD MEMBER

  • JAMIE BENZ

    BOARD MEMBER

  • JOEY KING

    BOARD MEMBER

  • JANAN COLE

    BOARD MEMBER

  • Allison Hester

    OPERATIONS

  • Susan Thomas

    NEIGHBOURS TABLE
    MANAGER & DIRECTOR

  • Michele Russinger

    UMEUS FOOD PANTRY DIRECTOR

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paper plane fun

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