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Wednesday, May 29, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Circle of Friends hits fundraising goal
By Helen Schmidling
Correspondent
The friends and donors
of Circle of Friends in
Sisters stepped up to the
tune of more than $100,000
Thursday night at the orga-
nization9s annual fundraising
dinner.
Like many nonprofit orga-
nizations, Circle of Friends
relies on a combination of
grants and donations to ful-
fill its mission of making
a difference in the lives of
children right here in Sisters.
Money raised funds programs
and operational expenses.
The Circle formed eight years
ago with just two kids in the
program. Now there are 40,
and a waiting list of 12 to 15
in need of mentors.
A t t h e f u n d r a i s e r,
Executive Director Nicky
Merritt told the story of one
kiddo who, when he first
joined, wouldn9t make eye
contact with anyone. It took
his mentor and a staff mem-
ber half an hour just to get
him into the building for Lego
robotics. But just three weeks
ago, this same boy came run-
ning into the clubhouse with
two friends, super excited.
<When I looked down from
the balcony, there he was, one
of three little boys, dancing!
Three years ago, we couldn9t
look him in the eye, and now
he9s dancing!=
<Many of our mentors
have been here seven or eight
years,= Merritt said. <Thank
you for sticking around.= She
also thanked the volunteers,
parents, community partners,
and board members <who are
part of the circle that makes
life better.=
<Tonight is about our
future,= Merritt said, <about
how we9re going to reach the
kids we can9t reach, who need
our program and activities.
Developing social skills,
interacting with other kids
and adults, is one of the
primary goals for Circle
of Friends. It9s a byprod-
uct of activities like cook-
ing, STEM, homework help,
game nights, field trips, sum-
mer camps, and other super-
vised adventures.
Circle of Friends is the
local affiliate of a national
organization called Friends
of the Children, begun in
Portland 25 years ago by
Duncan Campbell. Research
says that the single most
important factor for build-
ing resiliency in children
who face the highest risks is
a long-term, consistent rela-
tionship with a caring adult.
While group support is good,
a one-on-one relationship
over a period of time makes
a huge difference in a child9s
life.
Unlike Circle of Friends,
Friends of the Children pro-
vides a salaried, professional
mentor, called a Friend, for
the entire childhood, from
kindergarten through gradua-
tion 3 12.5 years 3 no matter
what. In all of the other com-
munities where Friends of
the Children operates, there
are paid mentors. Sisters is
the only community in the
country where the organiza-
tion operates with volunteer
mentors. The local mentors
are carefully screened and
Open 7 days a week, 12-9 p.m. | 541-595-6420
trained before and during
their service.
Eric Gabrielson retired
from Weiden and Kennedy
advertising agency, and
now serves as the executive
director for Friends of the
Children across the United
States. His wife, Carolyn
Gabrielson, is a member of
the Friends of the Children
Board in Sisters. She was
instrumental in securing
a capital grant of $75,000
from the Murdoch Trust, an
announcement made at the
conclusion of Thursday9s
event. The Gabrielsons live
at Black Butte Ranch, along
with many of the donors who
attended Thursday9s event.
The event featured a silent
auction with nearly 100 items
contributed by Sisters resi-
dents and businesses. This
was followed by a buffet
dinner for all 193 attendees,
donated by Three Creeks
Brew Pub. Then came the
live auction, raising $51,000
from a fishing trip, vacation
stays at Black Butte Ranch
and a luxury spot on the
Oregon Coast, a wine tour,
private dinners with Duncan
and Cindy Campbell, and
last but not least, an African
safari photo tour.
Emcee and Board Chair
Carole Zosel said <We give
because we have more money
than most, and we know these
kids deserve the opportunity.=
Then she introduced a video
produced by Zion Pictures.
Eight-year-old Olivia is the
star of this short movie. She9s
the daughter of parents who
are drug-addicted, and now
serving time in jail. At age
56, Olivia9s grandmother,
Debra, adopted Olivia and
her two siblings.
Annette is Olivia9s men-
tor. <When I tell Olivia that
Annette is picking her up
after school, she says 8Oh,
Boy!9= Debra says, and it9s so
real. <On those days when I
pick her up, I drive to school
and wait until she gets out,=
Annette says. <Then we go to
the clubhouse.=
I like coming here.
It feels pretty special.
— Olivia
<I like coming here,=
Olivia says in the video,
while making blue and pur-
ple slime. <It feels pretty
special.= But as she learned
how to create textured dough
from cornstarch, water, and
food coloring, she was also
learning how to interact with
other kids and with the adult
friends around her. <I don9t
know how to say thank you
enough,= Grandmother Debra
said.
As the evening wound
down, the donors left
FivePine Conference Center
bearing handmade book-
marks from the children, and
tiny succulent plants from
the centerpieces. Those who
could gave generously from
their wallets. But everyone
gave from their hearts.
Rhythm and
Brews fest to
offer single-
day tickets
Early release tickets
sold out for the 2019 Sisters
Rhythm and Brews after 30
days. The festival is set for
July 26-27 in Sisters.
In an effort to make this
year9s festival accessible to
all, Sisters Rhythm And Brews
has announced the release of a
limited number of single-day
tickets for this years event.
Two day Festival passes
remain available at $110.
<Last year over 60 percent
of ticket sales came from out-
side of Central Oregon, with
folks traveling from all over
the U.S. to our small town,
many for the very first time,=
said co-founder Joe Rambo.
<The Festival has created the
buzz they were looking for
and are headed to sell out!=
Friday night9s perfor-
mances include: The White
Buffalo; British blues phe-
nom Joanne Shaw Taylor;
the return of last year9s stand-
out Mr. Sipp; and Portland9s
Sassparilla.
All for $45.
Saturdays lineup fea-
tures Larkin Poe; Eric Gales;
Christone <Kingfish= Ingram;
Mr. Sipp; Hillstomp; David
Jacob-Strain; Mcdougal; and
CJ Neary.
All-day passes are $75.
For information visit www.
sistersrhythmandbrews.com.