International Women’s Day Event
With just a few weeks leading ORTA, on March 24th, the new Executive Committee (EC) hosted the first official event of the year. I say “official” because there have been some other small informal gatherings, but this was the first time we had an actual, formal plan. Proof of the official-ness of this was the first day of school jitters we all felt.
Having International Women’s Day as a backdrop, we wanted to bring people together to commemorate and celebrate the vital role of women. We partnered with Bridge to Turkey (BTF) and Cinema4aCause to bring the documentary “Feyza’s Kitchen” to Portland. This private screening was also possible thanks to the generosity of ELEETE Real Estate that let us use their gorgeous lounge (for free!), and thanks to Esra Buyukozer for helping us secure this space with them.
After the film, we opened the mic for a candid conversation led by our friend Cigdem Ertem. We covered multiple topics that ranged from agriculture and the importance of mother earth, to helping people in need, and the power of coming together as a community. And this was the essence of the event, and this was the goal for the day; to bring people together to promote awareness and open channels to help strengthen communities here at home and abroad.
The mission of ORTA is to “enhance the lives of the Turkish-American community” and this event was a perfect example of two ways we do this:
ONE, we bring people together to discuss social issues – in this case through the lens of a documentary -, and TWO, we promote our members and our members’ businesses to help them extend their networks so they can increase their impact, which is exactly what we did with Esra by literally giving her the mic to talk about her new endeavor at ELEETE and invite our members to sign up to her mailing list.
The small gathering was perfect for an intimate conversation. Our members (and non-members) felt comfortable speaking up and sharing their thoughts. I felt inspired by the positive aura in the room and I’m sure every person who joined us felt the same way. We learned, laughed, and shared. Even if by a tiny bit, we all left the room as better people. As our fearless leader Guluzar says: “Together, we are better!”
This was a FREE event for members and friends, with a donation of your choice, to the cause of your choice. Guests selected from three different charity projects: “Make a wish”, CATE (Child Amputees of Türkiye Earthquake), and “Scholarships Program for children affected by the earthquake”. At the time of this publication, for this specific event, we raised over a thousand dollars WITHOUT company matching. Considering this was a very small group I think the numbers are fantastic. Stay tuned for the final tally later when we get all corporate matching confirmed.
Speaking on behalf of the entire EC (Basak, Claire, Ferda, Guluzar, Yusuf, Zeynep and myself) I extend my deep gratitude to our volunteers, who helped us make this a reality:
Esra Buyukozer for helping us secure the beautiful space - did I mention, free of charge?
Cidgem Ertem for leading the post-film conversations - Cidgem, you are the best!
Nurgul Dogan for continuing being our strong liaison with BTF – Nurgul, we want more!
Melike Kayim and Gozde Dermanel for the delicious pastries – the best!
The EC is working hard (really hard) to get more things rolling, so stay tuned for more events and more opportunities to get involved. If you are not a member and want to join us, click here. If you want to get involved, sign up here. Any questions, send us a note to contact@ortapdx.org
ORTA Secretary
Jaime Altamirano