The last couple years have been amazing for OPI. We've marshaled over 900 hours of volunteer labor to improve our City's pitches. Those volunteers helped level, seed and restor eight different fields, repaint 70 goals, remove yards of concrete and repair countless pieces of irrigation equipment. We've improved or added pitches to 4 different City parks and 2 of Portland's schools. We are immensely proud of our volunteers who make all this work possible. But this year we're on to something we hope will be our biggest project yet.
And we'll need your help to make it happen.
This year we're working to build Bless Field: a youth-sized all-season pitch for the kids of Portland's New Columbia neighborhood.
The New Columbia community is home to nearly 1,200 kids from 22 countries speaking more than 11 different languages and we see Bless Field as a place where all of these kids can share the common language that is the beautiful game. Bless Field is designed to support AC Portland sponsored events through nearby Rosa Parks Elementary School and after-school programs through the Regence Boys & Girls Club. It's not so impossible to imagine Bless Field becoming a place where a future Timbers or Thorns star will learn the game and go on to score a winning goal at JELD-WEN Field in front of the best supporters in the world.
Its a major project for sure - but one worthy of the effort. In the weeks to come, we'll be sharing more details about how you can help make this project happen.
To stay up on the latest, keep an eye on our blog, give us a follow on Twitter (@OPIPDX) and join our mailing list. You can also bookmark and share this page on the OPI website that contains all the latest on the Bless Field project.