Greetings,

I hope you spend a few moments exploring the website of the Portland Children's Levy.

Because of the generosity and support of Portland residents, the Levy reaches 16,000 of the city's neediest children and families each year through:

• Early childcare, parenting education and access to health screenings and immunizations that help children arrive at kindergarten healthy and prepared to succeed;
• After-school and mentoring programs that keep children in school and out of trouble;
• Child abuse prevention and intervention programs that help struggling parents avoid family violence and build community connections.
• Programs that help kids in foster care succeed.

Accountability is important: 95 cents of every dollar goes directly to programs helping children throughout the city and administrative costs are kept to 5 percent. The Levy is annually audited and all programs must demonstrate they are cost effective and achieve positive results for children.

We have made more resources available through a $3 million Leverage Fund that has matched public investments dollar for dollar with private funds. Thus far, $3 million has been matched for a total $6.1 million going toward programs including:

• Multnomah County Library Foundation's Raising a Reader program with Meyer Memorial Trust
• Start Making a Reader Today (SMART) with the Gates Foundation
• Juvenile Rights Project's SchoolWorks Program with Meyer Memorial Trust
• Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Portland's Nightscape Teen program with the Schnitzer Care Foundation

The Portland Children's Levy is committed to building a safer and stronger city by giving hope and opportunity to its children.

I welcome your input.

Dan Saltzman
Portland City Commissioner
Portland Children's Levy Allocation Committee Chair
dan@ci.portland.or.us
503-823-4151
www.portlandonline.com/saltzman/