luiy 6.2005______________________________________
ilîl ^ o rtla tth (©bsœruer_____________________________
PagcA9
M etro
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oj
community service
SECTION
o ni ni u n i t y
a l e n cl a r
C
African-Inspired
Music, Dance
The North Star Ballroom, 635 N.
Killingsworth Court, hosts begin
ning drumming and Ghanaian
rhythm classes on Tuesdays at 6
p.m. On Wednesdays, an interme
diate level of the drumming is of
fered in addition toan African aero-
bics/dance class. All classes are
taught by Chata Addy. For more
information call 503-632-0411.
Summer Play Days
All summer long come join other
fam ilies in Irving Park every
W ednesday at 10 a.m. to gather
w i th W aldorf School oriented and
inspired fami lies who wish to play,
snack and get wet in the new
water play area. For information,
see www.shiningstarschool.com.
Shining Star School
Openings for fall enrollment at
Shining Star School, a W aldorf
Initiative School near Northeast
Sixth Avenue and Prescott Street,
are now available for kids going
into grade 1 and 2. Twelve chil
dren will be accepted for this small
com m unity based school. For
m o re
in fo rm a tio n
v isit
www.shiningstarschool.com or
call 503-753-4459.
Get Fit, Stay Healthy!
Sankofaa Health Institute offers a
free diabetes support group from
6 to 7:30 p.m. every third Thurs
day at Alberta Simmons Plaza,
6707 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr.
Blvd. For more information, call
503-285-2484.Art Cam p Help
Needed
AIDS Camp Support Sought
Camp Starlight is a program of
Cascade AIDS that provides chil
dren affected by HIV/AIDS the
opportunity to enjoy a caring,
safe, recreational camping experi
ence. The camp starts at the end
of August, but volunteer camp
counselors and donations are
needed now. Call 503-223-5907 or
visit www.cascadeaids.org.
Creative Space For Dance
Aurora Dance Studio, 5433 N.E.
30th (at Killingsworth), offers an
array of classes forchildren, teens
and adults at all levels of ability.
Call 503-249-0201 orvisit online at
www.hevanet.com/auroradance
for additional information.
Bradley-Angle House
The Bradley-Angle House needs
volunteers to help its outreach
a g a in st d o m e stic v io le n c e .
Women of color and bilingual
women are encouraged to call.
For more information, call 503-
282-9940.
Women Mentors
Women in Community Service are
seeking volunteer mentors for fe
male offenders at Coffee Creek Cor
rectional Facility. Mentors provide
support and encouragement to
women transitioning from prison
back into the community. Mentors
must be female, 24 or older. Train
ing is provided. Call 503-570-6614
for more information.
Birth Ready
W hether you need childbirth
preparation classes, or just a re
fresher. Providence Health Sys
tems has a workshop for you.
Prepare for pain, take a weekend
seminar or prepare big sisters and
brothers-to-be throughout the
su m m er
by
v isitin g
www.providence.org/classes or
call 503-574-6595.
Parenting Classes
Newborns don’t come with in
struction manuals but parents and
parents-to-be can attend classes
through Providence Health Sys
tems to leant about a variety of
topics from pain and childbirth to
breastfeeding to infant CPR and
much more. For a schedule of
events, call 503-574-6595 or visit
www.providence.org./classes.
B
King Facility Shelled by Budget Cuts
King Jr. Elementary School, and
collects rents.
Since the office was bui It in 1976,
as many as eight such agencies
have called it home. But with the
imminent move of the Neighbor
by L ee P erlman
hood Mediation Program to the
T he P ortland O bserver
Hollywood area, the building at
The King Neighborhood Facil 4815 N.E. Seventh Ave. will have
ity in northeast Portland could de just two tenants - the Portland Of
fine the word “hybrid.”
fice of Neighborhood Associations
It is a city building for public and and Multnomah County.
non-profit social agencies, but has
The center took a big hit when the
been m anaged by the Portland school district decided it couldn’t
School District, which owns the afford to pay an administrator to run
land, an annex to Martin Luther the facility. Funding for the position
Neighborhood
site loses school
district support
ended last Thursday.
According to school district of
ficials, until recently the King Facil
ity was the only one of their non
school facilities to have an on-site
manager.
For the future, the district will
provide custodial and maintenance
services, but tenants will have to
call district facilities managers at
the Blanchard Education Center for
special needs.
Northeast Coalition o f Neigh
borhoods Executive Director John
Canda said the school budget cuts
will mean a reduction in services for
his ag e n c y . A c c e ss to the
coalition’s community services will
be re-routed through a side en
trance on Northeast Seventh Av
enue. Whether Multnomah County
will have someone stationed at the
front desk at the main entrance is “a
security issue w e’re very concerned
about,” Canda said.
Another issue is meeting space.
The King Facility has traditionally
provided such space for a number
of neighborhood groups, starting
with the coalition of neighborhoods
board.
But a spokesperson for the
school district said that henceforth;
only community organizations with
office space will have access to the
site and must assume full responsi
bility for members of the public
admitted to the building.
Canda thinks his board will still
have use of a community meeting
room on the building’s west side.
Outgoing facility director Bob
Boyer would like the city to take
over operation o f the center. He
thinks the school district would be
willing to allow this.
“Why not?” he says. “They claim
they’re losing money on it.”
Community Advocate Retires After Job Loss
by L ee P erlman
T he P ortland O bserver
A long-time community advo
cate for Portland’s African A m eri
can community spent his last day
on the job at the King N eighbor
hood Facility in northeast Port
land.
B ob B o y e r r e tire d as the
facility’s executive director when
the money for his position ran out,
a decision by the Portland School
District.
“I’ve had five jobs in the 44
years I’ve been in Portland and
this has been the best,” Boyer told
a small gathering at a retirement
party last week.
“I’ve always wanted to work in
an environm ent w here people
cared about their jobs. This has
been a place where youths and the
public at large have always felt
respected and cared about,” Boyer
said. "Often people have taken
this old w arrior’s advice. It’s been
a pleasure.”
Boyer cam e to Portland while
serving in the Air Force in 1961.
photo by
M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Bob Boyer joins his wife Judy (left) and daughter Keylah on his last day as director o f the King
Neighborhood Facility in northeast Portland.
“I fell in love with Portland,” he
said, “And the people here have
been so good to me.”
Before his long record in public-
service, he worked locally as a
painter, railroad worker and long-
shoreman Meanwhile, he studied
business administration, starting
at Portland State University and
ultimately receiving a bachelor of
science degree from M arylhursj
College, the first African Amerif
can male to do so,
I
His volunteer record includes
posts on the Model Cities and
Head Start boards, and the chairs
o f the Concordia Neighborhood
Association and Northeast Coali-
tion of N eighborhoods.
He worked on the political cam
paigns o f Rev. Jesse Jackson, State
Treasurer Jim Hill and City Com
missioner M argaret Strachan, and
him self won election to the O r
egon Senate.
“Mr. Boyer has a long history of
community service which we at
this facility have benefited from ,”
Northeast Coalition o f Neighbor
hoods executive director John
Canda told the Portland Observer.
“H e’s not just a supervisor, but
more like acommunity father. H e’s
not just a supervisor, but also a
confidant and motivator. If you're
feeling down, just a few minutes
talking to him will give you a whole
new perspective.”
Life Skills Learned at TLC Summer Camps
Program
matches kids
with older
role models
by N icole H< x ) pf . r
T he P ortland O bserver
It’s summertime and TLC (Ten
der Loving Care) Camp is celebrat
ing their 20th season serving local
youth.
Without acam p like TLC, many
children in north and northeast
Portland wouldn’t have a resource
to improve on their life skills during
the summer.
Camp Directors Faye Palmerton
and Roy Pittman have strong ties to
the local community and started
the program because they saw the
necessity. Palmerton is a retired
teacher o f Portsm outh M iddle
School and Pittman was a recre
ation director at Peninsula Park
Community Center.
They had a vision of opening a
summer camp to ease the transition
from grade school to middle school
for local youth. In addition, they
also realized that some parents’ were
not able to pay for their child to
attend a summer camp.
Through a variety of grants TLC
camp has been a strong force in the
right of passage for numerous in
ner-city youth, especially children
of color. Questions o f income are
not a factor in the ability for a child
to attend.
“We don't ask many income
questions on the application be
cause some people feel that the
more personal we ge, the more they
have to lie in order to get services.
All we want is for the kids' to show
up," said Pittman.
TLC Camp has been in full swing
photo by N icole
H ooper /T he P ortland O bserver
Children from TLC (Tender Loving Care) summer camp get some gentle words of wisdom from
camp counselor Cedia Jabbie.
This may be the first time a young child gets to
see and African-American or Hispanic person in
charge as a counselor.
- Roy Pittman, Camp Director
even as many other public service
agencies face harsh budget cuts or
have theirprograms cut completely.
Pittman attributes the longevity to
faith and sponsors that believe in
the service TLC Camp provides.
Over half of the counselors were
former campers. Camp counselor
Cedia Jabbie first attended TLC
Camp the summer before he started
kindergarten and now will begin
college this fall at Texas Southern
University.
“I have been taught many les
sons about job readiness. If you
show up to TLC Camp not wearing
your uniform, then you don’t get to
work that day. They (Palmerton and
Pittman)don't let you get away with
things because at any job you are
expected to be professional,” said
Jabbie.
Insteadof “hangingout"all sum
mer wasting their day at the mall or
in front of the television, the TLC
Campcounselors invest theirtime in
being role models for younger chil
dren in their neighborhood.
The counselors at TLC Camp are
learning the importance of giving
back. During their first year, they are
considered unpaid volunteers. Start
ing in February the counselors’ train
once a month with Palmerton and
Pittman to discuss the importance of
being a role model and how to care
forchildren.
“This may be the first time a
young child gets to see and African-
American or Hispanic person in
charge as acounselor,” said Pittman.
Campers range from kindergar
ten to ninth grade. The weekly camps
are split to the specific needs of each
age group. Each morning when the
children arrive, the counselors along
with Palmerton and Pittman are wait
ing to welcome the children in a hug
line. For some children, TLC camp
may be the only place where they
receive a hug or praise for a job well
done.
By venturing to different busi
nesses in the local area, the young
est children leam lessons in eti
quette. It's here that they leam how
little words like please and thank
you can make a difference in how
they are perceived by others. The
students in grades 4-6 leam these
lessons as well, but also attend an
overnight camp.
“This is a chance to expose chil
dren to a new environment." said
Pittman. For many chi Idren this may
be their first time aw ay from home or
outside of the city.
The 7'h,o911’ graders visit Portland
State University to leam the impor
tance of a college education.
“We have been tried, tested and
adjusted to meet the needs of the
kids and families of this area." said
Pittman. It is evident that the coun
selors of TLC Camp provide more
than a meal or a place for your child
to go. They provide skills that can
turn children into positive adults.
Camp sessions run until late
August. Applications are available
at Peninsula Park Community Cen
ter. Going Street Market and at King
School. For more information call
503-91fr6320.
I