Location: Oregon Food Bank in Portland, OR (discussion location shared upon registration)
Book: The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong
Cost: Free (suggested donation to Oregon Food Bank welcome)

We’ll begin the day by volunteering together at the Oregon Food Bank, sorting donated food as part of the quiet, behind-the-scenes labor that helps keep people fed. After our volunteer shift, we’ll gather for a discussion of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong.

We chose this book because it centers forms of care and labor that are often invisible, uncelebrated, and essential—work that sustains life without offering resolution, recognition, or reward. Pairing the discussion with food sorting allows us to engage, in a small and practical way, with the kinds of ordinary care the book asks us to notice and value.

This event is less about “giving back” and more about shared attention: to the work that sustains communities, and to the stories that help us understand it.

Interested in joining? Fill out the form below to register for the event. We'll follow up with availability & additional information to confirm your attendance.