Today, for National Nonprofit Day, we wanted to highlight some of the nonprofits the Winterbrook Planning team is actively engaged in:

Harpers Playground: This year, Winterbrook Planning is sponsoring the annual Soiree for Harper’s playground, and our Managing Principal, Jesse Winterowd, AICP, PMP, sits on their board of directors. We identify with, and want to spread awareness of, their mission:

Harper’s Playground wants everybody to play! Play is vital to being human. It’s how we learn and grow. Play strengthens our bodies and minds. It teaches us how to communicate and solve problems. Play builds self-esteem, confidence, and helps foster empathy. It helps us develop the skills we need through life. Play is so important, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights declares it “a right of every child.”

Most playgrounds aren’t designed for everybody— especially kids and families experiencing disability, and that’s a problem. Far too often, they leave these vital members of our communities on the sidelines. They’re inaccessible to caregivers. They lack nature. They don’t spark the imagination; even kids who can access them become quickly bored. Most of all, they don’t allow everyone to play together.

Inspired by our own life story and circumstances, we’re on a mission to change all that.

Housing Land Advocates: Winterbrook Planning’s longest team member, Ben Schonberger, AICP, sits on the Housing Land Advocates board of directors, and Winterbrook Planning sponsored the HLA Annual conference in March of this year.

“We bring together policy makers, planners, affordable housing practitioners, and other community members to discuss how land use planning can support Oregon’s affordable housing needs. We serve as an advocate for thoughtful land use planning that aligns with housing policy, and as a watchdog to ensure that state and local governments fulfill their obligations under adopted housing policies, goals, and statutes.”

Some of the other charities we’ve supported over the last several years include:

• Habitat for Humanity
• Transition Projects
• Wild Salmon Center
• Wisdom of the Elders
• Audubon Society
• William Temple House
• Wetlands Conservancy
• Columbia Riverkeepers

We are proud of our links to the nonprofits that make a difference in the Pacific Northwest. Their work in the community helps bring our vision to help integrate people, communities, and the natural and built environments to fruition.