Page 4
May 30, 2018
2018 SCHOLARSHIP
APPLICATION
PACKETS
Are available to:
High School Grads, College Students
And Adults Cont. Educ.
PACKETS CAN BE
REQUESTED ON-LINE @
Patriciaanntrice@gmail.com
Or by phone ~ 503 283-6312
For more information contact
Elizabeth F. Richard or Patricia A. Trice
at 503 284-0535
THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS
JUNE 3RD MIDNIGHT
The Della Mae Johnson
Scholarship Foundation
2216 NE Killingsworth
Portland, OR 97211
(503) 284-0535
Stepping Up for Kids
C ontinued From F ront
server.
The programs focus on math
and science education, the arts,
sports and wellness, workforce
readiness, public service and lead-
ership. At Rockwood, there are
innovative spaces with top-notch
equipment, including tech and art
labs, a game room and a peace
lounge. Teens have their own ded-
icated area where they can partic-
ipate in programs like UPS Road
Code to learn about driving safety
or hone their career skills with tar-
geted workforce training.
“It’s learning how to work with
people, it’s learning how to prob-
lem solve and conflict resolution,
and also know that they have safe
adults that they can come to,” Mu-
hammad said.
The club also has a full-sized
kitchen where youth receive meals
and snacks. Partnerships with sup-
porting organizations have result-
ed in a new Nike-sponsored gym;
the Bemis Field, which includes
two outdoor futsal courts gifted to
the campus by the Portland Tim-
bers and Thorns; the C.J. McCo-
llum Dream Center, dedicated to
broadcast and journalism activi-
ties; a state-of-the-art music stu-
dio; the Johnson Teen Center; and
more.
The need for a Boys & Girls
Club in Rockwood is rooted in the
gentrification of north and north-
east Portland which shifted a pop-
ulation of families with children
from inner city neighborhoods to
other locations where the cost of
living was more affordable. The
demographics of Portland east of
I-205 is lower income and more
ethnically diverse than the city-
wide average. There are eight
different languages spoken by
children in the club. The club also
serves five school districts: David
Douglas, Parkrose, Centennial,
Gresham/Barlow and Reynolds.
Muhammad has been working
for the Boys & Girls Club on and
off for 13 years, including at the
Blazers Boys & Girls Club on
Northeast Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard. While she dislikes the
term ‘at-risk youth’ to describe
the demographic the organization
serves, she said the club’s after
school and summer programs can
often help children who’ve been
impacted by trauma shape their
futures for the better.
“For young people that have
unstable housing, young people
that don’t have their parents that
they live with, you have to have an
after school program to help them
change the trajectory of their life. I
mean, I think it’s essential because
parents can’t do it all. Especially
if 70 percent of the households are
ran by single parents,” she said.
All of the Portland area Boys
& Girls Clubs offer affordable all-
day programs for youth in the first
to sixth grades, with an extra 7:30
a.m. to 9 a.m. Sunrise Club option,
helpful for parents who go to work
early and available for a small fee.
Teen programming for seventh to
twelfth graders runs from noon
to 6 p.m. Visitor drop-in rates are
also available.
Youth also have the opportunity
to take summer field trips across the
metro area and beyond to include
OMSI, the Oregon Zoo, getting out
in nature and participating in sum-
mer internship programs. Other
fun summer activities are themed
around robots, comics, cartoons, su-
perheroes and music making.
Summer registration is current-
ly open. Because spots are limit-
ed, parents are encouraged to visit
bgcportland.org/summer and reg-
ister today.
Countdown for Signatures
C ontinued From P age 3
C annon ’ s
r iB e xPress
5410 NE 33rd Ave,
Portland, Or
Call to Order:
503-288-3836
Open (hours)
Sun-Thurs: 11a-8p
Fri-Sat:
11a- 9p
Cannon’s, tasty food and
friendly neighborhood atmosphere.
campaign chair and senior pastor
of Augustana Lutheran Church,
led the conference, which was
held at his northeast Portland
church. He was joined by chief
petitioner Rabbi Michael Z. Ca-
hana of Congregation Beth Isra-
el, and campaign treasurer Imam
Muhammad A. Najieb of the
Muslim Community Center of
Portland. Other faith leaders and
committee members involved in
the campaign were also in atten-
dance.
On May 23, the campaign re-
ceived a certified ballot title as
approved by the state Attorney
General, giving petitioners un-
til July 6 to collect the required
88,184 signatures in order to
move the measure to the ballot.
If passed, the initiative would
require currently owned semi-
automatic weapons and large
capacity magazines to be regis-
tered by their owners, as well as
for the prohibition of the future
sale and transfer of these weap-
ons and magazines statewide.
Joe and Janey Paterno, part
of a signature gathering training
committee for the measure, an-
nounced that they are planning
on working with volunteers at
training sessions across the state
to make sure enough people
sign on to the measure. Sessions
have already been scheduled for
Portland, Astoria, Pendleton and
Bend.
Tamara Knutson, working on
behalf of a youth committee sup-
porting the initiative, emphasized
the deadly toll assault weapons
and high capacity ammunition
magazines have taken on children
in school shootings and other in-
cidents across the country.
As public schools in Port-
land and across Oregon begin
their summer breaks in early
June, student volunteers will be
trained to gather signatures and
spearhead the process.
Imam Najieb reiterated the
importance of the measure be-
ing written in a way to impact a
younger generation’s safety and
well-being.
“What future do we have as a
country if we do not prepare the
foundation for our children to-
day?” he said.
Knutson also offered condo-
lences on the recent mass school
shooting in Santa Fe, Texas,
saying that, “We offer not just
prayers, but a recommitment to
action - we must stop the vio-
lence.”
The church leader also paid
tribute to the victims of the
Thurston High School shooting
in Springfield, noting the two de-
cades that that have passed since
the school shooting in Oregon
shocked the nation.
“We have lived with fear of
gun violence in our schools for
20 years,” he noted.
Rabbi Cahana stated the im-
portance of faith leaders having
a higher calling regarding the
promotion of gun safety.
“This campaign is intention-
ally led by clergy people, who
have historically taken respon-
sibility of providing comfort to
families after mass shootings.
Now is the time to provide more
than comfort and say ‘enough is
enough,” he said.
Echoed Knutson, “The num-
ber of students who have died in
school shootings is immoral. And
we can do something about it.”
More info about the campaign
and its signature training ses-
sions can be found at liftevery-
voiceoregon.com.
Advertise with diversity in The Portland Observer
Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com