Street Roots • March 18-24, 2016
TIMBER JIM, from page 5
putting it out of reach for most families. Her
school is much more accessible at $20 per
year, and it places an emphasis on ensuring
girls graduate.
Growing up, Holmer knew Serrill as
Timber Jim. A champion soccer player
herself, she attended Timbers games, high-
fiving him as he walked through the stands.
She got to know him better when she gave a
presentation about her organization at his
church last spring. Afterward, he showed
her the community garden.
“I told him he should help me do the
same by building a sustainable garden at my
school,” she said in an email sent from
Africa. “He asked where it was and did seem
a bit shocked when I said it was in
Tanzania.”
Holmer asked Serrill, who she said has
become like a father to her, to make the trip
a couple of times. He initially declined but
supplied her with seeds to get started.
However, without properly preparing the
soil, which had been depleted by over-
grazing, the garden failed, he said.
In fall 2015, Serrill invited her to speak to
members of the Winona Grange during a
festival in the hopes it would help drum up
more support for her organization, but he
was the one most affected by her
presentation.
“I asked her to come speak and tell more
people about what she’s doing,” Serrill said,
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Page 7
“and oh boy, next thing I know, tears are
streaming down my face and I say, OK, I’ll
go. So I’m going to go for a month and I’m
going to teach them how to build their soil.”
The garden will do more than supply the
children with food at lunch. The skills they
learn while gardening are vital to their
survival in Tanzania, where many families
earn a living off their small farms, Holmer
said.
The Red Sweater Project is also the
benefaciery of the Timbers Army’s
fundraising scarves this season. The scarves
display Timber Jim’s coined phrase, “Spread
the Love,” and fans can buy one directly
from him at Timbers matches for $20
starting no later than April 13.
Holmer said Serrill was also responsible
for 22 authentic uniforms she received for
her students from the Portland Timbers
earlier this year.
“They may not have shoes to play in, but
they look great in green and gold,” she said.
While Serrill’s days of hanging from the
rafters may be over, he still goes to matches
where he’s surrounded by adoring fans who
eagerly greet him with high-fives.
To this day, during every game at the
80-minute mark, the stadium erupts with
the voices of thousands of fans singing
Hannah’s favorite song, “You Are My
Sunshine,” in her memory, as Timber Jim
listens from the top of Section 109.
emily@streetroots.org
moredto
Protest MW against Nike
deal with human-rights violator
A t7:30 a.m. on Monday, March 21,
ZJk protesters will gather outside the World
X ^Affans Council of Oregon at 1200 SW
Park Ave. in Poitland to demonstrate against
Nike's recent trade deal with Brunei, while the
U S. Ambassador to Brunei speaks al a Nike-
l|unsored event inside.
Brunei's dutatoi. Sultan llassanal Bolkiah,
decreed death by stoning against LGBTQ
individuals and unmarried women who become
pregnant shortly after he imposed Sharia Law
in his Southeast Asian country in 2014.
Rep. Rob Nosse (D-Portland), Executive
■rector of Pintland Jobs with Justice Diana Wu
ard Executive Director of Oregon Fair Trade
Campaign Michael Shannon will join protesters
at the rally and deliver speeches at 8 a.m.
Stones will be arranged in a pile outside the
event to symbolize stoning, according lo an
OFTC press release.
Rally organizers encourage the public to
attend in a show of support foi LGBTl} rights
worldwide.
“I understand Nike stands to make a lot of
money in new tax cuts as a result of this
agreement." said Shannon, “but embracing a
pact that helps prop up an LGBT-and-woman-
killing tyrant is not the way to make a profit.
The company has a good track record on LGBT
issues domestically. If Nike cat es about human
right» for all people, it should distance itself
from this trade proposal immediately.”
eaders of Portland