Our grassroots collective is led by social work students, professionals, and people with lived experience. Many of us have known the margins of society firsthand, as a result we have come together to turn community care into community action.

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Our vision is to help meet the basic needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. Guided by equity, compassion, self-determination, and autonomy, we work to bridge the gap between our community members  and the support they need.

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Together, we turn care into action by designing and delivering hands-on projects that meet people where they are.

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The Monarch Collective began as one person's way of giving back: handing out pastries in downtown Portland during Covid, and later baking for the youth shelter. It has since become something much bigger.

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The idea took shape through a Valentine's Day project in early 2026. Eight social work students, peers, and friends came together to bake around 400 servings of cookies, banana bread, and brownies. Each was paired with a handwritten note meant to bring inspiration and love to houseless youth and adults through direct street outreach. That day, we also handed out hand warmers, dog food, and bags of chips.