Sunshine Division Fights Hunger At Waterfront Blues Festival

PORTLAND, OR - From The Sunshine Division: The Portland Police Bureau Sunshine Division will partner with the 2018 Waterfront Blues Festival.

The addition of Sunshine Division as a non-profit partner will bring continued awareness to local childhood hunger issues during the summer months by raising food and funds to help families with summer food support.

The Waterfront Blues Festival has a 30-year legacy of raising food, funds, and awareness of hunger issues in Oregon and SW Washington.

The festival tradition continues this year July 4 — 7, 2018 at downtown Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park with local and international artists lined up such as Curtis Salgado, Beth Hart, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, and George Thorogood and the Destroyers.

"For an organization our size," said Sunshine Division's Portland Police Bureau liaison, Officer Matt Tobey. "Partnering with such a respected and well-known music festival and community event is a huge opportunity. We're excited to be providing the festival volunteer support, while gaining an opportunity to share how our mission assists local families during the summer months — a time of year federally-funded free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs disappear for many children. We're also excited to participate in the event's reinvigorated food drive with our collection totes and barrels on site."

As Waterfront Blues Production takes over festival ownership and operations from Oregon Food Bank, it has extended its commitment to fighting hunger by supporting an additional local partner, the Sunshine Division, an organization on the front lines of feeding our local community.

"The Waterfront Blues Festival," said the event's longtime Artistic Director, Peter Dammann, "is committed to putting on a world-class event for Portland and the region that presents diverse musical arts, culture, and entertainment rooted in the blues traditions. The festival has been committed to using its broad platform to create awareness and support of hunger relief efforts for 30 years."

"We are thrilled to partner with both Oregon Food Bank and Sunshine Division," said Dammann. "This reaffirms our three-decade commitment to the region's fight against hunger as the festival enters its exciting next chapter."

The Sunshine Division, a 95-year-old nonprofit which partners closely with the Portland Police Bureau, has a strong commitment to feeding and clothing people in need while remaining as fiscally efficient as possible.

For years the organization has maintained an unusually high efficiency rating with over 92 cents of every dollar directed toward free programs serving Portland area's vulnerable populations and partnerships with area hunger relief agencies.

Charity Navigator has rated the Sunshine Division with a 4-out-of-4 star rating six years in a row, ranking among the top 6% of all nonprofits nationally.

The rating indicates low overhead and fundraising costs with high levels of effectiveness in mission and fiscal transparency.

About Sunshine Division

Since 1923, the Sunshine Division has been providing direct food and clothing assistance to low-income veterans, families with children, and seniors in times of economic crisis.

They offer free food and clothing assistance six days a week at their N. Portland warehouse, four days a week at their SE Stark location, and 24/7 food assistance through their partnership with the Portland Police Bureau who store food boxes at each precinct for immediate dispatch.

The Sunshine Division serves as a no-cost food bank to 20 area food assistance nonprofits, and provides approximately 16,000 special food boxes through three seasonal food box meal programs.

For more information, visit www.sunshinedivision.org

About Waterfront Blues Festival

Since 1988, the Waterfront Blues Festival has raised funds and awareness to fight hunger in Oregon and Clark County, Washington.

Oregon Food Bank, which had produced the event for three decades as its major annual fundraiser, recently turned over production responsibilities to its longtime festival partner, Waterfront Blues Production LLC.

Under the stewardship of the Oregon Food Bank, the festival raised nearly $11 million and more than 1,000 tons of food for the region.

In 2018, the festival continues its efforts in fighting hunger by partnering with both the Oregon Food Bank and Sunshine Division.

This Portland flagship festival has become a treasured tradition for locals and visitors alike, and has served as downtown Portland's signature Fourth of July Celebration.

It is the largest blues festival west of the Mississippi, the second-largest blues festival in the nation, and one of the most revered festivals of its kind in the world.

It is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Memphis-based Blues Foundation's coveted Keeping the Blues Alive Award for 'Best Festival.'

For more information, visit www.waterfrontbluesfest.com

Image via Brit Forbes, Waterfront Blues Festival