Reflecting on 2024: Gratitude, Progress, and Community Support in the Pearl District
As we wind down 2024 and wrap up year two of NWCC’s commitment to safety, livability, and business recovery in the Pearl District, I want to take a moment to thank our many supporters and reflect on the impact your investment has had on our community. On behalf of the NWCC board, Executive Director, Advisors, and Partners, thank you for your support in so many ways. We cannot improve our community without your memberships, donations, in-kind gifts, and the ongoing encouragement we receive.
From the start, we’ve learned that the Pearl District truly cares about people. Our mission includes helping the unsheltered homeless find shelters and services. Since our inception, we have supported over 2,000 unsheltered individuals.
Our community also values safety and progress regarding livability, as shown by the following results:
Over 1,500 members have used our hotline to receive much-needed de-escalation support for handling difficult situations, with an average response time of just 8.5 minutes.
We track nine key metrics monthly, with positive progress on all of them except one: While commercial closures in the Pearl District have increased, last month we saw a decline of four vacant commercial spaces.
A focus group conducted in 2023 prioritized safe streets, thriving businesses, making the Pearl District a destination, and supporting the arts and education. These priorities continue to guide our work as our North Star.
In 2024, we achieved key milestones, including successfully advocating for the city to extend the business tax credit to the Pearl District and working on fixes to the bottle bill. We’ve also engaged the Portland Police Bureau to address crime and strengthened our partnership with Echelon Patrol Services to improve safety for residents, visitors, and businesses.
On September 1, 2024, NWCC welcomed its first Executive Director, Chase McPherson. Chase hit the ground running, leveraging his five years of experience with Clean and Safe and his commercial real estate background. In just four months, he’s done an outstanding job working with our partners and community, where responsiveness is key.
In October, Chase also brought our humanitarian outreach efforts in-house, where they continue to thrive today. As the year ends, we bid farewell to Mary Paganelli, our Director of Membership Services, who will step back to pursue her marketing career. We cannot thank Mary enough for her exceptional work over the past 15 months.
Once again, I want to personally thank you for your incredible support. We look forward to another year of progress and collaboration in our vibrant community.
Happy Holidays!
Ken Thrasher, Board Chair, NWCC
Join us in making a lasting difference with NWCC.
Together, we can strengthen our humanitarian efforts, enhance community security, and provide the essential resources needed to build a brighter, more hopeful future for all. Your support fuels this vital mission and inspires positive change.
Visit the Restore the Pearl campaign on the NWCC website and donate today.
Let’s create a legacy of impact—together!
