The Immigrant Story

Mission

Founded in 2018, The Immigrant Story (TIS) is a volunteer-run nonprofit committed to capturing and sharing the vibrant stories of immigrants and refugees. Our mission is to document and disseminate stories of immigrants to enhance empathy and build a more inclusive community. 

Through an innovative multimedia approach that blends nuanced storytelling with subtle performance art, TIS produces high-quality, professionally crafted programs — including live storytelling events, exhibitions featuring portrait and narrative photography, engaging podcasts, and compelling video docuseries — all offered to the public free of charge. Within a short span of time, we have become a premiere storytelling organization in the Northwest, providing a platform that focuses on the common strengths of all Americans, not their differences.

Bottom Line for Portland

1. Combatting Xenophobia
Amid rising xenophobia and policies that fuel deportations, arrests, and fear, immigrants—especially those of color—face growing discrimination and hate. The Immigrant Story confronts this crisis head-on, humanizing immigrant experiences, turning cold statistics into compelling stories, and building bridges of understanding across Portland and beyond.

2. Building Inclusive Communities
TIS events unite immigrants, refugees, and U.S.-born residents to share dialogue, celebrate diversity, and strengthen community bonds. By intentionally fostering these connections, TIS creates inclusive spaces where differences are embraced and empathy thrives, making Portland a model for understanding and community cohesion.

3. Creating World-Class Programs in Portland
Immigrants bring vibrant cultural traditions, and TIS provides platforms for these voices to create, collaborate, and shine. Through music, storytelling, and visual narratives of the highest caliber, TIS delivers world-class programs right here in Portland, enriching the city’s cultural landscape and inspiring a more inclusive, creative civic life.

4. Making the Arts Accessible
High-quality cultural experiences should never be a privilege. TIS ensures that professional storytelling, music, and multimedia events are completely free, welcoming Oregonians of all ages, neighborhoods, and economic backgrounds. By removing financial barriers, TIS guarantees that everyone can engage in Portland’s vibrant cultural and civic life.

5. Teaching History through Personal Narratives

The Immigrant Story partners with educators and students to bring underrepresented voices into the classroom, transforming how history is taught and understood through powerful personal narratives and multimedia storytelling. We provide scholarships for students and offer teachers free access to high-quality educational resources — including lesson plans, books, and classroom materials.

Quote

One attendee shared, “That was the most exciting and innovative event I’ve been to in a long time—maybe ever!”

Another reflected, “The live storytelling was mind-blowing, educational, and incredibly moving.”

A local high school teacher remarked, “The event was amazing—so powerful, with such inspiring storytellers, stories, and music. It was a truly beautiful celebration of our community.”
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“I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” — Maya Angelou

Incentives

Launch the Giving – Early Bird Campaign Kickoff! Kick off the season of giving on November 1—every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $2,500 by Bora Architecture & Interiors, an award-winning national design practice based in Portland, Oregon. Double your impact and help us amplify immigrant stories across Portland and beyond!

Double the Story, Double the Impact: This giving season, every dollar you donate will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $5,000, thanks to the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, a private Oregon family foundation dedicated to empowering nonprofits and building thriving, equitable communities. Double your impact and help us amplify immigrant stories across Portland and beyond!

Become a VIP: Enjoy Exclusive Stories and Signed Books! Guests who contribute $500 or more will receive a personally signed copy of Elizabeth Mehren’s book, I Lived to Tell the World (Oregon State University Press), and enjoy a VIP invitation to an exclusive TIS live premiere, featuring music and storytelling in an intimate setting.

Partner(s)

Business Partners

Bora Architecture & Interiors is a Portland-based, award-winning national design practice dedicated to creating transformative, sustainable spaces that foster equity, inspire connection, and elevate the human experience.

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation is a private family foundation in Oregon dedicated to supporting and empowering nonprofits through financial, creative, and strategic resources. Guided by a commitment to equity, community, and well-being, the foundation fosters human connection, learning, and thriving communities across the region.

PLACE is a Portland-based design studio specializing in landscape architecture, urban design, art, and planning. With a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach, they create innovative, site-specific spaces that foster community engagement and environmental stewardship.

Nonprofit Partners

Friends of Willamette Week: Willamette Week provides Portlanders with an independent understanding of how their worlds work so they can make a difference. Friends of Willamette Week make this possible!
Immigration Counseling Service: Advances equity and justice for thousands of immigrants and refugees each year through robust legal services, education, and advocacy.
Opera in the Park Portland: enriches the cultural life of the Portland community by providing professional opera performances of high artistic quality to the public free of charge.
Oregon ArtsWatch: Produces independent journalism covering Oregon’s arts and cultural life.
Oregon Humanities: Connects Oregonians through dialogue, storytelling, and community-based programs.
Oregon Journalism Project: Delivers investigative reporting to inform and empower Oregonians.
Street Roots: Publishes a street newspaper that provides income opportunities to people experiencing homelessness.
The Lund Report: Provides independent journalism on health care issues.
Underscore Native News: Underscore Native News produces in-depth, Indigenous-centered journalism in the Pacific Northwest.
XRay FM: Creates independent, hyperlocal, community-focused media centering ideas, music, and creativity.