First Annual White Party Portland a Success: Portland Society Page.com

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 6, 2011

Benefit for Oregon Humane Society raises over $12,000 for local nonprofit

PORTLAND, Ore. – The event’s 2011 slogan, “Do it for the puppies,” rang loud and true on the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2011, as five leaders from the Portland-Metro business community (Paul Wagner of Forkfly, Scott Kveton of Urban Airship, Nitin Khanna of MergerTech, Julie Ma of Perkins & Co, and Josh Friedman) hosted the First Annual White Party Portland, a benefit for the Oregon Humane Society (OHS). With over 200 guests donned in their finest “all white attire” in attendance at rontoms lounge, the event raised over $11,500 for the charitable organization – enough money to provide food for all the animals in the OHS’ care for an entire month.

“Choosing the Oregon Humane Society as our beneficiary was easy as the organization is very near and dear to all of our hearts,” said Paul Wagner, host of White Party Portland and CEO at Forkfly. “They do so much to help the local animal community, so we wanted to celebrate their efforts and raise overall awareness toward their programs.”

For over 142 years, the OHS has been sheltering abandoned animals, fighting cruelty and neglect, and working to build a caring and compassionate community in Oregon. The association has thousands of members and 1,500 volunteers, but they are not affiliated with any local or national organization and receive no tax dollars. Their work is made possible only through donations of time, money, goods and services.

“The Oregon Humane Society is honored to have been selected as the beneficiary of this terrific event,” said Rebecca Ramach, special events coordinator at the Oregon Humane Society. “We know our community has plenty of animal lovers that help our programs survive and thrive, so we cannot thank all the guests enough!”

The event, sponsored in part by Forkfly, MergerTech, and Urban Airship, sold over 300 tickets, featured a silent auction with donations totaling over $10,100, and even received a special visit from three, ready-to-be-adopted OHS puppies. The hosts will plan another White Party Portland for summer 2012 that will benefit a different local organization.

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About White Party Portland
The 1st Annual White Party was conceived by five local leaders of the business community to invite local influencers, Portlanders, friends, and charitable supporters to come together for a fun afternoon for a great cause. The party’s mission is two-fold: to toast to summer and for guests to don their finest pre-Labor Day whites as a benefit for a local charitable organization. For more information and photos, please visit http://whitepartyportland.com/.