$58,950 in grants aids citizen organizations
At least ten Lane County citizen
groups will continue operations
through next year, thanks to
grants from a Northwest founda
tion based in Seattle, Portland and
Eugene.
The McKenzie River Gathering
(MRG), a two-year-old foundation
r
which is a branch of a San
Francisco-based organization
founded during the 1960s by Joan
Baez, Sunday awarded $58,950
worth of grants to 32 Northwest
groups.
According to Peter Jensen,
Oregon’s MRG field represents
tive, the grants range from $500 to
$4,000, with $2,000 as the aver
age grant.
Groups selected for funding by
MRG are chosen for their ac
tivities toward non-violent social
change, with a strong emphasis
on democracy within the organiza
tion, Jensen explained. Several of
the grants will go to finance anti
war and anti-nuclear power ac
tivities, but MRG attempts to fund
a wide variety of groups, Jensen
said.
Grants are awarded on the de
cision of Jensen and 29 other
MRG members scattered
throughout the Northwest. Port
land, Seattle, and Eugene each
hold ten MRG voting members
who meet to discuss grant appli
cations, investigate and vote on
requests. No individual funding is
possible, Jensen said.
The groups receiving funds in
Lane County include Eugene
Clergy and Laity Concerned, Citi
zens Against Toxic Sprays, Coali
tion for a Free Chile, Lane
Economic Development Council,
BRING (a pilot project of a 50
home total recycling unit), Siuslaw
Rural Health Center, Eugene Jack
Rabbit Press, Eugene Northwest
Working Press, Eugene News
Collective and Willamette Valley
Immigration Project.
Other groups receiving grants
around the Northwest include El
Centro De La Raza (Seattle),
“Northwest Passage” (a news
paper), Northwest Network for
Peace and Justice, Mountain
Moving Cafe (Portland), Seattle
Tenants Union, Portland Tenants
Union, NICH (a national organiza
tion working with Chilean immi
grants), Lesbian Mothers Defense
Fund, United Construction Work
ers Association (Portland), Port
land Military and Veterans Coun
seling Center, Forlaws on Board
(an anti-nuclear power organiza
tion which opposed the construc
tion of the Pebble Springs nuclear
plant), Ursa Minor (the only cul
tural grant), Yakima Valley Immi
gration project, Venceremos,
KRAB-FM (a Seattle Inter
nationalist news radio station),
Cascadian Regional Library, Co
alition on Government Spying,
Skills Bank (Ashland), Committee
of 400 Film Co-op (Corvallis), War
Resister’s League Conference,
Bradley-Angle House (a Portland
shelter for battered women) and
WHO FARM (a feminist farm out
side of Portland).
In its first year of operation,
plans for a similar MRG funding
cycle for the late fall are in the
making.
Whales, trees — and people
to be honored at dedication
A local whale organization
has announced plans to plant a
small forest of redwood trees
along the Santiam River.
Oregonians Cooperating to
Protect Whales will dedicate
the redwood grove to the Blue
Whales (Balaenopter mus
culus). In cooperation with the
Oregon State Highway De
partment and the State of
California Forestry Nursery,
the group will plant the trees
Saturday, starting at 7 a.m.
The group is inviting all in
terested citizens to join in the
tree planting.
The trees will be planted
along the north bank of the
Santiam River, west of where
Interstate 5 crosses the San
tiam, near Jefferson. The plant
ing will be followed by a day of
celebration following the
theme, “Whales, Trees and
People: We Need Each
Other.”
Experienced tree planters
will be on hand to explain how
to plant the year-old seedlings,
according to a group spokes
person. Families are en
couraged to come with picnic
lunches, planting tools and or
ganic fertilizers. Musicians are
also welcome to play during
the ceremonies.
When the more than 1,000
trees are planted, they will be
the first of a series of Sequoia
Simpervirens plantings that
eventually will cover the flood
plain that was once a source
gravel for highway construc
tion and maintenance.
“We expect these trees will
mark a place on the landscape
and form a visible reminder for
future generations of our con
cern for the fate of whales,”
says Michael Gannon,
spokesperson of Oregonians
Cooperating to Protect
Whales. "These trees are very
fast-growing. With the abun
dant supply of water from the
river, they will soon transform
this area into a majestic series
of redwood groves, another
endangered species.”
Jobs open for volunteers
Volunteers are needed in the
community to provide many ser
vices. Listed below are just a few
of the volunteer jobs now open.
This list is compiled by the Volun
tary Action Center (VAC), 673
West 10th Ave. in Eugene.
•You may think there is nothing
unique about being a teenager,
but there is something special if
you are a teen volunteer. We have
opportunities from athletics to zin
nias. For more information about
our Teen Program call 342-4451.
GAYouth group
continues with
Monday meets
Growing Alternative Youth
meets Mondays at 8 p.m. for dis
cussion of gay issues. These
weekly meetings are open to in
terested persons under age 23.
For tonight’s meeting location and
more information, call 485-3003
or 343-8130.
•You say Bernstein and
Woodward can’t hold a candle to
your journalistic abilities? Show
us. Editors and reporters are
needed for a local agency’s news
letter.
•Child care sitters are needed
for a couple of hours, one day a
week, to care for infants and chil
dren through age four.
•Want to try your hand at old
fashioned farming techniques?
Turn a shovel for a senior citizen
by helping to fertilize their lawn.
•Did you ever eat a pine tree? If
you know which parts are edible,
you could teach children to iden
tify different edible plants.
•Do you ever have the urge to
play on the swings again? You
can if you help with a summer rec
reation program for children.
For more information on these
and other volunteer experiences,
Eugene area residents can call
342-4451. VAC’S office hours are
from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Springfield
residents can call the Springfield
Volunteer Center at 747-5399.
1
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