Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, September 29, 2010, Minority and Small Business Week 2010 special coverage issue, Page 28, Image 28

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Page 28
»
Minority & Small Business Week
September 29, 2010
w
ZJ
4 XXf
?/ î
ZV
-M ,
Whr
I /
f
U rn
JIV
i
r
1
1
zx 1
University of Portland senior Elie Hoxworth with children in Kenya where she started a business to help women.
Serving Women and Ch]
Saluting Minority Businesses
Alberta Street Market
909 N.E. Alberta Street
503-282-2169
★ Hot Food ★
★
★ ■
Best Chicken Wings In Town
★
*
Best Selection of Mirco Brew and Wine
Non-Sun
Fri-Sat
8AN - 12 PN
8 AN - 1 PN
UP Student starts
business as volunteer
Elie Hoxworth, a senior ma­
joring in sociology and political
science at the University ofPort-
Iand, is the first recipient o f the
M olly Hightower Endowed
Scholarship, given annually to a
junior or senior with a strong
devotion to faith and com m it­
ment to service.
H oxw orth, o f Pasadena,
Calif., recently returned from
Kakamega, Kenya, where she
started a business as a volun­
teer with the W estern Educa­
tion Advocacy and Empower­
ment Program. The program
works with women and their
fam ilies in w estern Kenya
through a variety o f programs.
It also was her second trip as
partofthe university’s new East
Africa Initiative.
“It’s a different kind o f edu­
cation — doing the work you
love and not sitting in a class­
room ,’’ Hoxworth said o f her
summer internship. “It’s work­
ing with people, implementing
programs, working on the fly.”
The advocacy program of­
fers vocational training in sew­
ing skills for wom en as a core
part o f its programs in Kenya,
and Hoxworth saw an oppor­
tunity to bring a fair income to
these vulnerable women in the
community. The women made
placemats, napkins, pot hold­
ers, purses and bags out o f A f­
rican Kitenge material that are
sold locally and abroad.
Hoxworth said she decided
continued ' W ' on page 30