Volunteer Expo Gathers on Thursday

Tuesday, September 08, 2015

Aleck Z. Woogmaster, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Portland's largest gathering of volunteers happens this Thursday and it will be celebrating its seventh year. Ben & Jerry's will be giving away ice cream.

The Standard's Volunteer Expo will amass at pioneer square Thursday morning, featuring a new video booth where Portlanders can document their experiences volunteering in an effort to share the intangible rewards and profound relationships they've developed through volunteering.

The Standard is a family of companies with interests ranging from insurance to retirement services and financial consultants.

The Expo brings together a full course of nonprofit organizations of all distinctions, including arts, humanities, the environment, human services and more. The event kicks off Sthe Standard's annual Employee Giving Campaign, which encourages company employees to support nonprofit organizations by agreeing to match individual donations up to $5,000.

Last year, the campaign raised more than $1.6 million and benefited over 1,100 organizations. This year the campaign runs September 14th through OCtober 2nd.

The Volunteer Expo is set to begin at Pioneer Square on Thursday, September 10th at 11 AM. Partnering with New Avenues For Youth, Ben & Jerry’s will be giving away a free scoop to those who connect with five or more nonprofits. Collect Cards will be available at the event and will take stamps to indicate organizations you've connected with.