Community Action (Washington County, Or.) Records

Collection

Identifier: MS-116

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

The collection includes financial paperwork, committee and board of directors' meeting minutes, internal memos, newsletters, publications, annual plans, financial reports, project files, business partnership files, and community outreach documents. These documents take the forms of meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, memos, video presentations, interviews, and slides. These documents pertain to Washington County, Oregon, including the cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, Cornelius, Tigard, Sherwood, and Forest Grove. Many of the records from the organization's early years (1964-1986) were either destroyed during a move, or not collected. The collection was transferred to the Pacific University Archives in 2016 for preservation and digitization. Much of the collection has been digitized and is available on the Pacific University Archives digital site.

Dates

Creation: 1964-2016

Creator

Community Action (Hillsboro, Or.) (Organization)
WCCAO (Washington County, Or.) (Organization)

Language of Materials

Collection is in English and Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access

Colletion is open for research, with the exception of the annual audit files and tax forms dating after 1974. Contact the archivist for details.

Historical Note

The Washington County Community Action Organization (also known as WCCAO) is a non-profit founded in 1964 to serve Washington County's homeless and impoverished. Founded under President Lyndon Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Community Action has become one of the county's most effective organizations at alleviating poverty. Community Action operates early childhood development programs, low-income housing opportunities, services for immigrants and migrant workers, shelter services, and many other programs to combat poverty. Head Start, the organization's early childhood development program, gives comprehensive education services to low-income families, including nutrition, health, and access to parent involvement. Volunteers contribute heavily to Community Action's success, and the board of directors is comprised of one-third private sector leaders, one-third public officials, and one-third low-income community members.

Extent

20 Cubic Feet (37 boxes)

Additional Description

Summary

The Washington County Community Action Organization (also known as WCCAO) is a non-profit founded in 1964 to serve Washington County's homeless and impoverished. The collection includes records of the organization from its founding through the 2010s, with the bulk of the material dating from after 1988. It provides documentation of the actions of the organization as well as information about vulnerable populations in the county, such as migrant agricultural workers, the homeless, children in poverty, people suffering food or housing insecurity, and others.