Volunteer for LWVPDX

The League depends on our member Volunteers

We are very grateful for our volunteers. Our volunteers help us improve our communities and our democracy. Please be aware that we generally ask only our members to volunteer. If you are not yet a member, please join us. If you want to volunteer, but need financial or other support to become a member, please contact our membership chair by emailing membership@lwvpdx.org.

We have a menu of options for ways you can help. Whether you can contribute an occasional hour or two or would like to spend more time on projects that interest you, there’s a job for you. Plus, when you volunteer for the League, you have the opportunity to sharpen your skills in leadership, communications, research, public speaking and more.

Often volunteers can work from home. Some work together with others who have similar interests. For example, members of our committees enjoy creating ideas for LWV events or educational resources together.  Committee members may communicate by email, or meet by conference call, on Zoom, in-person with safety precautions, or using a mixed format.

Every year, when members renew their memberships, or whenever new members join, they are encouraged to complete an interest form that lists opportunities for volunteering. (It also lists many opportunities we offer members to learn about issues with other members.) When recruiting volunteers, we consult the responses to these interest forms. We may also contact you by phone to learn more.

We invite YOU to volunteer to help with our projects, both large and small! Check one or two activities that interest you on the printable Member Volunteer Interest Form and then mail it to our office at:

League of Women Voters of Portland. PO Box 3491, Portland OR 97208-3491

OR to volunteer online,  fill out our  Member Information and Volunteer Form. The descriptions below may be  helpful if you are considering volunteering. They are slightly more detailed than the descriptions on the forms.

Below are some detailed descriptions of volunteer opportunities. See the emails of the leaders, if you are interested in learning more.We suggest selecting only one or two volunteer opportunities that interest you and fit your schedule.

Core Mission Committees: Action, Community Education, Member Education, and Voter Service.

These committees carry out the work of the League to educate our members and the public about elections and policy issues, and to advocate for better communities.

ACTION  COMMITTEE  (Debbie Aiona, action@lwvpdx.org)

Track an issue of interest to you and of importance to the community.  Observe and report on the proceedings of public meetings of governmental bodies and/or advocacy groups. These reports give us background information for our educational and advocacy efforts. Observers often can read the minutes or listen to the recordings of meetings on their computers at home, whenever they have time.  Current and continuing Action areas are: Affordable Housing; Air Quality; Campaign Finance; Civic Engagement/Neighborhood Associations; Fossil Fuel Infrastructure/Climate Change; Joint Terrorism Task Force; Portland Charter Review Commission; Portland Harbor Superfund Site; Portland Police Bureau/Police Oversight; Portland Utility Board; and Universal Pre-Kindergarten. 

In January, we also need volunteers to interview state legislators who represent legislative districts in Portland. This is a great opportunity to meet your state representative or senator. The interviews are not published, but do help our LWVOR Advocacy Team, when they are working on proposed legislation for the 2023 session.

COMMUNITY EDUCATION COMMITTEE (Nancy Donovan, communityed@lwvpdx.org)

• • Plan with others or help host monthly public panel presentations on policy topics. These meetings often are held on the 2nd Tues. evening of the month. Committee members help plan the agenda and contact expert panelists for these monthly public presentations. They may also prepare information about experts for the League moderator. Sometimes they write newsletter articles and publicity about these events.
  • The Community Education Committee also may help organize special public  events. The committee members select a venue, order food, invite a speaker or speakers, and host the event.

MEMBER EDUCATION (Judy Froemke, membered@lwvpdx.org)

• • Help organize possible in-person (or virtual) member events (venue, food, speakers, hosts) such as Winter Program Planning, Media Lunch, and the Spring Annual Membership Meeting.
  • Plan the January 2023 Program Planning events
  • Join or help lead Interest Groups (see below)

MEMBER INTEREST GROUPS:

Members gather in the League name, around an area of interest for learning and collaboration, prospective study, or future advocacy. Open to all members. There are three Interest Groups.

• • Housing (Donna Cohen). To explore how to keep people in their homes; alternatives to houselessness; affordable housing for seniors; and accountability in city and metro housing bonds.
  • Justice (James Ofsink). To learn about and recommend advocacy for a fair criminal justice system including policing, sentencing, discrimination, parole, punishment and reintegration into the community.
  • Public School Education (Nancy Donovan and Fran Dyke). To bring forward new ideas to learn, collaborate and recommend activities for study in public school education.

DISCUSSION UNIT VOLUNTEERS (Ryann Enger, units@lwvpdx.org)

Discussion Units meet once a month in Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb, Mar, and Apr. Each group has a leader and notetakers. Discussion Unit leaders invite interested members to the meetings and introduce topics of each meeting. They often recruit other members to lead each discussion. Notetakers take notes during the discussions and send them to Carolyn at units@lwvpdx.org.

VOTER SERVICE COMMITTEE  (Chris Cobey, voterservice@lwvpdx.org)

The next big election in Oregon is the Primary Election in May 2024. League activity is in March-May 2024. There are many options for helping with voter service. Training is provided. For information about specific voter services, click on the links on this website under Vote, Voters’ Guide, and Contact Elected Officials.

• Video Voters’ Guides: Conduct online candidate interviews. All interviews are done in a few days in April 2024.
• Voter Forums Committee: Contacting candidates or experts on ballot measure pro and con for public forums and conducting the forums. March-April 2024.
• Voters’ Guide, and Vote411 Committees: Includes: writing questions for candidates; researching/writing ballot measure explanations with pros and cons; data entry; proof reading of print and online election information. Your skills are matched with need. February-March 2024 .
• Print Voters’ Guide Distribution:  Take copies of printed guides to Multnomah County Libraries and other neighborhood locations. April-May 2024.
• Voter Registration and Engagement: Voter registration in public if conditions allow, through letters, emails or texting. Expanding public outreach. Ongoing and continuous.
• Speakers Bureau (Trish Garner, speakers@lwvpdx.org): Speak to organizations that request nonpartisan presentations on ballot measures and other issues/topics. Ongoing and continuous.
• Multnomah County Directory of Elected Officials: This team updates the list of elected officials after each candidate election is certified. Volunteers need computer and phone sleuthing skills. Ongoing.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITTEES (FINANCES, COMMUNICATIONS, DEVELOPMENT, MEMBERSHIP, OFFICE HELP)

These committees support the work of the League by providing the publicity, funding, financial services, and volunteer recruitment to carry out our core mission.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE (Adrienne Aiona, treasurer@lwvpdx.org; Elizabeth Domike, budget@lwvpdx.org) 

The LWV finances are managed by volunteer members. Specific financial work may include:

• • • serving as an Assistant Treasurer
    • on the Budget or Endowment Committees
    • bookkeeping
    • assisting with development of policies and procedures.

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE  (Margaret Noel, communications@lwvpdx.org)

• • Publicity: write or send out press releases, design ads and flyers.
  • Take photos; record/edit videos; design graphics
  • Post on social media or website (Should understand the League)

COMMUNICATIONS- NEWSLETTER-THE “VOTER”  (Paulina Leperi, Voter Editor, newsletter@lwvpdx.org)

• • Write/edit newsletter (The Voter) articles on our monthly activities

DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE  (Linda Mantel, development@lwvpx.org)

Raise the funds to carry out our work.

• • Prepare materials for development campaigns
  • Thank and steward donors with letters and telephone calls
  • Develop relationships with corporate and foundation donors in preparation for requesting support
  • Work with members on deferred giving
  • Help organize a special fundraising event (arrange venue, food, speaker, hosts)

MEMBERSHIP/VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE (Pamela Clark, membership@lwvpdx.org)

• • Use your interpersonal skills to welcome new members or handle membership inquires;facilitate match between League needs and member volunteers.

OFFICE HELP (Audrey Zunkel-deCoursey, vpadmin@lwvpdx.org)

• • Help with occasional USPS mailings; or other office/clerical jobs.

LWV OF PORTLAND BOARD (Debbie Kaye,nominating@lwvpdx.org)

Board/Committee Leadership: We are a working board, and welcome interested members to consider being appointed or elected to leadership and  board positions

DEI-DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION COMMITTEE  ( Audrey Zunkel-deCoursey, (vpadmin@lwvpdx.org)

• • Consider where LWV of Portland is now on DEI and where we may want to go with training, etc.

OREGON REDISTRICTING (Norman Turrill, nturrill@mac.com; Chris Cobey, voterservice@lwvpdx.org)

• • LWV of Oregon working with other organizations to create an independent redistricting commission for Oregon.