Supporting Portland teens in foster care

The 2024 holiday gift drive is live!

Make some holiday magic for Portland teens in care!

Here’s how you can get involved:

  • Claim a teen’s wish list (links below!)

  • Donate funds to cover any unclaimed lists

  • Volunteer for a gift-wrapping party

  • Hold a gift card drive

  • Spread the word!

Learn more about our holiday gift drive here.

There are 3 ways to claim a list:

(We’ve put different lists on each of the three sites to avoid double-claiming.)

How we help

Teens tell us what they need, and we connect them with a community that cares.
Requests can be anything from camp fees to deodorant.


They ask, and we do what we can to help.

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Essentials

We supply hygiene and personal care products for teens just entering care or transitioning between housing. We’re always collecting essentials to keep our shelves filled!

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Special requests

From laptops and music lessons, to work boots and camp fees, our teens request what they need to accomplish their goals.

We receive and fulfill special requests every week.

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Backpack drive

We deliver sturdy backpacks filled with supplies for high school and college students.

We look to go beyond basics, providing scientific and graphing calculators, day planners, thumb drives, and more.

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Holiday gift drive

We collect individual wish lists and share them with our community to make sure these kids get things they truly want and need.

We provide holiday gifts to around 350 teens in care every year!

Our mission

Howard's Heart is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing individual and non-transactional support for teens, 13-21, in the foster care system within Multnomah County (Portland, Oregon). Our caring community of activists work to amplify the diverse and frequently marginalized voices of teens and fulfill personal requests that are as varied as their lived experiences. Every young person deserves respect, dignity, and the necessities of life. We strive to challenge the systems designed to overlook them by asking for, listening to, and centering their needs.

Hear from our teens

  • "No one had ever asked me what I wanted before, much less gotten it for me."

  • “I teared up seeing all the posts about us, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! We greatly appreciate everything!! And will continue to!!”

  • “You being here is giving me hope. You’ve already made a difference.”