UO Alumni Features Project Lemonade
PROJECT LEMONADE HELPS
PORTLAND’S FOSTER COMMUNITY
There are an estimated 13,000 foster children in Oregon. Thirteen thousand children in the Beaver State being raised by new families. Thirteen thousand children starting anew in their lives, getting second, third, fourth chances at being part of a happy family.
And one quintet of University of Oregon alumnae determined to give them all a practical—yet fashionable—self-esteem boost.
Two years ago, Rhonda Meadows ’81, Janet Smith Cathcart ’82, Austin Blythe ’11, Cynthia Fraser ’80, and Cheryl McElroy ’86 founded Project Lemonade, a 501 (c)(3) organization with one simple mission: to host an annual back-to-school event for Oregon’s foster children to provide them with clothing, shoes, and accessories.