Hello, Cheer PDX... or shall we say Cheer Portland!? Please, reintroduce yourself and tell us all about your new name and rebrand!
We are, *clap, clap* Cheer Portland! Who is Cheer Portland you might be asking!? It’s us! Cheer PDX! No, it's not a disguise or a nickname. Cheer Portland has been keeping a little secret. Coming this September, you will see a new logo, name, uniforms and rebranding coming from us! Cheer Portland will still boast our iconic teal and lavender colors but will be bringing you an eye-catching, cheer-tastic logo and social media content.
Instagram - @cheerportland
Website - www.cheerpdx.org
Facebook - www.facebook.com/cheerpdx (This will be changing to facebook.com/cheerportland)
TikTok - @cheerpdx
Contact - secretary@cheerpdx.org
It's August and we're mid #PCATryoutTour! How is it going for Cheer Portland?
Cheer Portland has seen the most interest and dedication than we have ever had in our short 3 years. 16 prospective members tried out on August 26th, using the PCA Summit dance, basic stunts, and even a few cheers. Combined with our 12 returning members, we anticipate having around 28 volun-cheerleaders for our 3rd full season as a charitable cheerleading team with PCA. Creating excitement surrounding charitable events and community building has been our number 1 focus when recruiting our members this season. Our 2021-2022 beneficiary, The Living Room Youth, came to speak with our prospective members in July about what Cheer Portland's charitable contributions can do for their organization and how we can get involved with our at risk LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. Cheer Portland is ready to start spreading the spirit and raising funds & awareness for the LGBTQ+ community and beyond! Look for our new 2021-2022 team announcements the first week of September!
Any events on the horizon that we should be watching for?
September 18: Northwest Sarcoma Foundation's Dragon Slayer is a non-competitive, non-timed, 5K walk to honor sarcoma patients, survivors, and angels to raise funds for NWSF. We will be engaging participants with a hyped up Cheer Portland performance followed by an energetic pre-walk warmup!
October 3: At Portland's largest marathon event, The Portland Marathon, Cheer Portland will be cheering on race participants and hosting mile marker 19's water station. We will be competing for the spot of, "Best water station" and could receive a donation if we are voted #1!
January 2022: We will also be preparing for our annual drag and variety show anticipated to take place in January 2022. (Covid regulations pending.)
New this month, we have one question written by PCA's Equity and Inclusion Committee. They ask: "What have you done or what are you planning to do to elevate and center marginalized groups?
See our two answers and perspectives from Cheer Portland's Co-Founder & Head Coach Valerie and Cheer Portland's President Kaitlyn.
"Cheer Portland requires no experience or cheer-ability to join our team. We only ask that members have a heart for charity and giving back to their community. We pride ourselves in accepting and welcoming volun-cheerleaders from all walks of life and abilities. Our goal is to create a sense of belonging to all who walk through those gym doors. Displaying unity through performances and charitable actions elevates our members and fulfills their natural want to help and do more in our community. Showcasing our members' talents and skill sets displays their individuality, different backgrounds, and spirit." - Valerie
"In addition to opening our team up to any and all athletic abilities and backgrounds, Cheer Portland also acknowledges that in order to center and elevate we have to a solid understanding of where we come from and where our community comes from, to better understand where we are headed and what Cheer Portland hopes to accomplish in our small piece of the vision for Oregon. Without that context we will never know if someone is truly centered and elevated. In that vein, Cheer Portland plans to make an effort within our team to learn the history of the State of Oregon and Washington. For example: The original Oregon State constitution that governed our state explicitly stated "whites only." While the clause gradually became unenforced and in 1925 the clause was repealed, the language remained in the constitution and the language wasn't voted out of the constitution until, shockingly, 2002. Most importantly at the time of the vote: nearly 30% of voters wanted to keep the language which included derogatory terms for our traditionally marginalized groups. Our state was founded on the premise of exclusion. Obviously, Oregon has changed substantially since then, and we are glad for the change, but in order to be change-makers that elevate and center, we must start with the history and context of where Oregon and our community is coming from. That knowledge of the constitution of Oregon trickles all the way down to why Oregon is still predominantly white, and why it is SO important to elevate and center marginalized groups because it is THEIR Oregon too. Perhaps one way we can help is to open Cheer Portland's doors to any and all backgrounds." - Kaitlyn
