Committed to Cultural Diversity
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Girl Scouts Screen Video
Sunday, Feb. 11, from 2 p.m. to4 p.m., at the
Kennedy School Theater, the Girl Scouts
will raise funds for its Family Giving Pro­
gram with the screening of the locally
produced video “A Circle is Round.”
Disability Resource Fair
Saturday, Feb. 3,11 a.m. to 1 p.m., families
with newborn children to age five experi­
encing developmental or physical disabili­
ties, mental health or chronic health con­
ditions are in vited to a free resource fair. A
b is will leave Friends of the Children, 65
N.E. Stanton at 12:30 p.m. to attend the
event at the Expo Center. For information,
call 503-238-6346.
Doll and Teddy Bear Show
Saturday, Feb. 3,10a.m . to4p.m „ learn the
art of identifying vintage and rare Barbie
dolls with expert Georgia Seibel. The Dol I
and Teddy Bear Show will be held at the
National Guard Armory, just south of
Marine Drive on Northeast 33rd.
Say Hey Meet and Greet
Thursday, Feb. 8, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m..
Partners in Diversity will host a Say Hey.
NW meet and greet reception to welcome
new professionals of color to Oregon and
Southwest Washington, at Self Enhance­
ment. Inc., 3920 N. Kerby Ave. Call 503-
516-3505 oremai I nakashi ma v @ mac.com.
Portland Diabetes Expo
Saturday, Feb. 3, the Diabetes Expo will
provide free screenings, seminars, free
products, and food samples, from 0 a.m. to
4 p.m., at the Oregon Convention Center;
111 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. Admis­
sion is free.
Valentine-A-Grams
Extra-special Valentine gift boxes loaded
with delicious goodies and with 100 per­
cent of the $24.95 cost benefiting the
Meals-On-Wheels programcan be ordered
through Monday, Feb.5.C'all 503-736-6325
or visit loavesandfishesonline.org.
Camp Fire Candy Sale
Local kids from Camp Fire USA will be
outside many storefronts in Multnomah
and Washington counties through Feb. 5
selling delicious candy boxes. The pro­
ceeds help with summer camp expenses.
C all
5 0 3 -2 2 4 -7 8 0 0
or
visit
portlandcampfire.org.
lanuaiy 31. 2 0 0 7
Film Documents
Famed Fighting Unit
Evening showing at
Jefferson High
See story, page B3
Volunteers Passionate About Helping
Founder of
mentoring
group honored
Chakila Scott-Riley has been named
Outstanding Portland General Elec­
tric Volunteer Youth Mentor for 2(X)6
for her creation of a youth empower­
ment program at King Elementary
School in northeast Portland.
Scott-Riley is passionate about
helping young people. When the PGE
custom er service representative re­
alized that students needed positive
role models, she wanted to help.
After talking with school district
officials, she launched a program
she dubbed Sisters Having to Ex­
ceed.
Targeted for the third and fourth
grades, between two and 10 girls meet
in a classroom once a week after
school over a three-month period for
an hour of mentoring.
Her “young ladies,” as she calls
them, try new experiences, share their
concerns and discuss the importance
o f such things as exercise, eating
healthfully and talking respectfully to
their parents and other adults.
“It is so rewarding,” said Scott-
Riley. “I can see them becoming more
mature, more aware of what’s going
on around them. And their behavior
has changed. I believe they have more
respect for themselves. With some­
one to listen to them, they feel like their
voices really do count.”
“Chakila has been an amazing pres­
ence at King,” said Tree Davis, man­
ager of King School's Uniting Neigh­
borhoods program. “Chakila focuses
on preventing the circumstances that
are barriers to young women in gen­
eral and specifically to young women
of color coming from economically
disadvantaged backgrounds. 1 have
Chakila Scott-Riley meets with King Elementary girls for after school mentoring. She leads the nonprofit Sisters Having
to Exceed group, a program designed to provide girls with positive role models.
been awed and impressed by all she
has done here.”
A north Portland resident, Scott-
Riley “has decided that she is her
sister’s keeper.” said Michelle Guinn
of PGE’s business services depart­
ment.
“For some of these girls, Chakila is
the first positive female role model
they know personally,” Guinn said.
"She teaches them to always give I(X)
percent and that what you put into
something is what you get out of it.”
Scott-R iley has also recruited
other volunteers to reach out to still
more girls. The program 's third year
began this fall with plans to expand
it to include older girls at Ockley
Green Middle School, serving stu­
dents in north and northeast Port­
land.
Created to reward this community
spirit, the Outstanding PGE Volunteer
Awards program recognizes employ­
ees and retirees who have demon­
strated steadfast commitments to their
communities throughout the year.
During 2006 alone, PGE volunteers
logged approximately 90,000 hours
with their favorite nonprofit organiza­
tions.
Other Outstanding PGE Volunteer
recipients include Steve Cox, commu­
nity affairs specialist; Obie Hoodman,
retiree; Ken Renne, retiree; Theresa
Taaffe, southern region operations
manager; and Phyllis Town, adminis­
trative assistant at Boardman Power
Plant.
Men’s Wellness Screening
Saturday, Feb. 10, Legacy Emanuel Hospi­
tal, Lorenzen Center, host M en's Wellness
screening, 8 a.m. to Noon: health-screen­
ing tests are available for a fee of $10, to
schedule a required appointment contact
503-335-3500.
PCC: Recruiting Fair
Saturday,Feb. 10, from I0 a.rn .to I p.m.,
Portland Community College Cascade
Campus Student Center Building-Dining
Room, 705 N. Killingsworth St., host the
free instructional fair to inform part-time
faculty candidates of available opportuni­
ties. For more information contact 503-
978-5862.
Black History Foundation
The Black History Museum of Oregon is
seeking the brilliant minds of concerned
individuals to help in restructuring the
museum foundation'scommittce. Call 503-
284-0617 formorc information.
Weight Loss Series
New Seasons Market at Northeast 33rd
and Killingsworth Street will host free
weight loss classes on Feb. 28. March 28,
and April 25 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Community Support
The African American Health Coalition, a
non-profit that touches the lives of mil­
lions of African Americans each year,
reminds you to support your community
organization. All donations, grants, and
gifts arc tax deductible. For more informa­
tion, visit aahc-portland.org.
Talented Artist Puts Community First
Steve Cox of north Portland is a
talented artist whose dedication to
building stronger comm unities has
led to his recognition as an O ut­
standing PGE Volunteer Award for
2006.
Cox is part of PGE’s Community
Affairs team, but his commitment to
the community goes far beyond the
work he does for his employer.
His can-do attitude and creative
thinking is a welcome asset to such
local volunteer organizations as
Cracked Pots, a nonprofit group that
sponsors grassroots, sustainable art
projects; Northwest Pilot Project, a
program for senior citizens; and chil­
dren in the Big Brothers Big Sisters
Northwest program.
“Steve is amiably unrelenting!” said
Tess Beistel, co-founder of Cracked
Pots. “He believes in change, in the
value of art, in the importance of
treating our planet with care. He acts
to foster these beliefs and consistently
touches the public with his skill, enthu­
siasm and good will.”
Brendon Bassett of Big Brothers
Big Sisters Northwest said Cox helps
Steve Cox is committed to making proactive art for the home and garden from recycled, reclaimed and reworked
material. He has installed several of his own creations in his Kenton backyard.
his Little Brotherdevelop tools to make
positive choices about life.
“His Little Brother has shown tre­
mendous growth in the time they've
been together," Bassett said.
Environmental issues are another
one of his passions. Cox is proud
that his efforts as a crew leader for
Friends of Trees have led to the
planting o f 250 trees around the
city. And recently, he has become a
community activist in his own Kenton
neighborhood as he lobbies for the
reduction o f noise generated by the
Portland International Raceway.
Without a doubt, Cox is a busy guy.
But as he said. "I love feeling like I'm
making a difference."
literary-arts.org.
M ixing hip-hop riffs with dark com ­
edy. Parks' play “T opdog/U ndcrdog"
tells the story o f two brothers. Lincoln
and Booth—one a skilled three-card
Monte player, the other an eager stu­
dent o f the game.
The success of the play landed Parks in
the national spotlight, and in 21X12 she
became the first African-American woman
to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Parks' first novel Getting M other's
Body (2003) w as hailed by Pearl Gleage as
“a story whose characters are as mysteri­
ous and sexy as lace curtains billow ing at
the bedroom window."
Parks also wrote the screenplay for
Spike L ee's film Girl 6 11996) and for
ABU television's 2005 adaptation of
Zora Neale H urston's T heir Eyes Were
W atching God.
The evening with Suzan-Lori Parks is
underwritten by the English Department
at Portland State University.
Diabetes Support Group
Legacy Emanuel Hospital hosts a diabe­
tes support group the first and third Thurs­
days of every month, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
in Room 1027.
Pulitzer Prize
Playwright
Parenting Classes
Newborns don't come with instruction
manuals but parents and parents-to-be
can attend classes through Providence
Health Systems to learn about a variety of
to p ics from pain and ch ild b irth to
breastfeeding to infant CPR and much
more. For a schedule of events, call 503-
574-6595 or visit: providence.org/classes.
Coming to Portland
Suzan Lori Parks
Portland Arts & Lectures presents
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-
Lori Parkson Thursday, Feb. 8 at 7:30p.m.
at the Arlene SchnitzerConcert Hall. Tick­
ets are $26 and are available by visiting