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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2017)
And horses find refuge at Strawberry Mountain Mus- tangs Rescue and Rehab (strawberrymountainmustangs. com or 541-784-5522) in Douglas County, giving rescue horses a second chance at a happy life. And fewer puppies and kitties will need homes if we spay and neuter them! Willamette Animal Guild (wagwag. org or 541-345-3566) provides with high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter services, and Stop Pet Over Population To- day, aka SPOT (spotspayneuter.org or 541-607-4900), helps folks out with financial assistance. — Camilla Mortensen SOME OF OREGON HORSE RESCUE’S EQUINES P HOTO BY BOB K EEF ER ARTS AND CULTURE While women play an essential role in the organizations boots on the ground work, Arkin says they still face chal- lenges in Salem due to a double standard in treatment from some in the capital. Arkin says that she feels as though she and other female advocacy organizers are often talked over or turned a deaf ear. But, she says, “I keep telling myself if you don’t stand up and show up then you’re not contrib- uting.” You can make your contribution by calling 541-465- 8860 or visiting beyondtoxics.org. — Carl Segerstrom Since 2015, Willamette Riverkeeper’s River Guard- ians program has engaged hundreds of volunteers in clean- up and monitoring efforts along the main stem of the Wil- lamette in Eugene-Springfield, removing tens of thousands of pounds of trash from the confluence of the Coast and Middle forks to the Beltline bridge. Willamette Riverkeeper is a nonprofit dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Willamette River. The group advocates for water quality, abundant natural habitat and maintaining a river safe for fishing and recreation. “Trash and debris forms along the banks and on islands of the Willamette River due to a combination of recre- ational users, abandoned camps and illegal dumping,” says Michelle Emmons, South Valley Advocate. “Participating in River Guardians offers volunteers a different perspec- tive on the river. People experience wildlife in ways they wouldn’t otherwise, and the dynamic of the river itself as a living, breathing organism, always changing.” Water is life. If you care about healthy food systems, not to mention good beer and coffee, become an active member of Willamette Riverkeeper by volunteering with River Guardians every second “Trashy Tuesday” of the month for a river cleanup. You can also adopt a stretch of urban waterfront to monitor by foot, bike or boat, or learn how to spot and report invasive aquatic weeds. Short on time? Donations make a difference. Give back to your river today — after all, everyone lives downstream somewhere. To give or volunteer, go to willametteriver- keeper.org. Another water-loving nonprofit to add to your list is McKenzie River Trust at mckenzieriver.org. — Carrie Mizejewski There might be a Christmas tree shortage this year, but that’s something we can recover from — the trees grow a foot a year, so we’ll soon have our Yuletide cheer. Our ancient forests, however, take centuries to grow, and we love the groups who fight to keep them standing. The folks at Cascadia Wildlands (cascwild.org or 541- 434-1463) are striving to keep big trees upright and wolves howling across Oregon. Executive director Josh Laughlin tells us: “Our beauti- ful Cascadia bioregion and the planet as we know it hangs in balance with all that Trump and his Big Industry cronies throw at us. Cascadia Wildlands has doubled down on our efforts to beat back the barrage, and strength in numbers will win the day. Together, we are a force to be reckoned with!” Also on the forest frontlines when it comes to saving big trees is Oregon Wild (oregonwild.org or 541-344-0675). Don’t have money to donate? You can volunteer to plant trees with Friends of Trees (friendsoftrees.org). Their trees planted around town combat climate change. Call 541-632-3683 for more info. Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (elaw.org or 541 687-8454) fights to save the planet by providing boots on the ground as well as legal and technical support for people countries around the world. Their reach is world- wide, but their U.S. office is here in Eugene. — Camilla Mortensen ANIMALS David and Jane Kelly, founders of the nonprofit Or- egon Horse Rescue, announced this month they plan to close down the five-year-old organization in March if they can’t raise more money in donations — and find more peo- ple to adopt horses. OHR’s 70-acre facility west of Eugene currently provides a home for about 40 horses, some of which are elderly or blind or have medical conditions that require ongoing care. In the facility’s best year, David Kelly says, donations have covered only 10 percent of the facility’s operating cost, which totals about $133,000 each year. “We can no longer continue to run the horse rescue without dramatical- ly increased public donations,” he says. For more information about donating or adopting, see oregonhorserescue.org. — Bob Keefer Eugene is littered (haha, get it?) with dog rescues, which says a lot about this area’s commitment to caring for ani- mals. Rescues such as Northwest Dog Project (northwest- dogproject.org) and Luvable Dog Rescue (luvabledogres- cue.org) are great places to find an adoptable dog to love. Not just a dog lover? Consider a donation to Greenhill Humane Society (green-hill.org or 541-689-1503) and 1st Avenue Shelter (541-844-1777), both of which serve the Lane County community. Donations go to helping care for all sorts of adoptable critters, from dogs and kitty cats to guinea pigs and rabbits. Cats in particular find succor with Cat Rescue and Adoption Network (CRAN), formerly West Coast Dog and Cat, (catrescues.org). If birds are your thing, then some of your avian friends get support and rehabilitation at Cascades Raptor Center (eraptors.org or 541-485-1320). The very best way to support the arts here or anywhere is to show up. Get yourself tickets to a concert — and take some friends who’ve never gone. Buy a painting at a local gallery. Go hear a rock band you’ve never listened to. Do your holiday shopping at a local art or craft fair. Take part! That said, some arts institutions are never going to break even, no matter what. We don’t mean the symphony and opera and ballet, even though they all rely heavily on donations to pay for their productions. We’re talking about arts organizations that exist to serve the unserved, from the homeless to the alter-abled. This year we’d like to focus attention on one group in particular: The Oregon Supported Learning Program’s Arts & Culture Program, which teaches year-round art classes for people of all abilities and then exhibits their work alongside that of community artists at its Lincoln Gallery, 309 W. 4th Avenue, suite 100. The program serves about 500 clients a year, says Jamie Walsh, its director for the past four years. The program’s $150,000 annual budget comes almost entirely from grants and donations, though it makes some money — in the form of a traditional 50-percent commission — when the public buys art exhibited in its gallery. “Any money that comes in goes toward buying supplies for the artists, paying for instructors and covering the costs of exhibitions,” she says. Walsh was drawn to this work because she loves the art made by the program’s clients. “The kind of art I like is just a little not traditional,” she says. More info at artsandcultureeugene.org. — Bob Keefer Video may have killed the radio star, but community ra- dio isn’t dead. Local radio station KEPW 97.3 FM needs your help. Jana Thrift, volunteer station manager for KEPW, says the project started four years ago when Eugene Peace- Works took advantage of permits released to nonprofits to make low power FM stations. “Eugene PeaceWorks has been seriously involved in making an impact through me- dia for years,” Thrift says. “They felt like they were not successfully getting heard.” As of February 2017, anyone within a 20-mile radius of Eugene can hear what KEPW is doing. With an eye, an ear and a mission on emphasizing community radio, KEPW brings in local musicians and hosts nine local programs with 24 more local shows on the table being preparing to go on air in the future, Thrift says. “Community radio has been used as a tool for network- ing and creating community for a long period of time,” she says. “Before the internet was around and with all the crazy things going on with the internet it may be a crucial piece of our future to be able to have that resource.” Basic operating costs for the station are a minimum of $1,100 a month. KEPW is trying to raise $14,000 to cover base operating costs for 2018 with some change to spare. If you are interested in making a one-time donation or sub- scribing you can visit sheltered-forest-9957.herokuapp. com. Really love public radio? Don’t forget about local NPR affiliate KLCC 89.7 at klcc.org. — Max Thornberry eugeneweekly.com • December 21, 2017 13
