Tomorrow will mark the 33rd anniversary of a memorable event – the day that Mount St. Helens erupted. It was on May 18, 1980 at 8:32 a.m. PDT that a 5.1 earthquake shook Mount St. Helens. Ashes were spread throughout the region, and by the end, the mountain actually dropped some 1,313 feet in height (that is an old Trivial Pursuit question). For those of you living here (or in the region) at the time, you will remember the experience.

Yesterday afternoon I joined 400 people at an event for Jewish Family and Child Service. During the program, Howard Behar, former President of Starbucks Coffee, gave an inspiring speech about “serving people.”

In Tuesday morning’s Oregonian, the headline of the Metro section read, “United Way Plans a New Role.” I was immediately drawn to the article to learn more about their future plans. Like the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, the United Way is moving away from being a more transactional organization to a more “relational” organization. Too often, both Federation and the United Way are seen as “middlemen” for people’s charitable contributions. In reality, we are community-building organizations focused on making a direct impact on the greatest needs in our community. 

Earlier this week I sent out a “special edition” of Marc’s Remarks (so today’s will be very brief). I wanted it to be timely and to share about the successes of the Food for Thought Festival. We will soon be adding all the photos, videos of speakers, and audio of the various events on the Festival website. For a sneak peek, click here for photo highlights, and I encourage you to watch Dr. Stephen Trachtenberg’s address at Limmud PDX.

FANTASTIC! That is the only way I can describe the opening night of the Food for Thought Festival. Over 600 people from our community came to hear the Wisdom of Davids at the Portland Art Museum. Comedian David Steinberg, Daily Show alum David Javerbaum, and Oregonian columnist David Sarasohn did not disappoint. Funny, illuminating, fantastic stories, and just brilliant. And all for an incredible cause – to help fight hunger in partnership with the Oregon Food Bank.