Press & media
The story of what comes after.
Portland has services for the crisis. The Welcome PDX is building what comes next: free programs that end with something a woman owns — a business, or a book with her name on it.
Fast facts
Free
to every participant in Crklyn and Crklyn Publishing
10
women at most in each cohort, so everyone gets real attention
26
women assisted with job placement
44
women assisted with groceries
19
women assisted with starting new businesses
11
books publishing this year
So far in 2026 · Registered 501(c)(3), EIN 41-2731518 · Downtown Portland, Oregon
Stories we can help you tell
Sixteen mothers, one book
Letters to Our Children, our first anthology, gathers letters from sixteen women to their kids. It publishes in December 2026.
From surviving to owning something
Crklyn is a free six-week program that teaches women to launch a home business of their own: selling, marketing, shipping, and keeping the books.
The gap after the crisis ends
Portland has shelters and long-term housing. The months and years in between, when a woman is safe but still rebuilding, get far less support. That is exactly where we work.
$295 publishes ten authors
A ten-pack of ISBNs is one of the quiet barriers between a manuscript and a published book. One gift clears it for ten women.
A support group that isn't therapy
Off the Clock is a weekly gathering downtown where women laugh, vent, and eat together. We can explain why that distinction matters so much.
Made in class, given away
In Crklyn Essentials, women learn to make natural soap, salves, and body butters. The batches go to Portland shelters and partner organizations.
“Starting over shouldn't mean starting from nothing. It should mean starting something.”
The Welcome PDX
Who you'll talk to
Renee Garrett
Executive Director · Editor-In-Chief
Our leadership can speak to women's economic recovery after crisis, entrepreneurship and self-publishing as paths to independence, and building community support in Portland.
Program staff and facilitators are also available for interviews on specific programs.
Media contact
Let's talk.
Interviews, event coverage, and background information. Tell us your outlet and deadline, and we usually reply within one business day.
About The Welcome PDX (approved description)
Short · about 45 words
The Welcome PDX is a Portland, Oregon 501(c)(3) nonprofit that gives women rebuilding their lives the tools to build something of their own. Its free programs in entrepreneurship (Crklyn) and publishing (Crklyn Publishing) end with something each woman owns: a small business or a published book.
Full · about 115 words
The Welcome PDX is a Portland, Oregon 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving women in the stretch of time after a crisis ends, when a woman is safe but still rebuilding an income, an identity, and a community. Its two main programs are completely free to participants: Crklyn, a six-week entrepreneurship program that helps women launch a small business, and Crklyn Publishing, a twelve-week program that guides women from a first draft to a published book. The Welcome PDX also runs Crklyn Essentials (natural body-care classes whose products are donated to local shelters), The Academy (free self-paced online courses), a weekly support group called Off the Clock, and resource navigation and job placement assistance. Learn more at thewelcomepdx.org.
Press kit
Brand basics
Rose
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Ink
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Paper
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Please write our name as The Welcome PDX, and our programs as Crklyn, Crklyn Publishing, and Crklyn Essentials.
Photos & participant interviews
Many of the women we serve are rebuilding after hard chapters, and their privacy comes first. Participant photos, names, and interviews are arranged only with written consent, using our photo & video release.
We're glad to connect you with participants and authors who want to share their stories, and to arrange visits to classes and events.