The Paulson Family Endowment

When Charles Paulson grew up in Southeast Portland, finishing high school was an accomplishment and few people went on to college. Lifting 125 pound bags of salt at Libby’s Cannery, he thought he’d better get an education so he didn’t have to depend on his back to make a living. He attended Reed College and then Portland State College before starting law school, working two jobs and raising a family.

Charles met his wife Amy while she was scooping ice cream at Portland Ice Cream on Hawthorne Blvd. The couple have five children and multiple grand- and great-grandchildren.

“On education, it was expressed best by Lao Tzu,” he said. “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish, he’ll eat for life.”

The Paulson Family Endowment provides scholarship support for single parents.