ConiiiHltcd lo C ulliti al Diversity
www. port lundobserver.com
Novem ber 22. 2 0 0 6
M etro
community' service
Giving
Between
Classes
Students, staff give
back for the holidays
M aleah Johnson could be one o f the 60 families
that benefit from the Thanksgiving Basket and Adopt-
a-Fam ily program at the Cascade C am pus o f Portland
C om m unity College in north Portland.
T hat's w hy she is giving.
Each year the A SPCC gives Thanksgiving Baskets
to more than 40 student families and later helps an
additional 20 w ith the A dopt-A-Fam ily project where
the children will receive gifts. The goal is to make the
holiday a happy, stress-free tim e for those students
w ho might find it a financial burden. Johnson is
organizing this year's cam paign.
"The Thanksgiving Basket Program is an annual
tradition that some students look forw ard to each
year," Johnson said. "Since continuing an education
w hile havinga family issu ch ab ig task, m any students
may have to choose between purchasing holiday
goods for their family, or buying books and paying
the rising costs o f tuition."
"A lot o f students are broke," she added. "They
have children, tuition costs and can't afford presents
or a big meal during the holidays. This is a way that
they can get that Thanksgiving meal."
Johnson, 23, could be one o f those students and
understands how im portant the basket program is.
M a leah J o h n s o n h a s o v e rc o m e h e r o w n h a rd sh ip s to h e lp o th e rs a s s h e c o m p le te s h e r s tu d ie s a t P ortland C o m m u n ity C ollege in n o rth Portland.
"I've been there," she said. "You miss so many
th in g sg ro w in g u p in ap o o rfam ily . Itisreally d ifficu lt
to atlord these things. My fam ily had to rely on a state
agency lor a lot ol what we had.
But she has survived. She is the first in her family
to go to college after being thrown out o f the house
by her mother's boyfriend at the age o f 18. Forced to
find em ploym ent to pay the rent, she worked for five
years before enrolling at PC C last year.
Now, she is close to earning her Oregon Transfer
Degree, m ajoring in biology, and will apply to study
at Oregon State U niversity's pharm aceutical pro-
gram. However, her days are full. She studies four
hours a day, rides the bus from C lackam as another
three and a hall hours. When she isn't in class she is
volunteering her tim e with student governm ent, and
serving as gam e m anager for the PCC basketball
teams. She is also a m em ber o f Phi Theta Kappa, the
tw o-year honor's society.
M any at PCC share Johnson's giving nature.
Around the college district. PCC students and
staff conduct various can, fixxl and clothing drives
to help the needy in the com m unity. S taff and faculty
host clothing and ftxxl drives during their respective
holiday parties at all three com prehensive cam puses
and the Southeast C enter in December. The college
also conducts an annual giving cam paign where staff
and faculty can give to a charity o f their choice
sanctioned by the college.
T o see how you can help, contact the following
offices Sylvania A SPCC at 5 0 3 -9 7 7 -4 3 6 1, the Rock
C reek ASPCC at 5( 13-614-7442,or Cascade Campus at
503-978-5379.
B en efit C oncert Takes up A ID S B attle
Helping our sister city
of Mutare, Zimbabwe
On the eve o f World AIDS D ay. Thursday, Nov. 30,
the Lloyd Jones Struggle will play a benefit concert at
the T iffany C enter’s Emerald Ballroom at Southwest
14th and M orrison St. to help victims o f AIDS in
P ortland's C ity o f M utare. Zimbabwe.
The "R hythm s for Life" concert is under the direc
tion o f the P ortland- Mutare Sister City Association
and its A frican AIDS Response program.
Lloyd Jones is a consum m ate guitarist, singer,
songw riter, arranger, perform er and bandleader. One
o f the most original artists on the m odem day blues
scene, he grew up in Portland where he was the leader
o f one o f Port land' s most popular blues bands. Brown
Sugar in the early 1970s.
Jones honed his craft by performing with the likes
o f A lbert Collins. Robert Cray. Bonnie Raitt. Taj
M ahal. B.B. King, Dr. John. John Hamm ond. Etta
Jam es. Junior W ells and Buddy Guy, and many more
m usic legends.
T he ev e n in g w ill begin at 6 p.m. w ith an e x c lu
sive p atron d in n e r and live auction, w here a tte n d
ees w ill view a special dance perfo rm an ce by
L o veness W esa and K gotso A frican C ultural A rts.
At 8 p .m ., general co n cert ticket-h o ld ers will jo in
the patro n s as the doors open the L loyd Jones
S tru g g le.
T ic k e ts are $15 and av a ila b le at S afew ay
T icketsW est locations or directly from Af rica AIDS
om m um ty
a le n d a r
Christmas Tree Permits
The Mt. Hixxl National Forest has opened
its personal use Christm as tree cutting
program . Perm its are $5, lim ited to 5 per
mits per household, with a 12’ foot m axi
mum height per tree. For more information,
call the forest headquarters at 503-668-
1700 M onday through Friday from 7:30
a.m. to4:30p.m .
Title Wave Book Sale
M ultnom ah County L ibrary's Title W ave
Used Bookstore. 2 16 N.E. Knott St., hosts
a custom er appreciation sale Friday. Nov.
24, from 5:30a.m . until 4p.m . Treasures are
hidden throughout the store.
Women of the Season
Share the gospel and rebuild hope this
Sunday, Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. when the
V ancouver Avenue First Baptist Church.
3128 N. V ancouver Ave., presents hon
ored guest Jessica P. M anaway, Evange
list C.P. M onk, Lady Della Johnson, and
M issionary Z ina McGee.
O rp h a n ed children from M utare, Z im b a b w e a re b e in g a s s i s t e d with m e d ic a tio n s , e q u ip m e n t a n d
HIV ca re through th e h e lp o f P o rtla n d 's Africa AID S R e s p o n s e a n d th e P ortland-M utare S is te r city
A sso cia tio n .
Response at w w w .africaaidsresponse.org.
I his w ill be the fifth annual b en efit co n c ert and
auction fo r A frican AID S R esponse. All proceeds
w ill d irec tly support g rassro o ts A ID S e ffo rts in
M utare.
Dayna Kirk, executive director o f the program
Thanksgiving Dinner
Emmanuel Temple Church. 1033 N. Sumner
St., invites the com m unity to a Thanksgiv
ing service and tree com m unity dinner on
I hanksgiving Day, Nov. 23. The worship
service begins at 10 a.m. with dinner served
from 11:30a.m. to 2:30p.m .
“Scrooge Lives” Craft Bazaar
Mt. Htxxl C om m unity College will host
the 37th annual craft bazaar, at the Gresham
Cam pus Lounge: Rtxtm 1051 on W ednes
day, Nov. 29 and Thursday. Nov. 30, from
I0 a .m .to 6 p .m .
December Zoo Lights
The w alk-through w inter w onderland O r
egon Z oo Lights com es to life throughout
the month o f D ecem ber. The festival in
cludes a lighted zoo train, choral and en
sem ble music, puppet show s, and a nxxlcl
train display. Festival hours are Sunday -
T hursday, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and
Saturday. 5 to8:30p.m . Closed Dec. 2 4 and
C hristm as Day.
recently returned from a trip to M utare with fellow
Portland volunteer Carol Tenenbaum . They met with
the m ayor and health care officials o f the town to
coordinate material donations and also directly dis
tribute funds raised from Portland’s 2005 World AIDS
Day benefit event.
Elves will give holiday gifts to the Oregon
Z oo’schim panzees. orangutans, mandrills
and other primates. Bring your cam eras for
this great picture opportunity. Call 503-
226-1561 or visit oregonzoo.org for more
information.
Holiday Wreath Sale
The Portland Parks Environmental Educa
tion D epartm ent will host the holiday
wreath sale on Thursday. Nov. 30 through
Sunday. Dec. I0 fro m 9 a .m .to 4 p .m .,atth e
Mt. T aborG reen house, 6437 S.E. Division
St. All proceeds go to scholarships for
low -incom e youth.
Holiday Ceramics Sale
Mt. Hood C om m unity College invites the
public to attend the 23rd annual student
w orks sale to be held in the Visual Arts
CenterGallery at the MHCC Gresham Cam
pus on 1 uesday, Dec. 5 through Friday.
Dec. 8. from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on
Saturday. D ec.9 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Work Against Abuse
Presents for Primates
T hursday, Dec. 14. at 10 a.m.. S an ta's
»
Í
Com m unity A dvocates invites those in
terested in protecting children from abuse
Lloyd J o n e s o f th e Lloyd J o n e s S truggle, o n e o f
th e m o s t original a r tis ts o n th e m o d e rn d a y
b lu e s s c e n e , will p erfo rm Thursday, Nov. 3 0 in
P ortland for a b e n e fit to h e lp fight AIDS in
P o rtla n d 's S is te r City o f M utare, Z im b a b w e.
to becom e an event volunteer, event out
reach, technology expert, graphic artists
or off ice support team member. For infor
mation, call 503-280-1388.
Women in Community Service
V olunteerfem ale mentors are being sought
by W om en in C om m unity Service to work
with incarcerated women at the Coffee
Creek Correctional Facility. The women
provide support and encouragem ent for
inmates transitioning from prison back
into the com m unity. For inform ation, call
503-570-6614.
Black History Museum
The Black History M useum o f Oregon is
seeking brilliant minds o f concerned indi
viduals to help in restructuring the m u
seum foundation’s com m ittee. For infor
mation, call 503-284-0617.
Oregon Food Bank
The Oregon Food Bank seeks volunteers
on M ondays from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m..
and T uesdays, 9 a.m. to noon, to sort and
repack perishable foods. Call 503-2824)555.
ext. 272 o r visit O regonfixxlbank.org.
Volunteer for Crisis Line
W ant to make a difference in your com m u
nity? V olunteers and advocates are needed
forthe Portland W om en'sC risis Line. The
needs include on-call advocates to re
spond in person or over the phone, out
rea ch an d e d u c a tio n a l e f f o rts , and
fundraising and adm inistrativeduties. Call
503-232-4176 for more information.
Home buying Classes
Portland C om m unity Land Trust helps
first time and low -incom e hom ebuyers
purchase hom es at below market price.
Attend a free, one-hourclass to learn more
about
th e
p r o e ra m .
C o n ta c t