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Minority & Small Business Week
September 29, 2010
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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
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