Mentor Receives Citizen Award

Bill Russell Receives Portland’s First Citizen Award

April 26, 2018

In our Mentor Spotlight we a want to congratulate and honor Bill Russell who received Portland’s first citizen award. Bill and his wife Tamara have been working with Portland’s most vulnerable communities for over 30 years. Their hearts for serving others has brought so much change to the Northwest.

We have been so blessed to have Bill and Tamara as a part of Faithful Friends over the past three years. When they came to training, they wanted to do something that takes a preventive approach and saw Faithful Friends was an opportunity to do so.  They where matched with an awesome young man from the Rockwood area. With weekly outings, they began to build a strong bond with their mentee and his family. They have been a rock through the ups and downs in this young man’s life. They have traveled from Gresham to Beaverton to make sure they get quality time with their mentee. They have explored the city together, cooked together, learned how to play music together, and most importantly, they have shown up in this child’s life over and over again.

When you see Bill and Tamara on an outing with their mentee you can almost feel the strong connection that they have with one another.We want to congratulate Bill on this amazing and well-deserved award. We believe no one is more deserving. We want to highlight and thank Bill and Tamara for everything they have put into Faithful Friends and our community. Please check out some cool photos and video of this amazing match we have.For more information on the other great work Bill is doing as the Executive Director at the Union Gospel Mission please visit:  ugmportland.org