Discovering a Broader World

Interview with Duncan Campbell, founder of Friends of the Children

The people we serve are the focus of our projects. Portland's parks are one of the city's great "equalizers," providing low-cost access to pools, arts, and summer recreation programs. Often, the mere presence of a Parks Summer Playground program ensures meals for children from low-income families through the Federal free/reduced lunch program. Since 2003, Portland Parks Foundation's Project Inclusion, with major support from partners at Nike, REI, Providence Health Plans, and a host of others, has directed more than $1 million toward park programs serving children in Portland. Project Inclusion's original purpose was to raise private funds to subsidize the cost of parks and recreation programming for children from low-income families. Today, as our growing population has become more diverse, so has the need to diversify our program offerings to reach at-risk children in the city's historically underserved neighborhoods.