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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2005)
' JJortlanb (ßbseruer_________________________ PageA6 el lujy 2 0 ,200s O bservador National Council of La Raza to Help AmeriCorps Hoping to recruit greater number of Hispanic volunteers A 23-year-old medical student from Argentina travels across South America with his friend in “The Motorcycle Diaries.’ ‘Motorcycle Diaries’ Sweeps (AP) - “The M otorcycle D ia ries,” the tale of revolutionary C he G u e v a ra ’s life -c h a n g in g 195 0 s jo u r n e y a c ro ss L atin A m erica, sw ept top honors re cently at the Imagen Awards, in cluding best picture, director and supporting actor. The film, based on Guevara’s diaries of his 1952 trip with Alberto Granado, alsogarnered Jose Rivera the Norman Lear W riter’s Award. The awards show honored con tributions by and about Latinos and Latino culture. “We created the I magen Awards 20 years ago because at the time there was no other formal awards show to recognize top Latino enter- ta in m e n t ta le n t,” said H elen Hernandez, president and founder of the Imagen Foundation. The National Council of La Raza(NCLR), the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, will be assisting the AmeriCorps national service program in its efforts to reach an important goal: increasing the number of Hispanic Americans who serve as members. "The AmeriCorps values of volunteerism, hard work, and giving back to one’s com m u nity reflect the values shared by Hispanics across the country,” said NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguia. “NCLR is pleased to partner with them to increase our community’s numbers in a program that plays a significant role in increasing the civic engagement of young Americans, and offers incalculable benefits to its participants.” The AmeriCorps values of volunteerism, hard work, and giving back to one’s community reflect the values shared by Hispanics across the country. -Janet Murguia, National Council of La Raza CEO and President The recruitment initiative, called "NCLR Compañeros de AmeriCorps” was announced recently during a youth community service event in Philadelphia sponsored by NCLR. NCLR has been a national grantee of AmeriCorps since 1995. Currently, about 200 NCLR AmeriCorps members provide educational and workforce development opportunities to mem bers of the Latino community at 10 sites located across the country. This represents a new collaboration specifi- cally designed to increase the number of His panics taking part in AmeriCorps National Ci vilian Community Corps, a team-based pro gram for men and women between the ages of 18 and 24. Participants in AmeriCorps*NCCC serve at one of five regional campuses located across the country. Over the course of 10 months, each AmeriCorps NCCC member completes 1,700 hours o f service on such projects as tutoring inner-city schoolchildren, building houses in lo w -in c o m e n e ig h b o rh o o d s, re sto rin g parklands, and responding to natural disasters. In exchange for their service, members receive $4,725 to help pay for college, or to pay back existing student loans. Service with AmeriCorps NCCC has been shown to have other benefits, as well. Accord ing to a 2(X)4 survey, 83 percent of former members reported that the skills they learned while serving in AmeriCorps NCCC helped them in their current job, educational pursuit, or civic engagement activity. W hat to take for arthritis pain? Local Latina Participant in Pageant S outhw est Portland resident Kiara Aguillon, 16, participated in the Miss Latina of Oregon Pageant last weekend. Aguillon, going into 11th grade in the fall, has been involved with the Pacific Youth Choir, Become X and ad cam paigns for Portland General Electric and Telecom. “It’s helped me grow as a p erson and e m pow er me to do things that I didn’t think I could do before. I’m very con photo by K atherine B lackmore / nected with my Mexican T he P ortland O bserver heritage because o f my grandparents, and I want to be a role model for others. I want to show that there are no boundaries,” A guillon said. Hispanics See Historic Chance With Nominee Take a walk. A bike ride. A swim. Studies show th at 30 minutes of m oderate physical activity three or more days a week can relieve pain and help you move m ore easily. If 30 minutes at once is to o much, try 10 or 15 minutes a few times a day. To m ake it fun, invite a friend or family mem ber to join you. Stick with it, and in just four to six weeks you could be hurting less and feeling better. Physical Activity. T h e Arthritis Pain Reliever. Call 1-800-283-7800 to learn more. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush joke with the press during their visit to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va., Monday, July 11. (AP Photo) Minority vote coveted by politicians (AP) - The possibility of two Supreme Court vacancies - follow- ing S a n d ra D ay O ’C o n n o r’s planned retirement and speculation surrounding Chief Justice William Rehnquist - increases chances that President Bush will nominate the court’s first Hispanic justice, ob servers say. That nomination would be a mile stone for A m erica's fastest-grow ing minority group, whose vote is heavily coveted by politicians. At the same time, it could magnify the split between conservative and lib eral Hispanic groups if a battle breaks out over the nominee’s ide ology. Sens. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Ken Salazar, D-Colo., say a quali fied Hispanic shouldn’t have aprob- lem bei ng confirmed. “ 1 think that all of them have to live up to the same standards, and that is: Are they qualified? Are they going to be fair and impartial people on the bench?” Salazar said re cently. Martinez added: “I believe a I good, qualified Hispanic who hap pens to be a conservative will get a fair hearing.” Court observers say it becomes more likely that Bush will pick a Hispanic if there is more than one position open on the high court. O ’Connor announced her retire ment last week: Rehnquist, 80 years old and fighting cancer, has not made any announcement but is being watched closely. The names most often men tioned as possible Hispanic nomi nees are Attorney General Alberto Gonzales - the first Latino attorney general and a close friend of the president - and Judge Emilio Garza of the New Orleans-based 5th Cir cuit Court of Appeals. Garza was President George H.W. Bush's sec ond choice for the Supreme Court after Clarence Thomas. A possi ble Gonzales nom i nation has already drawn fire from some conservatives, including Hispan ics, who don’t think he’s conserva tive enough. Physical activity helps manage your arthritis pain, Take it slow. Take it easy. Come and try one of the classes below. Classes are free for qualified participants. Please contact the African American Health Coalition for more information at: 503-413-1850 or visit www.aahc- portland.org . 1 x»w Im pact Aerobics Wild Oats Market - 3535 NE 15th Tue,7:3O-8:3Opm T ai Chi (Contact the AAHC) St. John’s Community Center - 8427 N. Central Tue,6:3O-7:3Opm Seniors Physical A ctivity W ater A erobics (Contact the AAHC) Columbia P o o l-7701 N Chautauqua Matt Dishman - 77 NE Knott W alkingG roup Peninsula Park - 700 N Portland (Saturday group will resume in the summer) Lloyd C tr. 1 st FI. in front o f Sears Tue, Thu, 6:30pm Allen Fremont Plaza - 221 NE Fremont Mon, 10:30-11:30am, Tue,Thu, 10:30-11:30am Multicultural Senior Center - 5325 NE MLK Mon, Wed, 10:30-11:30am Irvington Village - 420 NE Mason St. 503-546-9292 x 121 3rd Annual Wellness Within REACH Walk. Saturday, September 1 Oth at Dawson Park, located at N. Vancouver and Stanton in Portland, OR. To register or volunteer, please contact the African American Health Coalition, Inc. at 503-413-1850 or ninan@aahc-portland.org. A MESSAGE FROM TH E CENTERS FOR DlSEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION • TH E ARTHRITIS FOUNDATION T he D epartment of H ealth & H uman S ervices • A frican A merican H ealth C oalition , I nc H aa» CoaWon, Int
