News & Updates
Announcing our new branding and logo
We are excited to announce the new logo and branding for the Rockwood Community Development Corporation! We have been serving the Rockwood Community since 2013 by partnering with our neighbors and listening to what they need to provide pathways for the residents of Rockwood to move from poverty to prosperity. We are excited about the progress…
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Our Impact: 2020-2021
We have been living in exceptionally tumultuous times. The past two years have been especially challenging for communities like Rockwood. During this difficult season, the Rockwood CDC team has worked diligently to walk alongside the community to listen to their needs and respond accordingly. Since January 1, 2020, we have served over 11,086 individuals through…
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About our Core Strategy and our Work
East Multnomah County sits outside of Portland. The income disparities are stark. Median Household Income is less than half of what it is in Portland. In just the past eight years, this gap has more than doubled. We have the worst health outcomes, the youngest population, the worst educational attainment, and the lowest incomes of…
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The Sunrise Center is a Portland Area Warming Shelter
According to the latest forecasts, our region is facing an extended period of snow and frigid temperatures, starting this weekend and worsening next week. Those are conditions that bring a high risk of danger to our neighbors who are surviving outside without a home. The Sunrise Center will be a warming shelter (https://www.multco.us/care-when-its-cold). If you…
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Low Barrier Farmers Markets
Most farmers markets in the Portland metro area are considered “high-barrier.” This means that for farmers to sell their produce, it must be well packaged and, as a result, high priced. The consumers at these markets in Portland are looking for produce with packaging standards that they might see at high end grocery stores such…
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A Conversation about Rockwood
By: Brad Ketch What started out as a conversation to kill time while my nurse checked my vitals, turned into a riveting 15-minute conversation about the complexity of poverty in urban America, specifically the Rockwood community. We weren’t far from my office, but I wasn’t surprised when he told me he had no idea where…
Read MoreBringing Vaccinations to the people of East Multnomah County
The 24-hour news cycle has been incredibly sad and exhausting recently. And frankly, we are all in need of some good news. We are so proud of how our team has been present in the midst of what feels like a never-ending health crisis. Would you like a little good news? In communities like Rockwood,…
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Multnomah County Holds Press Event about Vaccinations at The People’s Market at Rockwood
On Thursday, July 22 Multnomah County held a press event encouraging vaccinations, especially in the BIPOC community. This event took place alongside The People’s Market at Rockwood at the Sunrise Center. Health officials say 29% of adults in Oregon are still not vaccinated against COVID-19. Ebony Clarke, the director of the Multnomah County Health Department,…
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What in the world is community development?
Here at the Rockwood Community Development Corporation, we often hear the question: “What in the world is community development?” To answer this question, we think it’s best to start with a basic definition: “Community development is a process where community members come together to take collective action and generate solutions to common problems.” For us,…
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The People’s Market at Rockwood
The Rockwood Food Systems Collaborative and Play, Grow, Learn have launched the The People’s Market at Rockwood. This market, located at the Sunrise Center, is an incubator market centering Black and Indigenous Farmers and Makers. It supports BIPOC growers in taking their small business dreams to the farmers market environment. Nearly 40 vendors of all…
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Article: Rockwood CDC to open family shelter with $7 million state grant (Gresham Outlook)
From the Gresham Outlook “East Multnomah County is receiving a Project Turnkey grant of nearly $7 million to acquire and convert a 75-room motel into a COVID-respite shelter for anyone needing a roof over their head. The funds were awarded by the Oregon Community Foundation to Rockwood Community Development Corporation, which will helm the new…
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Oregon Community Foundation Awards Nearly $7 Million to Rockwood CDC to Bring Critical Help to One of the Most Underserved Areas of Multnomah County
Gresham, Ore. – May 28, 2021 Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) today announced that Rockwood Community Development Corporation (Rockwood CDC) will receive a Project Turnkey grant of nearly $7 million for the acquisition and conversion of a 75-room motel in Gresham, Oregon. The property will serve as a COVID-respite shelter for vulnerable community members needing safe…
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