PORTLAND, Ore. – In conjunction with Operation Pitch Invasion and the 107 Independent Supporters Trust, the Portland Timbers, along with local partners Providence Health & Services, adidas and Widmer Brothers, are pleased to announce that the fundraising goal for Bless Field, a 9,000-square foot, all-weather turf field in North Portland’s New Columbia community, has been achieved.

Through the community-focused partnership with the Timbers, Providence Health & Services joined with OPI, the 107ist, the Timbers and other partners, organizations and individuals, both locally and nationally, in helping to create a positive recreational outlet for young children in Oregon’s most diverse census tract.

Situated adjacent to the Regence Boys and Girls Club and Rosa Parks Elementary School, Bless Field, named for pioneering Timbers Army icon Hartmut Bless, is designed for children age 10 and under and will be utilized by a variety of groups that employ sporting and scholastic programs to help children make positive choices. Bless Field will be a place where the international language of soccer and the Timbers Army’s unique brand of spirit and energy will combine to welcome newcomers to the community and offer recreation and life opportunities to boys and girls who could even, someday, play for the Timbers and Thorns at Providence Park.

OPI, a project of the 107ist, is a local, grassroots charity formed to build, revitalize and maintain soccer fields throughout the Portland Metro area so that players of all ages and skill levels have high quality and safe playing surfaces to enjoy the beautiful game. Founded in 2011, OPI has done maintenance and repair work on more than one dozen Portland-area parks and schools. Bless Field is its first capital construction project. It is an Oregon public benefit nonmember, nonprofit corporation exempt from tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, visit www.pitch-invasion.org or contact board@pitch-invasion.org.

The 107 Independent Supporters Trust is a member-based nonprofit organization open to anyone who loves soccer, the Timbers, the Thorns, Portland, and especially the combination of the three. It coordinates all the activities of the Timbers Army, working to make the game day experience (both at home and away) bigger and better for everyone, and funding various charities and events in the Portland soccer community. The 107ist is a registered nonprofit organization in the state of Oregon, and has recently been granted 501(c)(7) status under the Internal Revenue Code. For more information, visit www.timbersarmy.org or contactcommunications@107ist.org.

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