S eptember 2 8 , 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age B2
1
for North/Northeast Portland
Local
Volunteers
Sought For
Exchange
Program
J u a n ita A n d C la rissa
Sisters Juanita and Clarissa both
have large, toothy smiles and infec­
tious laughs. They are two of ap­
proximately 180 Oregon children
currently awaiting loving adoptive
families.
Friendly Juanita plays well with
other children. She enjoys typical
pre-school activities such as play­
ing with building blocks and dolls,
and watching Sesame Street and
Barney. A happy child, she can fre­
quently be found singing and danc­
ing about. With older children, she
tends to be a follower.
Shy Clarissa is initially reserved
around people she does not know.
She enjoys playing with stuffed ani­
mals and dolls, watching children's
programs, and being with other chil­
dren. particularly Juanita. She is a
calm, contented child.
Despite the neglect they expe­
rienced in earlier life, Juanita and
Clarissa are both normal, average
little girls with no major delays. In
an enriched home environment filled
with loving attention and intellec­
tual stimulation, there’s no telling
how far these two might progress.
O regon a g e n c ie s w aive or
red u ce fees for fa m ilie s a d o p t­
ing o ld e r c h ild re n and sib lin g
g ro u p s. To learn m ore ab o u t the
w aitin g c h ild re n and the a d o p ­
tion process, call The Special Needs
Adoption Coalition at 222-9661.
Singles as well as couples are en­
couraged to inquire.
G e v e lle
Several hundred children in the
Northwest, including many of Afri­
can-American heritage, are currently
awaiting adoptive parents. These
children have experienced extreme
neglect or abuse, and now need the
loving guidance of new parents to
help them heal and grow. Some of
the children are school-aged, some
are toddlers and pre-schoolers, and
many come in sibling pairs or groups.
Meet one such youngster - a bright
eight-year-old girl who longs for a
mom.
Gevelle has a sweet disposition
and a delightful curiosity about her
world. Adults as well as other chil­
dren really enjoy being around her.
She is an appreciative child, who
truly enjoys the simplest activities.
This second grader is an excel­
lent reader who learns fast and takes
direction well. She has the added
strength of being an attentive lis­
tener. Her teachers are already say­
ing that she should aim for college.
In addition to her academic skills,
Gevelle is a talented dancer and
singer. She enjoys dancing ballet,
jazz, and rap, and has a lovely sing­
ing voice.
Although she will be sad to
separate from her very nurturing
foster mom, Gevelle wants a family
of her own, and she is ready to take
that step. Single moms are espe­
cially encouraged to inquire about
this child.
Both adoptive and foster fam i­
lies are urgently needed for children
of color. Oregon agencies waive or
reduce fees for families adopting
children in state care, and on-going
financial assistance is often avail­
able. Foster fam ilies receive a
monthly stipend. To learn more,
call the Special Needs Adoption
Coal ition at 222-9661, or your local
Children's Services Division.
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Needed School Supplies
Sent To Russia
School children from Trinity
Lutheran School will be buying extra
pencils, notebooks, erasers and other
school supplies this fall to send to
Russian school children through a
firs t-e v e r p ro ject spo n so red by
Lutheran Hour Ministries.
The program, called “By Kids...
For Kids,” provides Lutheran school
children all over North America the
opportunity to purchase and pack
school supplies for distribution in
Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia.
The purpose is to give the children
“hands-on” mission experience and
learn more about the religious his­
tory o f Russia and new attitudes
toward Christianity, while provid­
ing children in Russian schools and
orphanages with much needed school
supplies.
T h e p ro g ram o rig in a te s at
Lutheran Hour Ministries in St. Louis,
where Bruce Wurdeman, manager of
North America volunteer services,
directs the program. “W e’re expect­
ing 400 schools to participate, and
th a t’s being co n serv ativ e,” says
Wurdeman. That translates into about
40,000 boxes for Russian children.
In the first weeks of the program 136
L uth eran schools o rd e re d over
13,850 boxes, and Wurdeman says
that number continues to increase
daily.
T h e p r o c e s s b e g in s at
L utheran H our M inistries h e a d ­
q u arters in St. L ouis w here the
“ By K ids... For K ids” school kits
are m ailed to the p a rtic ip a tin g
L utheran schools. Each kit con­
tains standard-size school boxes to
ship to Russia, instructions for con­
ducting the school box project and
five lessons about Russia for partici­
pating Lutheran teachers to use in
th e ir classroom s. The L utheran
schools pay $1 per box to cover cost
for the box and shipping to Russia.
In addition to standard school
supplies put in the boxes, the school
children will also include a postcard
of their home area, a booklet of Bible
stories in Russian, a small toy and a
personal note from the student pack­
ing the box. The boxes w ill be
shipped in February, March and April
of next year, with distribution to the
Russian schools and orphanages in
April, May and June.
World Heritage, a not-for-profit
student exchange organization dedi­
cated to fostering cultural enrich­
ment and intercultural understand­
ing, is seeking enthusiastic volun­
teers to be Area Representatives for
its program in your community. Rep­
resentatives serve as liaisons for high
schools, Host Families, Students, and
World Heritage Offices as well as
recruit qualified North A m erican
teenagers to go abroad. Volunteers
are reimbursed for their expenses.
If you feel this is an ideal way to
leam about other countries and cul­
tures while sharing your local area
with eager high school teenage stu­
dents, please call Roger collect at
(801) 969-9270 or 1-800-888-9040
for further information.
Trainings Offered To Enable Childcare
Providers To Serve Disabled Children
The Arc of Multnomah has an­
nounced that it has been joined by
Oregon Health Sciences University
in offering their innovative KICS
tra in in g to c h ild c a re p ro v id e rs
throughout the state of Oregon. As
part o f this unique partnership and
for a limited time, the trainings will
be offered at no charge, with the cost
to participants absorbed by OHSU.
KICS, or Kids in Community
Settings, is acom prehensive training
which enables childcare providers to
acquire skills needed to include chil­
dren with developmental D isabili­
ties in childcare programs already in
place. The training, which was de­
veloped by The Arc o f Multnomah
under a grant from the Oregon D e­
velopmental Disabilities Council, is
equally adaptable for childcare cen-
ter staff including those in work site
facilities, and family childcare pro­
viders.
Presented in two half-day ses­
sions, the eight hours of training of­
fer valuable, comprehensive infor­
mation addressing types of disabili­
ties and general child development,
and provide ideas for adapting ac­
tivities to include all children. The
training also assists childcare pro­
viders in complying with the ADA
(Americans with Disabilities Act).
Noting that 600,000 families
nationally have young children with
developmental disabilities, OHSU
has incorporated KICS to enhance
its “Raccoon Project” which is also a
training program on how to include
c h ild re n w ith special needs in
childcare programs. W ith the guid-
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Lewis & Clark
College Schedules
Host Of Alumni
Events
We don't gift w rap our
free checking.
But we do include a
thoughtful card.
Revisit a favorite professor's
class, listen to a jazz band, honor
your distinguished fellow alumni and
cheer on the Pioneers during Lewis
& Clark College’s 1994 homecom­
ing, Thursday, Oct 6, through Sun­
day, Oct. 9.
H om ecom ing weekend high­
lights include class “sit-ins' featur­
ing old and new courses, Friday, Oct.
7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the Arts
Alive opener with the Hart/Green
Jazz Quartet, Friday, Oct. 7, at 7:30
p.m., in Evans Auditorium, alumni
tickets $7; a tailgate party at the
Griswold Stadium parking lot from
12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 8,
followed by the homecoming foot­
ball game between the Lewis & Clark
Pioneers and the Simon Fraser Clan;
and the alumni awards brunch at noon,
Sunday, Oct. 9.
For complete homecoming in­
form ation, call the hom ecom ing
hotline,(503) 768-7950 or 1-800-
753-9292.
W ashington Mutual’s Classic Checking" has no minimum balance requirements
and no monthly service fees. Plus it includes a Washington Mutual Cash
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M any O regon Tradesw om en
Network members got their start in
the trades through B-FIT (Building
Futures in Industry and Trades).
This is a pre-apprenticeship
training program for women who
want to have careers in the building
and construction trades.
The six-month program provides
hands-on experience in many basic
skills, as well as trade math, job
search and interviewing skills.
Classes are held at the Rock
Creek Campus of Portland Commu­
nity College.
Fall term classes started Sept.
19. Some scholarships are available.
Call 244-6 111, extension 7432,
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SPEAKERS INCLUDE
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MARY WFNDY ROBERTS, Commissioner. Oregon Bureau o f Labor and Industries:
Paula Barran and Rick l.iebinan. /.«ne Pou ell Spears l.ubersky and ( ampbell.
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ance o f OHSU professionals, addi­
tional em phasis will be placed on
creating teamwork between the pro­
vider, schools and other profession­
als involved in a child’s life, and on
updating training m aterials. The
“Raccoon Project” is part o f a com ­
prehensive interdisciplinary program
funded by the federal government
which was started by OHSU in 1992.
The KICS trainings are offered
in a variety o f sites throughout the tri­
county area, and in other com m uni­
ties upon request. A nominal charge
for the training manual will be asked
of those participants who live out­
side o f M ultnomah County.
Providers interested in taking
the trainings are asked to call Mary
Magee. KICS Coordinator, at The
Arc office, 2 2 3 - 7 2 7 9 . _____ __
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