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J uly 17, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
P age A 6
“Serve And Be Served” Day
The Northwest Service Academy,
a local AmeriCorps program, is spon
soring a community service event on
July, 27th 1996 to give an opportuni
ty for residents o f Portland to make a
difference in their community, either
by making improvements at their lo
cal school grounds, empowering the
growth o f healthy trees in Forest Park
serving with individuals who are ded
icated to save an urban riparian area
from further damage, or doing fin
ishing work on a house in North
Portlandenablinga low income fam
ily to buy a home.
The purpose o f the Northwest
Service Academy is to engage over
100 AmeriCorps members in hands-
on community service projects. These
projects bring clear and demonstra
ble benefits to local communities
and their surrounding environment.
I he Northwest Service Academy
has 70 members working in the Port-
land/Metro area as well as 30 mem
bers who live and work on a rural site
in WA. Members’ projects focus on
community based environmental ser
vice. AmeriCorps is part o f the Cor
poration for National Service estab
lished by Congress with strong bi
partisan support in 1993.
One way we, as an organization,
meet the goals o f AmeriCorps is by
planning this community wide ser
vice event where volunteers can work
with a variety o f organizations such
as: Friends o f Forest Park, Friends o f
Fanno Creek, M cLoughlin Junior
High School, Ardenwald Elementa
ry School, and Portsmouth Commu
nity Redevelopment Corporation.
Volunteers w ill have an opportu
nity to participate in all the above
activities.
For more information on projects
in your area and exact times please
contact The Northwest Service Acad
emy Community Outreach Com m it
tee .it (503) 695-3747. We w ill be
glad to hear from you.
“Waiting Children”
Around the United States, there
are many children awaiting adop
tion. In the state o f Oregon alone,
there are over 200 children in need
o f adoptive families. We are a group
o f private agencies working with
the state to help find adoptive fam
ilies. These agencies are complete
ly waiving fees in order to encour
age the adoption o f these children
in need. Single adults, both male
and female, as well as couples are
welcome to consider adoption To
learn more, contact The Special
Needs Adoption Coalition at The
Boys and Girls Aid Society, (503)
222-9661.
Below are some examples o f the
special children looking for a lov
ing home:
Occasionally bashful, A lvin is a
peppy, on-the-go kid. He thrives on
the joy o f play! This dear child is
said to be easy to parent. Develop-
mentally right on target, A lvin is a
smart and active problem-solver.
Despite testing positive for drugs at
Sand In The C ity 96, presented
by Yoshida’s, promises to be a fam
ily event like no other in Portland the
sand sculpture contest, which w ill
take place at Pioneer Courthouse
Square July 25-28, w ill feature 14
corporate teams waging creative
warfare against one another and 60
tons o f sand.
The fun begins on Thursday, July
25, when master sand sculptors w ill
construct a giant demo sand castle.
The next day, competing teams w ill
have from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. to shovel,
pack and carve th e ir creations.
Awards w ill fo llo w at 5:30 p.m.
Free p u b lic v ie w in g , puppet
shows, music and food sales w ill
highlight the weekend. A hugh fam
ily sand castle building area and a
wheelchair accessible sand castle
building area w ill welcome aspiring
architects to display their handiwork.
Entertainment includes the bands
Golden Delicious, a bluegrass band;
The B la c k b ird T rio , fe a tu rin g
Beatles-type music; Flying Safari
Ants, a marimba band; and many
more. Hours for the weekend festiv
ities are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. and Sunday from 10 a m. to 4
p.m.
M ajor sponsors include present
ing sponsor Yoshida’s-makers o f
gourmet sauces and other diverse
products including board games and
M o lly Snowboards-and Black and
Company Inc., and investment spon-
sors/teams include Hoffman Con
struction Company, who agreed to
truck 60 tons ofthe beach to and from
the Square; CFI ProServices, Inc;
Beaches Restaurant & Bar in Van
couver; N AA C O Materials Handling
Group Inc.; Northwest Natural Gas
Co.; U.S Bank: Pacific Generation
Company; Generic Parts Service, Inc;
W ieden& Kennedy and Wells Fargo
Bank. ,
Sand in the C ity 96 is a benefit for
the kids on the Block Awarenes
Program. The program uses chili
size puppets to help children am
adults learn to understand and accep
differences in one another and t<
protect themselves in d iffic u lt situa
tions.
The purpose o f the program is t<
encourage acceptance and open com
m unication reg ardin g physical
social and cultural differences; ani
to provide accurate information an<
educational materials that focus ot
ability, dignity, independence am
self-esteem.
The Kids on the Block puppet:
dress and act like real children. The)
speak in kids’ language and deal w itl
children’s fears, concerns and ques
tion in a simple non-treating way
The puppets encourage fresh new
attitudes and present differences a:
assets, not liabilities.
For more mfoïmation, please call
Lynne Bangsund at 503/2466-5818
Fight Pain With Positive Alternatives
by
Alvin, age 2.
Anna, age 4.
birth, A lvin is a healthy child. His
cultural heritage is Hispanic. Kla
math Indian and Caucasian. A lvin
also has a baby sister who might be
available for adoption at some point.
This beloved boy is ready for a safe
and supportive home!
Anna is a jo lly little girl with a super
sense o f humor! She tells hilarious
jokes and stories, punctuated by her
cute laugh. Anna energetically plays,
sings, and dances. She is very interac
tive with others and loves to con
verse. Anna currently struggles with
some challenges, including some
possible drug or alcohol effects. She
has been making excellent progress!
This bubbly girl would benefit from
parents who could shower her with
consistent attention.
Computer Hurling Catapult Makes Last Casting Call
1996 da V in c i Days ce le bra
tio n . O reg on ’ s finest fa m ily fes
tiv a l, is excited to have a famous
add itio n that ties in science, tech
nology, and arts a ll in one s tru c
ture.
Sand In The City
The "M ona Lever.” a trebuchet as
seen on episodes o f “ Northern Ex
posure,” w ill be ready to launch com
puters to demonstrate how physics
canhelpcomputersclear IO2.3yards.
Computers can be delivered to
the trebuchet launch site on the day
o f event or prior to the festival at the
da V inci Days office at 760 SW
Madison, Corvallis, Oregon.
For more information call the da
Vinci Days office at (541)757-6363.
M arian W rigiii E pei . man
In the 16 years that James Prister
has been on this earth, he has experi
enced more pain and sadness than
any person should be forced to en
dure in a lifetime. Two o f his older
brothers were arrested in a robbery
attempt when James was 10. They
are serving long prison terms. A cou
ple o f years ago, another brother was
shot and killed on the streets o f New
York. James says that he sees vio
lence and death everywhere he looks
in his Brooklyn neighborhood.
But James, a New York Y M C A
Member, who traveled to Washing
ton, D.C., last June I to Stand For
Children with several other Y M C A
supporters, has turned his sadness
into anger. And he’ s fighting back.
“ I want to focus on the positive things
so the drug and gun dealers w ill
never get me,” he says. “ When
younger kids see me, they’ re not
going to see a crim inal. They’ re go
ing to see a young man who leads by
example. I have to stand up to the
criminals and say. Y o u ’ re not going
to get me!”
“ I haven’t seen my brothers since
I was 10, and I probably w on’t see
them again until I ’ m old,” he contin
ues. “ Grabbing a gun, getting a girl
pregnant-what’sthat? Why not say,
‘ I want to grab me a diploma or a
career?” ’
“ M y brother was killed and my
other brothers are in prison because
they wereall in the wrong place at the
wrong time. There needs to be more
things for young people to do so
they’ re not so bored, so that there are
more positive alternatives. The drug
dealers and gun sellers are all around
us, and when there’ s no programs for
kids my age, those are the people we
end up giving in to.”
Fifteen-year-old Kristy Schlaffier,
another member ofthe Y M C A Great
er New York, also stood for children
at the Lincoln Memorial. “ Kids need
a positive image, and that’s why we’re
here today. We have so many pro
grams thatarebeingcut in New York,
which only puts kids back on the
street,” she says. “ With programs
like ours, kids get to play basketball
and other sports, and they get the
chance to develop leadership skills
instead o f getting into trouble. It
seems like the government puts us
last. Sometimes they treat us like
we’re nothing but dogs.”
Another o f James’ traveling com
panions was Gary Swartels, 33, a
native New Yorker and worker at the
Greater New York Y M C A .
“ There needs to be increased re
sources to other organizations like
the Y M C A that help young people
pass safely into adulthood,” says
Swartels. “ Last year, New Y ork C ity
YM C As served more than 95,000
youths, and the goal is to increase
that number fourfold by the year
2000,” he says.
James, Kristy, and Gary all have
the right idea. Ifth is society is to turn
the pain and sadness that many o f our
children are experiencing into safety
and peace, we must stress the impor
tance o f positive alternatives. What
we don’t provide for our children
and youths on the front end, we w ill
only pay for on the back end in the
form o f prison sentences and more
dying.
PricesEffective July 17 through July 23,1996 at your nearby Safeway store.
ole Boneless
Beef Top Sirloin
• Primal form untrimmed
• Cut & wrapped in one
package FREE!
• Valu Pack Steaks, 3 or
more per package 1.99-lb
• Smaller packages, 2.19-lb
•SAVE UP TO 1.20 LB
Fresh California
Sweet Cantaloupe
• Wholes melons
• SAVE AT SAFEWAY
A
S tou ff e r ’s
Lunch Express
•
or Lean Cuisine
• SAVE UP TO 1.30 EACH
Look For Your
Safeway Weekly Shopping Guide
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Portland Metro Area ...And Save
More Shopping A t Safeway!
Enjoy Extra Savings With The
SAFEWAY EXTRA In-Store
Savin gs Guide
Available at your Safeway store.
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