Community Center
HOURS 2011:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: 9am to 12pm
Monday evenings: 6pm to 9pm
Wednesday evenings: 5pm to 7pm
We have rentals for birthday parties, etc. available on the weekends, please call for availablity.
5905 SE 43rd.
503-823-3633
Gets a new sign.
The Woodstock Community Center has long been the Woodstock Neighborhood’s best kept secret. Well the word is certainly bound to get out now, now that there is a 15 foot sign placed prominently in the center of the building’s gables.
About two years ago, the community center received a beautiful new paint job thanks to Portland Parks and Recreation (PP&R). New road signs, courtesy of Oregon Department of Transportation, were placed along Woodstock Boulevard alerting people to the center’s location. The little sign in front was also repainted as an extra special touch by a Parks employee. The Friends of the Woodstock Community Center (FWCC) were proud of all they’d done in partnerships with various agencies and wanted to share their accomplishments with others. And it is where the story of the sign begins again.
A sign for the community center had long been in the works. Members of the community knew that instructors and students who participated in classes at the center had difficulty finding it on the first try. However, 
when PP&R first announce the possible closure of the center five years ago the sign project got mothballed.
After it became clear that the efforts to keep the community center were working and there was a strong partnership between the FWCC and PP&R, talk turned again to the sign. It was also clear that many neighbors and visitors to our neighborhood didn’t know where the community center was. Lonnie Port, Chair of the FWCC working closely with Jeff Milkes from PP&R, and Cliff Bryson, the sign maker, along with members of the FWCC, ushered this project through. Jeff worked with City Bureau’s, permitting offices and city engineers to assure the proper permits were issued and building codes were followed. Lonnie oversaw design, color and liaised with all parties, keeping lines of communication open. Cliff Bryson, the Woodcarver offered his expertise regarding signage of this magnitude. Cliff Bryson is also the Woodcarver who created the Woodstock entrance signs that flank the boulevard in the medians.
The Woodstock Community Center now has the final touch to complete its façade makeover, making the building identifiable and easier to find. This is good thing because the center is busy with many classes. 
Some of the long-time regulars like clock repair, watercolor and Tae Kwon do continue to meet at the center. There is also a preschool co-op that is thriving at the center, along with several classes geared towards children.
A crucial piece of the agreement with PP&R is that the center needs to remain cost neutral. Meaning classes that are offered there pay for the employee time needed to staff the center during hours of operations. With the Tae Kwon do instructors donating their time and the FWCC helping with day-to-day chores they are able to meet this requirement. It also means that features such as the new sign must come from other sources. The funding for this sign came from the generosity of our neighbors who gave tax-deductable donations to support the community center.
If you are interested in taking a class at the center, drop by the building for a schedule or visit PP&R online for class information.
The Friends of the Woodstock Community Center (FWCC) is a small grass roots steering committee for the Woodstock Neighborhood Association's partnership with Portland Parks & Recreation that is keeping the Woodstock Community Center open for community use.
The Woodstock Community Center is in an historic firehouse that was built in 1928. In 1958, Portland Parks assumed ownership of the firehouse and converted it into a Community Center. The Center is located at 5905 SE 43rd, just west of the Bi-Mart parking lot.
Portland Parks and Recreation offers a variety of classes at the Woodstock Community Center. In addition the Center serves as a meeting place for the Woodstock Neighborhood Association, which also sponsors other events there. Space at the Community Center can be rented for birthday parties and other gatherings.
The Woodstock Community Center is currently being operated through a partnership between the Woodstock Neighborhood Association/Friends of the Woodstock Community Center and Portland Parks and Recreation. (See the Community Center Partnership Agreement below.)
Portland Parks and Recreation offers an ongoing schedule of classes year round at the Woodstock Community Center including Tae Kwon Do, Yoga, Pilates and individual guitar and piano lessons.
Additional Parent/Child Messy Art & movements classes along with dance, a Cooperative Preschool and adult Antique Clock Repair and Water Color classes will be offered September-June.
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Pre-Ballet for ages 4 and 5 begins in September. Antique Clock Repair begins in September and the Thursday afternoon class in Watercolor Technique starts in early October.
Complete class and fee schedules are available at the Woodstock Branch Library and on the front porch of the Community Center, as well as on line at www.PortlandParks.org. The schedule for classes at Woodstock can also be found in the Mt. Scott Community Center class catalogue.
PP and R staff is available to answer questions and to take registration on Mondays from 3:30 to 8:30 PM and on Tuesdays between 5:00 and 8:00 PM (call 503-823-3633). You can also call the Mt. Scott Community Center (call 503-823-3183) or go on-line at www.PortlandParks.org.
In the 2004-2005 budget season, Woodstock Community Center (WCC) was slated for closure due to lack of funds to keep it open. With neighborhood support, a group of community members sponsored by the Woodstock Neighborhood Association stepped up to co-manage WCC.
Following an initial one-year trial, the Portland City Council unanimously approved a three-year Shared Use Agreement between Portland Parks & Recreation and the Friends of the Woodstock Community Center supported by the Woodstock Neighborhood Association. This Partnership Agreement will allow Woodstock Community Center to stay open for community use through June of 2008.
According to the Partnership Agreement, Portland Parks & Recreation (PPR) continues to provide programming at the building, such as recreation/enrichment classes, private rentals and other events. Most routine operational expenses are now being covered by the Woodstock Neighborhood Association/Friends of Woodstock Community Center (FWCC), for which they raise money through private fundraising events and or offset by providing in-kind volunteer labor (grounds upkeep, twice weekly custodial and other minor maintenance obligations) with the oversight of PPR staff.
As we continue to succeed, the Agreement can be used as a guiding light to other community centers faced with budget cuts that could mean closure. By working together, we can keep this Center open to the neighborhood for a long time to come.
Donations to the Friends of the Woodstock Community Center are warmly appreciated.
If you would like a tax-deductible donation receipt, please feel free to write your donation to:
Southeast Uplift
Memo of Check: FWCC
3534 SE Main
Portland, Oregon 97211
The Friends of the Woodstock Community Center (FWCC) is a Steering Committee delegated by the Woodstock Neighborhood Association to over see various aspects of the Partnership Agreement. The FWCC works closely with PPR staff to maintain good communication among all parties associated with the Agreement. The FWCC recruits and coordinates volunteers to help with the custodial and maintenance responsibilities of the Agreement. The FWCC also engages in fundraising, both to cover the costs of maintenance obligations and to build a reserve fund to cover the costs of utilities.
The Friends group can always use more volunteer help. Specifically, help is needed with custodial work (this can be on an occasional basis), with landscape maintenance, and with monitoring the steam boiler. FWCC also intends to begin applying for grants and would welcome the expertise of persons familiar with the grant writing process.
To offer assistance with custodial and maintenance chores, contact Terry Griffiths at 503-771-0011, or Desiree Leslie-Sexton at 503-706-8368. If you are willing and able to help with grant writing or fundraising, please contact Lonnie Port at 503-774-2619 or lonniewna@hotmail.com.
The terms of the Agreement (simplified) are as follows:
- Portland Parks and Recreation will continue to program classes at the Center insofar as it can do so on a cost neutral basis.
- The Woodstock Neighborhood Association/Friends of the Woodstock Community Center will provide in-kind volunteer maintenance and custodial services to minimize the costs of keeping the building operating.
- The Woodstock Neighborhood Association/Friends of the Woodstock Community Center will cover utilities and routine maintenance expenses. This is possible initially because of a one-time $17,000 grant from the Office of Neighborhood Involvement. Additional fund-raising and grant writing will be necessary.
Call us at 503-823-3633. The hours the center is open are limited so, if you don't get an answer, please leave a message. Or visit us on-line at www.PortlandParks.org.
Call 503 823-3633 for all class schedules
Tim Hammock
WCC Staff:
Tracy Krevanco
Tori Padellford
Cassandra Sloan Nicholson
It's best to call.
#19 Woodstock
#75 39th Ave/Lombard
Inaccessible
Call 503-823-3633 for information.
Acreage: 0.11
Acquired in 1958
Woodstock Neighborhood
Includes classrooms, kitchen, office, and restrooms.