This time of year still makes me want to go out and splurge on fancy pens and anything related to scholastic self-improvement, so it seems appropriate to mention that ADX and Portland Made have recently launched the Make it! FUNd in conjunction with the Equity Foundation.

ADX is at the fore, locally of working to preserve and re-home manufacturing across sectors, and one of their primary concerns is the fact that in the US most manufacturing jobs have essentially skipped a generation. The people with experience and the ability to pass on trades are reaching retirement, and thanks to the steady devaluation of manufacturing as a vocation, there aren't a ton of young people who aspire to take their place. As part of the effort to revitalize the potential pool of people able to carry on the torch, ADX has long offered youth-oriented programs, and now with this scholarship fund they're trying to target students who might be on "the pathway to poverty and prison and guiding them along a pathway to prosperity," according to ADX founder/director Kelley Roy.

In order to be eligible, candidates "must 1) Self-identify as a student that traditional schooling is not working for currently; 2) Currently participate with organizations that serve at risk youth (Impact Northwest, WSI, etc.); 3) Demonstrate a strong desire to explore working in the design, fabrication, and manufacturing sectors." (It's also worth noting that although the Equity Foundation primarily focuses on the LGBTQ community, potential candidates do not need to identify as such in this case.) For more information or to donate to the fund, check out here and here.