Heroes with Heart Awards Dinner and Auction

The Trauma Intervention Program NW (TIP NW) of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington held their 12^th annual Heroes with Heart Awards Dinner and Auction on November 5th, 2009 at the Embassy Suites in Portland, Oregon.  The event was well attended with a bustle of activity, great company, and generous ways to donate to a worthy cause at every turn.

Silent and Live Auctions

The Silent and Live Auctions included over 230 items and baskets that ranged from a Poker Party donated by Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) Training & Safety Division Chief Scott Fisher to a condo stay in Nuevo Vallarta, Nayarit, Mexico donated by Kristi Butcher.  My favorite was the adorable Lhasa Apso puppy up for auction and donated from the Airpet Hotel, Happy Trails to You Kennel, and Pet Reader.

PF&R personnel stepped up and donated close to 20 fire baskets. Well done Stations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 25, 26, 29, EMS/BHQ, Historic Belmont Firehouse, Training Center, and 6^th Floor Administration!

Main Event

Members of the Portland Fire Honor Guard performed color guard duty to start the dinner portion of the evening off in a respectful and reverent tone.  June Vining, the Executive Director of TIP NW, then extended a heartfelt welcome and thanked everyone for taking part in TIP NW’s efforts to raise money to expand services into neighboring cities and counties and train additional citizens.

During the dinner, Good Samaritan Awards were given to Rentrak Corporation and Officer Mike Kramer with the Oregon City Police Department for exercising an exceptional level of compassion towards the victims and survivors of tragedy.  

Why an Annual Dinner and Auction?
The proceeds of the auction directly benefit TIP NW. TIP is a national voluntary nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that those who are emotionally traumatized in emergency situations receive the assistance they need. To accomplish that goal, TIP works closely with local communities to establish emergency services volunteer programs. In these programs, well-trained citizen volunteers are called to emergency scenes to assist family members, witnesses, and other bystanders who the emergency system often must leave behind.

TIP volunteers are available on a 24-hour, 365-day basis to support family members after a death, crime victims, survivors of suicide, children left alone after a death or injury to their parents, senior citizens and anyone else referred to us by emergency responders. TIP NW responded to 2,007 calls last year and served 12,214 citizens the Portland and Vancouver area.

TIP NW is a chapter that serves Multnomah, Clark, and Clackamas Counties, including their newest expansion into Sandy, Oregon. TIP NW volunteers have served citizens in local communities for over sixteen years.

What Can You Do?

Are you interested in assisting citizens in the Portland and Vancouver areas that are in crisis?  Click here to get more information on the upcoming January 2010 TIP Training Academy or visit the official TIP NW website at http://www.tipnw.org.

November 6, 2009