Salem Leadership Foundation

10/13/2026

Our CaN Centers Luncheon earlier this week featured a presentation from Kelly Martin and Laura Sprouse on Moving from Social Isolation to Belonging. We learned more about how churches and community partners can strengthen belonging and combat loneliness in their spaces by creating intentional opportunities for meaningful connection.

Thank you to all who attended and leaned into the conversation, to our hosts at Salem Alliance Church, and to our presenters Laura and Kelly. If you want to see the recap, it's linked on our CaN page: www.salemlf.org/can

[See you next month, Nov 4th, for our luncheon hosted by Morning Star Community Church. We'll hear from Ben Pearson from Marion Polk Food Share on food insecurity in our community, and how we can combat it. RSVP on our page above]

10/09/2026

Volunteers needed this Saturday! Be a TOPSoccer Buddy! See the flier for all the dates and more info...

"TOPSoccer is a soccer program for players with any physical, mental, or emotional disability. Our goal is to provide soccer opportunities for athletes to develop soccer skills at their own pace in a safe, fun, and inclusive environment!"

10/08/2026

STAFF SPOTLIGHT! Meet Danielle Daly, our Director of Neighborhood Partnership Teams!

Danielle first moved to Salem as a Willamette student, and nearly twenty years later, she’s still here! She brings a curious mind, a gardener’s heart, and nearly fifteen years of ministry experience at Court Street Christian Church, where she served as Children’s Pastor, Associate Pastor, and Executive Pastor of Administration and Operations.

After volunteering with SLF’s CaN Network in 2024, Danielle now serves full-time as Director of Neighborhood Partnership Teams. She loves coming alongside people, teams, and organizations to explore what they need to flourish.

When she’s not at work, you’ll find Danielle out in her yard, enjoying a cup of tea, doing yoga (shout out Resonance Yoga Collective), singing, making art, or taking walks around her neighborhood. She and her husband, Daniel, are raising their two sons with plenty of read-aloud stories, Legos, bike rides, chalk art, and living-room wrestling!

Q & A with Danielle...

🚗 1. Long road-trip listen?

“Wild & Kind Kids Podcast, it's all about animals, and even parents like it. ‘Keep your hearts kind, and your curiosity WILD!’”

🍂 2. An under-rated Keizer/Salem thing?

“Not sure, but a favorite fall thing to do: drive along Liberty Street near Bush Park and along D Street near 17th. Those two locations for seeing the trees turn colors!”

🦦 3. What animal do you most identify with and why?

“I’m a cross between an Otter (happy, playful) and Beaver (industrious).”

🦖 4. Important items you keep at work / on your desk that are most you?

“Bedside Table: Colorful wooden dinosaur painted by Lewis age 4. Desk: Post-its & a white board.”

🌱 5. What was your first paying job and what do you remember most?

“Working at a small neighborhood Gardening Center -- spending the summers watering plants, catching frogs, learning customer service, and getting super strong carrying plants & bags of dirt. Being able to walk to work.”

Drop a comment below to welcome Danielle to the SLF team! 👇✨

09/28/2026

Mark you calendars!

Meet Castaway E.C.S., a student-led org at Willamette University committed to environmental conservation, ecosystem restoration, and sustainability! They are hosting The Great Willamette Cleanup 2026. It will take place on Saturday, October 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Wallace Marine Park.

Volunteers from across Oregon will be participating in cleanup events along the Willamette River, and the Willamette students of Castaway ECS would love to have community members here in Salem join us to help care for our local river and shoreline.

See the flier below, or head over here for details + registration:
https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/ev/reg/dvu5wsz/lp/fb0e7cab-5c54-415c-9726-eb0220d73206

09/25/2026

Shout out to Northwest Human Services and West Salem Clinic!

We had the opportunity to be one of the first groups to tour their new Mobile Unit during our recent Edgewater Partners Neighborhood Partnership Team (NPT) meeting.

Once operational, the mobile clinic will bring healthcare services directly to communities where access can be limited, including rural communities, Santiam Canyon, encampments, shelters such as Church at the Park, and other underserved areas.

We appreciated the opportunity to learn more about this important resource and the role it will play in bringing care closer to people and communities throughout our region.

Thank you to Northwest Human Services for welcoming Edgewater Partners and for the work being done to expand access to healthcare.

Interested in connecting with Edgewater Partners? Join us at our upcoming Edgewater Partners NPT meeting on October 22!

We meet every fourth Thursday from 9–10:30 a.m. at West Salem Clinic (NWHS), where we connect, resource, and mobilize alongside Edgewater + West Salem neighbors, churches, and community partners.

Meeting info and RSVP at: salemlf.org/npt/edgewater/

09/02/2026

Fall is here, and Neighborhood Partnership Team meetings are back. RSVP links are live on our website: www.salemlf.org/npt

08/24/2026

08/23/2026

You’re Invited! 🎉

Please join us as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of our neighborhood associations Grant Neighborhood Association and Highland Neighbors!

For five decades, neighbors have come together to build friendships, strengthen our community, and make our neighborhood a wonderful place to call home. Let’s gather to celebrate this milestone and the people who have made it possible.

Date: September 19
Time: 1-4 pm
Location: 1300 Broadway St NE

Come enjoy good food, great company, and a look back at five decades of neighborhood memories.

We hope to see you there as we celebrate 50 years of community, friendship, and neighborhood pride! Visit www.cityofsalem.net/neighbor to learn about your Neighborhood Association.