Good Deeds Day

In addition to providing higher education scholarships in Steve’s name, we also honor him on the anniversary of his death. Each year on December 11, we do a ‘Good Deeds Day’ as a way of re-framing that horrific day on 12/11/12. The first few years we bought 50-100 Subway sandwiches and gave them out to the homeless/houseless in downtown Portland, along with bottled water, hand warmers, warm socks and a fresh blanket if it was needed. We had friends and family join us pulling wagons with our supplies and our two dogs along for the day. When Covid hit, we pivoted and devoted our efforts to help the Community Transitional School by providing Christmas gifts (specific toys & clothes on their wish list) for each of the 75-80 kids who attend the school. CTS provides at-risk children with a stable educational environment that promotes a sense of community & belonging as they endure trauma and hardships of poverty and uncertainty.

Other Good Deeds Days include Steve’s birthday, February 13th, which he shares with his son, Alex, who was born 2 weeks early and five minutes after midnight. Steve was adopted, so having his son / his only ‘blood relative’ born on his birthday was in his words “the greatest gift I’ve ever received!” On February 13th, we like to post memorable pictures of Steve with family and friends; that we’ll never forget the positive impact he had on our lives. So we encourage everyone to put some good karma into the world in honor of him by doing any small act of kindness.