♡
In lieu of gifts, please consider donating to any of the following
Hearts and Bones Rescue
https://heartsandbonesrescue.org/
In December 2023, Justin and Aja adopted a Mini Aussie Shepherd-Pitbull-Catahoula Leopard Dog-Supermutt named Moxie from this rescue organization in New York City. Moxie keeps Aja company while she works from the Brooklyn office of her Oregon law firm (aka the apartment) and accompanies the Ricks family on adventures throughout the Northeast. A noisy defender of her people, Mox will be at the party in spirit only.
One Tail At A Time PDX
https://www.otatpdx.org/
Justin and Aja learned about One Tail at a Time Portland from his coworker and friend in its fledgling years, when it was an entirely volunteer organization that worked to bring dogs from kill shelters to foster homes in Portland. They attended each year's annual fundraiser, the Bone Ball, as well as other events that can only be described as Peak Portland. They remain monthly supporters and have loved seeing it flourish, including the opening of an OTAT brick-and-mortar location to facilitate meetings between pups and potential adopters.
Youth, Rights & Justice
https://youthrightsjustice.org/
Aja has worked in family law since 2014 and has seen firsthand how many children fall through the cracks in the churn of the domestic relations legal process. Youth, Rights & Justice provides legal support for common issues impacting underserved and under-resourced children and families in Oregon, along with policy advocacy to effectuate long-term change.
Girls Who Code
Justin and Aja relocated to New York City for Justin's work as a software engineer. Highly and heavily recruited by a fintech (financial technology) startup, his company, dub, recently closed a Series A funding round of over $30 million. As Chief Technical Officer, he's hiring like gangbusters and actively works to improve parity.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
While originally founded specifically to impact the AIDS crisis sweeping through the theatre community in New York in the 1980s, Broadway Cares now provides grants and funding for programs that support a myriad of programs across the country, including the tiniest of local companies. In Portland, Justin and Aja had season tickets to the touring Broadway shows that visited the Keller but also saw many shows at smaller theaters, including some Aja performed at. In New York, they've been fortunate to see many more, including several original Broadway casts. Favorites so far include Funny Girl, Shucked, Maybe Happy Ending, and Sunset Blvd.