Smoke Signals 11
OCTOBER 1, 2005
Maori Visit Different Cultures In Oregon, Including Tribes
0
Gathering More than 200 visitors gathered on the Willamette University campus onFriday,
September 23, to welcome the Maori people of New Zealand. Grand Ronde and Siletz Tribal
members introduced the Maori with traditional honor songs and Tribal Elders greeted them and
welcomed them to their ceded lands.The ceremony was part of the ' Toi Maori:The Eternal Thread"
exhibit displayed at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art in Salem. The exhibit will feature over 90 feath
ered cloaks, baskets and contemporary pieces hand-crafted by the Maori people. More than 40
weavers will be represented, covering all major areas of Maori weaving.
rM " '4' !
1 -4 AVW. h
r ? r f ;
- K. i I t f
0
v
i. .
n
-"'I
j ml
Tribe's Community Fund Continues To Give Help To People In Need
Spirit Moutain gifts give help where it is needed most.
By Ron Karten
Recent gifts from the Spirit Mountain
Community Fund have brought help to
the homeless, the hungry, seniors and
youth. These gifts also have helped
bring the culture of fellow aboriginals
the Maoris of New Zealand to Or
egon, all as the fund approaches $30
million in giving.
At the end of August, Community
Fund Director Shelley Hanson made a
$50,000 check presentation to Sisters
of the Road Caf in Portland to help
fund its Hot MealBarter program.
The program provides hot meals to
the homeless and impoverished.
Money, food stamps or barter work is
accepted in return for meals. This al
lows diners to maintain their sense of
dignity, help feed others and allows
them to gain work experience.
On September 19, Hanson presented
$9,000 to the Assistance League of Port
land to pay for new school shoes for 450
kids.
League members provide new cloth
ing for fourth graders, but the group
does much more as well. The League
pays the staff and maintenance costs
of the Children's Dental Center that
covers more than $450,000 in dental
services annually. At-risk boys and
girls are mentored through the
League's support of the Janus Youth
Program and Pettygrove House.
The League also operates The Thrift
Shop at 23rd and N.W. Johnson
Streets in Portland and The Gift Shop
at First and Tucker in Beaverton.
On September 20, Hanson presented
another $50,000 to New Avenues for
Youth, also in Portland. New Avenues
provides transitional housing for
Portland's homeless youth.
More than 80 percent of the kids who
transition through New Avenues are
homeless, said Amy Smith, Development
Director for the non-profit.
Along with housing for up to two
years, New Directions offers the kids
vocational and educational support. It
owns a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
PartnerShop (located at 524 S.W.
Yamhill in Portland) that serves as an
employment training ground.
Kids who have jobs are required to
set up a savings account and contrib
ute to it.
The housing facility has room for two
parenting families. With the goal of
said, "This is the biggest check we
have ever received."
The group has a $2.8 million bud
get that is funded 69 percent with
public funds and 31 percent with pri
vate funds.
On September 28, Hanson pre
sented yet another $25,000 check to
the Boys and Girls Club of Salem.
II J P
1 1 , I -
SI I ...... v-" tiitt
1 1
ol I OAVTOl
II I I
HEORDF.ROF
Giving On Tuesday, September 20, Community Fund Director Shelley Hanson presented New
Avenues For Youth a check for $50,000 for assistance in housing for Portland's homeless youth.
helping the kids learn to be indepen
dent, New Directions follows the kids
for a year after they transition into
apartments, and provides rental help
or counseling if either is necessary. In
the one-year follow-ups the group has
done to date, said Smith, 87 percent are
still living in stable housing.
Last year, about 35 New Directions
kids earned their GEDs. Seventeen
won college scholarships. In creating
internships with Westin Hotels and the
Providence Portland Medical Systems,
New Directions gets businesses in
volved so that the internships allow
kids to learn just what they need to
learn to succeed.
After Hanson made the presentation
at New Directions with a four-foot
Community Fund "check," New Direc
tions Executive Director Ken Cowdcry
These dollars are earmarked for an
after school literacy program, called
"Study Dogs."
Hanson was still to present a
$25,000 check to Friends of the Salem
Senior Center. The money will help
rebuild the group's old and worn out
kitchen.
Back in July, the Fund gave
$10,000 to McMinnville-based Faith in
Action Community Volunteer Connec
tion. "This gift will enable the pro
gram to help older adults in the
McMinnville zip code to maintain their
independence through volunteer ef
forts to provide basic every day tasks
such as transportation to doctor ap
pointments, light house cleaning, light
yard work, shopping or minor repairs
along with other non-medical ser
vices," according to Program Director
Jane Seely.
"You can't know the shame and
struggle that elderly and sick people go
through," wrote one recipient of the
program's help. "The rules say the
grass is too high, the weeds to plenti
ful and there is too much clutter and
the neighbor to our left has complained.
But my grandparents are in their 90's
and I do all I can with
my own health issues.
When there is no one
to ask and no extra
money, you feel a bur
den, a nuisance and
trapped by the fact
that you can't change
the situation. My
grandparents are
good people, I love
them and I thank God
that I am able to care
for them... How can I
say Thank you for fill
ing the hole that
keeps rats out of our
home! For making it
easier for me to give
showers with the door
that protects their dig-
nity and keeps the
water from flooding the floor, turning
it into a slip and slide."
Also in July, the Fund gave $25,000
to Willamette University in support of
the Toi Maori presentation of their an
cient weaving arts September 23 at the
University's Hallie Ford Museum of
Art. Their exhibit at Hallie Ford will
go from September 24-December 22.
The New Zealand Aboriginals were to
visit the Grand Ronde Tribe on Octo
ber 3. (Related article and more pho
tos next issue.)
And finally, an update of a 2003 gift:
In July of that year, the Community
Fund gave $100,000 to help build the
DePaul Youth Treatment Center, a
place where young people can go to kick
drug and alcohol addictions. On
Wednesday, September 21, that facil
ity celebrated its grand opening.