Backgrounder - Emma Ulring

The Blanchet House
of Hospitality
Our Mission:
‘To offer food, shelter, and aid to all those in need of a
safe place to be nourished and restored. Assist the trans-
formation of each life we touch with compassion and
dignity.’
What We Do:
As a nonprofit organization, The Blanchet House of Hospitality dedicated to serving
and feeding any person in need in downtown Portland. Three meals a day, six days a
week are served to anyone who’s hungry. Generous volunteers work and serve at each
meal, as well as donors in the area provide food and ingredients to help with meals.
Along with meals, The Blanchet House has two transitional programs for men strug-
gling with various addictions and life struggles. They have the opportunity to live at the
Blanchet house while working on their mental health and sobriety. In return for room
and board, the men work at the facility doing various tasks and jobs needed.
The other transitional program is in Carlton, Oregon, at the Blanchet farm. On this 62-
acre farm, men crate various wood items for the Portland facility, raise animals, and
go through intensive sobriety recovery. The farm operates as a place of solidarity and
refuge for men recovering and a sustainable resource for the organization altogether.
Our Locations
Portland Location: Farm Location:
310 NW Glisan Street 11750 NE Finn Hill Loop
Portland, OR 97209 Carlton, OR 97111
503-241-4340 503-852-6626
Our History
In 1928, high school students at an all-boys story building in Portland’s Chinatown District
Catholic school, Columbia Preparatory High that was being used as a brothel at the time. After
School in Portland, Oregon, decided to start the first month of converting the space and fulfilling
a service club on campus. Named after the the $35 rent for the first floor, they opened their doors
first Archbishop of Portland, Frances Norbert on February 11, 1952. The first meal served consisted
Blanchet, the boys thought of creating a service of coffee, beans, butter, and bread.
club at school after the example of the Catholic
By 1958, the men were able to buy the rest of the
Workers’ Movement. They offered clothes, food,
building’s floors, costing them $25,000 and officially
or money donations to those in need in the area.
getting its name as The Blanchet House of Hospitality.
The top two floors were converted into rooms that
After high school, the majority of boys running men could use in return for helping and serving in
the ‘Blanchet Club’ went to the University of the dining room.
Portland for college. There was a setback in the
club’s progression because of WWII’s impact and As the years went by, the founders realized men
many men going to serve overseas. Once they struggling with addiction needed a place outside of
returned home, they resumed their education and the city to get away from temptations. Money was
the prosperity of the Blanchet. raised to buy a 40-acre farm in Yamhill County,
Oregon for men to live, work, and get away from the
The eight boys in charge were guided by a harsh realities of Portland. Dorms, a woodshop, and
animal barns were built for the 22 men recovering
priest on campus, Fr. Francis Kenard, to find a
and working at the Blanchet Farm.
permanent location in Portland to create a larger
impact on the community. They found a three-
Ways to Give:
The main way to give back to Blanchet is through
volunteering. For each meal, up to twelve volunteers
help dish, serve, and converse with people eating.
There is information on the website on how to sign up
for specific days and meals.
There are numerous ways to donate to the Blanchet
House. Monetary donations are always welcomed and
can be completed online. There are options for one-
time donations and set monthly donations. Just $10 a
month can provide 360 meals a year.
Blanchet also offers a unique opportunity to host
meetings in one of their board rooms for any
organization. In return, the team at the meeting
volunteers together. Also, many employers match
donations to Blanchet and there are ways of doing so
online. The Original Blanchet
The Blanchet House of Hospitality has numerous House
supportive partners and donors. Many meals consist
of food items donated by local restaurants, clubs, and
stores. Without such help, serving nutritious, delicious
meals wouldn’t happen.
Success:
In 2012, the new Blanchet House building opened and
was used by Portland’s communities in need. After
over a decade of fundraising and planning, the Blan-
chet House of Hospitality’s Board of Directors was
happy to open the new LEED-certified building. The
new building allows for those waiting for a meal to get
warm inside the building before eating. The larger din-
ing hall allows for about 1,000 meals a day and houses
58 men.
Since the remodel of the Blanchet House, it has been

nominated as the largest feeding site in the state of Or-
egon. Since the beginning, over 26 million meals have
been served and 10,000 men have transitioned back The Blanchet House, 2012
into society after recovering. Blanchet has been recog-
nized as a role model for other feeding organizations
through its wholistic mission and devotion.
‘Lending a Helping Hand Since 1952’

Beliefs and Philanthropy
The Blanchet Hosue of Her philosophy of
Hospitality’s mission is working, learning, and
based on the teachings treating all people with
of Dorthy Day. She was justice and dignity, the
the co-founder of the exact way The Blanchet
Catholic worker move- House treats everyone
ment, devoting her life who comes through
to compassion. their doors.
Dorthy Day believed There is no religious

that: “It was necessary affiliation is tied to the
to embrace poverty and Blanchet but the Catho-
the Works of Mercy, to lic community is rooted
feed, clothe and shelter in the founder’s work
people who were in and devotion. Dorthy Day
need.”
Leadership:
Scott Kerman - Executive Director
Julie Showers - Marketing / Communications
Manager
Kristie Katzke - Case Manager
Debra Fresh - Farm Case Manager
Erik Schram - Residential Program Manager
Ross Sears - Farm Manager
Mike West - Kitchen and Facilities Manager
Emily Reiling - Development / Community En-
gagement Coordinator
Brittney Brock - Volunteer Coordinator
Why Donate:
All donations to the Blanchet House goes straight to the cause. There
are options as to where your money goes and its usage, but everything
goes to the greater good of Blanchet and the Portland community.
Blanchet House of Hospitality is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization

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Backgrounder - Emma Ulring

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The Blanchet House

Since the remodel of the Blanchet House, it has been

‘Lending a Helping Hand Since 1952’

Dorthy Day believed There is no religious

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