Neighborhood Nonprofit Spotlight: Rachel Parker, Inukai Family Boys & Girls Club in Hillsboro

Patch talks to Rachel from the Inukai Family Boys & Girls Club in Hillsboro.

Patch: Tell Patch a little about you and your organization!

Rachel: We are the Inukai Family Boys & Girls Club in Hillsboro. We are part of the larger Boys & Girls Clubs of the Portland Metro organization. Our mission is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to become productive, caring, responsible citizens

Patch: How does your organization help to strengthen the Oregon community?

Rachel: We serve hundreds of youth and families every year to help them with basic needs, provide them with a safe place to go, a place to help them be successful in school, learn positive life skills and connect with positive adult mentors. Many of our members say we are like a second family and a home away from home.

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Patch: What is the biggest struggle your organization faces?

Rachel: As with any nonprofit, finding stable funding is always a challenge. Additionally, we are a highly-attended facility so we are currently looking at ways to update and increase our space capacity. On a larger scale, I am interested in finding ways to support youth in our community through various means and in various venues. Out of school care and enrichment is critical for youth to reach their full potential and not fall through the cracks, this take the effort of the entire community. There is currently a much higher need for youth services then there are programs and organizations available to fill them. It is my dream and work to ensure that we are able to mobilize the community to provide the best and most comprehensive programs and services for our youth so that they can grow up to be happy, healthy and successful adults.

Patch: What do you hope for the future of your nonprofit?

Rachel: We always hope to continue to deepen our impact on youth, families, and our community. As stated in our mission we aim to serve all youth and families, especially those that need us most. That means constantly assuring that our programming is comprehensive, trauma-informed, responsive to the community, useful and builds up the youth and families to have a better future than before they stepped through our doors.

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Photo By: Inukai Family Boys & Girls Club