Committed to Cultural Diversity
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A pastor reflects on past year in
new home and congregation
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SECTION
o m m u m ty
a le n d a r
Oregon Food Bank
The Oregon Food Bank seeks
volunteers on Mondays from 1:30
p. in. to4:30p.m „ and Tuesdays, 9
a.in. to noon, to sort and repack
perishable foods. Call 503-282-
0555, extension 272 or visit
Oregonfoixlbank.org.
Black Colleges Conference
The 27th annual Black Colleges
Conference will be held Saturday.
Oct. 28 at the Cascade Campus of
PortlandCommunity College, 705
N. Killingsworth from 7:30a.m. to
1:30 p.m. for high school and
middle schools students. For more
information, call 503-275-9603.
Create-A-Costume
On Saturday, Oct 28, from noon to
4 p.m., bring your ideas and imagi
nation and let SCRAP, the non
profit recycler on N. Williams Ave.,
supply materials and creative help
to make a Halloween costume.
Visit scrapaction.org.
Home Buying Fair
The African American Alliance
for Homeownership presents its
annual home buying fair, Satur
day, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 2:30
p.m. in the Legacy Emanuel Hos
pital Atrium, 501 N. Graham. At
tendees will get help through the
homebuying process with valu
able information and free work
shops. T wo $2,500 housing grants
will be raffled.
Canine 101
Find out why your dog does that.
“ Problem Pooch" class is for
people who have just entered pet
parenthood, or are thinking of
adopting a new pet. Class will be
held at 1067 N.E. Columbia Blvd.,
Saturdays, Nov. 4 and Nov. 18 at
11 a.m. Call 503-285-7722 or visit
oregonhumane.org orcall the free
behavior help lineal 503-416-2983.
St. Charles
Spaghetti Dinner
The annual St. Charles Spaghetti
and Meatball Fundraiser Dinner
takes place Sunday, Nov. 5, from
noon to 6:30 p.m. at St. Charles
Church, 42nd and Emerson Street.
Take-out is available. Adults are
$9, children $4. For information,
call 503-287-1615.
photo
A c tiv itie s H e lp Locals
Stay Active
Therapeutic classes at Marie Smith Center
Specialized classes for older adults in art,
music and horticultural therapy as well as
exercise are being offered on an a la carte
basis at the Marie Smith Health and Social
Service Center at 4616 N. Albina St.
The classes are also suitable and open to
people with disabilities. The Center is oper-
ated by the non-profit organization, Volun-
teersof America Oregon,
"Our Centers serve older adults, many
with dementia, and persons with disabilities
who can benefit from the therapeutic ben-
efits of music, art and gardening as well as
find immediate joy in the experiences, ’ said
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Women of Wealth
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community service
"It’s so encouraging to see many of our
participants dance with delight during the
music classes, said Schemmer-Valleau. “We
see people who are sedentary all of the
sudden brighten up and move with gusto to
the music. Some dance, others tap their toes
and many in wheelchairs n<xl with the beat.
We know they are fully engaged at that
point."
The exercise classes are every day at
10:15 a.m. They are led by the center’s
professional staff and consist of low impact
movement, stretching and chair exercises.
All classes last 45 minutes and have a fee
of $ 15 each including lunch or snacks where
timing is appropriate.
For more information or to enroll, contact
the Marie Smith Center at 503-335-9980.
[7 Takes reigns of
business on MLK
Partners in Diversity welcomes
new professionals of color with a
quarterly reception, allowing new
professionals to network with the
more established "welcome bri
gade" of community leaders. This
is a great opportunity to build
strong professional bridges. The
reception is Thursday, Nov. 9.
from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Self
Enhancement, Inc., 3920 N. Kirby
Ave. For more information, call
5O3-5I6-35O5.
Free n u tritio n and co o k in g
classes for cancer prevention
and survival take place at 4 p.m.
each Sunday through Nov. 19 at
the Com m unity Learning C en
ter. 4 2 12 N.E. Prescott. To regis
ter, cal 1503-281-8596.
Lynn Schemmer-Valleau, VOAOR director
of senior services. "Our exercise class is
helpful for all seniors and suitable for those
who have suffered from strokes or have
Parkinson’s disease.”
The horticultural therapy classes are pre
sented through Life's Seasons Gardening
with instructor Linda Park each Thursdays
at 11 a.m. Art therapy classes meet weekly on
Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. and music therapy
classes are every Monday at 11 a.m. and
Tuesdays at I p.m.
A m ong o lder ad u lts, stu d ies have
shown that art therapy helps foster cre
ativity, lifts morale, increases cognitive
skills, decreases anxiety and stim ulates
the senses. Music therapy provides many
of the same benefits.
Leesha Posey Grows E-Mat Café
Say Hey, NW Reception
The Women of Wealth program is
committed to helping women of all
backgrounds reach their full po
tential. A variety of self-improve
ment classes are offered to im
prove your health, career, mar
riage and family. The event will be
held at the Vancouver Hilton Ho
tel & Convention Center, 301 W.
6th St. For more information, call
866-8l5-REAL(7325)or253-536-
0801.
nv M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Seniors and people who have suffered from strokes or other medical conditions form clay in an art therapy class at the Marie Smith Health and Social Service Center
4616 N. Albina St.
M ark W ashington /T he P ort ' and O bserver
Owner Leesha Posey brings new products and a new look to the E-Mat Café in
the Standard Dairy Building at 2 8 0 8 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
I
The E-Mat Cafe is growing into its name.
O w ner Leesha Posey is show casing
the retail outlet’s new look. It is now
more o f a cafe, rather than a store, and
features fresh baked pizza, bagels and
cinnamon rolls, as well as pastries from
D elphinas Bakery.
Posey has also brought in more com
fortable chairs and couches, and given the
interior of the place at 2808 N.E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Blvd. a new coat of paint
It is now a more comfortable place for
people to "hang out," Posey says.
The cafe retains its free Wifi facilities,
TV viewing and Laundromat services. To
this last, Posey says, she will shortly be
adding a new, large washer capable of
laundering sleeping bags and other large
items.
T uesdays and Sundays are G am e
Nights, when all comers are welcome to
compete in checker, chess and domino
matches.
Leeshas father James, an independent
contractor, community activist and former
political candidate, started the E-Mat in
2fXX)when Bill Reed redeveloped the Stan
dard Dairy Building.
E-Mat began as a sort o f convenience
store and internet provider, although
Posey and Reed took the extraordinary
step o f foregoing alcohol products to
respond to com m unity concerns. Lately
the place has gradually transitioned
from a market into a cafe, offering fewer
retail products and more in-store ser
vices.
During this time, Leesha has gradually
been taking over the running of the place.
Bom in Portland, she graduated from
Benson High School and A labam a's
Oakwood College. She taught school in
Japan and Maryland before returning to
Portland in 2001 to help her father run the
store, whom she calls "my hero and men
tor."
The cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
weekends.
Diversity
Commission
Forming
To foster diversity,
investigate bias
Mayor Tom Potter has won approval of a
plan to create a Human Relations Commis
sion, an independent body charged with
advocating for the rights of all Portlanders,
fostering diversity and investigating bias
and discrimination anywhere in the city.
Co-sponsored by Commissioners Randy
Leonard and Dan Saltzman, a resolution calls
forcity staff to report back in six months with
key recommendations from the community
about the Final structure, staffing, funding
and name of the commission.
“Portland has become a city of great di
versity, and this enriches ourcultural life and
economy," said Mayor Potter. "We must
ensure that this diversity is protected, nur
tured and viewed as the asset to our city that
it is.”
The commission will be charged with look
ing not only at discrimination, but also at the
more subtle questions that come w ith a more
multicultural and diverse city: Howtoensurc
affordable housing and equal educational
opportunities? How to keep gentrification
from re-segregating neighborhcxxls? How
to end homelessness? How to build greater
trust between neighborhoods and police
officers?
continued
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