The Portland Trail Blazers in their on-going efforts to Make It Better hosted their 12th Annual Harvest Dinner at the Rose Garden Monday, serving nearly 5,000 hot, holiday-style meals to people who are homeless or at the critically low income level. The event also marked the second year of a partnership between the Trail Blazers and Project Homeless Connect, a collaborative effort between the city of Portland and Multnomah County focused on bringing critical services to homeless individuals and to families and ending homelessness in Portland within 10 years.

Harvest Dinner provides more than food, though. The organization worked with Project Homeless Connect to arrange for local service agencies to provide easy access to those services at the Rose Garden yesterday. Attendees had access to housing information, veteran’s resources, medical screenings, eye care, hair care, pet care, and wheelchair repair.

Trail Blazers employees, players, coaches, alumni, broadcasters, Blazers Booster Club members, and corporate and community partners staffed the event, making Harvest Dinner Portland’s largest entirely volunteer executed meal service for the homeless community.

The Trail Blazers were able to Make It Better at Harvest Dinner due in large part to the generous support they received from local businesses. The organization would like to recognize and thank: Food Service of America, Foster Farms, Service Paper, Allan Bros. Coffee, Franz Family Bakeries, Darigold, Columbia Pacific, Coke, Global Spectrum, Ovations Food Services, Wells Fargo, Harry’s Fresh Foods, Taco Bell, Les Schwab, Lenscrafters, Supercuts, Cricket, Oregon Rain, and Care Medical.

"Make It Better" signifies the franchise's commitment to continue and enhance their work in improving the lives of children and their families where they Live, Learn and Play around the region.

"Make It Better" represents all that the organization strives to do in the community, on the court, and in business, and is a daily reminder to everyone that there's still work to do.