By Nate Larsen
SnowCap Volunteer Coordinator
SnowCap Community Charities is a philanthropic organization created to provide food, clothing, advocacy and other services to our neighbors in need. Located off 178th and Stark street in the Rockwood area, SnowCap has been providing essentials to people that live East of 82nd, but still within Multnomah County, since 1967.
Over this past summer, SnowCap has been serving an average of 12,600 people per month, nearly 3,000 more than last year. And the sustained increase in the number of neighbors we are serving shows no signs of slowing down.
SnowCap is primarily known for our food pantry. Families and individuals who live in our area can come to SnowCap up to two times each month for free groceries, pet food and hygiene items.
SnowCap accepts donations of just about any kind of non-perishable food, provided it is still in the original, factory packaging. We can also accept donations of fresh fruits and vegetables from gardens and orchards! Some of the most requested items from our clients, are things like soups, stews, chilis and other canned proteins (peanut butter, SPAM, tuna, etc.).
SnowCap also operates an offsite clothing closet, where our clients can make appointments once each month, to select donated clothing to help keep their families warm. To facilitate this, SnowCap accepts donations of any kind of gently used clothing - any size, any shape or any style! Shirts, pants, sweatshirts, jackets, shoes, and even sheets or towels make wonderful donations. We also accept brand new packages of socks and underwear.
But one of the best ways to help, is by volunteering your time! SnowCap is always on the lookout for folks to help assemble food boxes/bags in our warehouse, assist clients as a personal shopper in our offsite clothing closet, or even help answer phones as a receptionist! With a small staff of only 12 people, we literally cannot do what we do, without the help of our wonderful volunteers!
SnowCap’s pantry is open every Monday through Friday from 10am to 2pm, and Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6pm to 8pm. If you are interested in volunteering as an individual or group, please contact nate@snowcap.org, or visit www.snowcap.org for more information.
