Category Archives: Uncategorized

Forum for Senior Homeowners

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Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI), in conjunction with our Minority Homeowner Assistance Collaborative (MHAC) partners, is hosting a forum Tuesday, March 15, 2011 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. to address the challenges African-American seniors are facing to maintain homeownership.

The evening forum is an opportunity for Portland seniors to discuss the challenges they are facing—financial and otherwise. Just as important, it is an opportunity for PCRI and our community partners to connect with seniors to brainstorm solutions that will provide the assistance necessary to overcome these challenges.

PCRI and other MHAC partners will be available during the forum to answer questions and provide information about our free homeownership retention program. The program is available to assist Portland seniors with experienced, culturally-specific services including one-on-one counseling, individualized coaching and advocacy, connections with community services and direct financial assistance.

The forum will be held at Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME), 4134 N Vancouver Avenue at Skidmore in Portland. For more information, individuals can contact Homeownership Retention Coordinator Shalonda Menefee at 503-288-2923.

Bikes and Culture

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I stumbled on this link to an interesting article on the resurgence of the bicycle, bike culture and how it intersects with race. We live in a very diverse neighborhood in a city that tirelessly touts itself as the bicycle paradise. It would be great to see this environmental, economical, healthy, adaptable transportation form embraced in continually more creative ways.

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/12470499]

Make a Friend of Your Neighbor Workshop

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The community is invited to a free interactive workshop, Make a Friend of Your Neighbor, sponsored by Community Outreach of Our United Villages. Through dialogue and interactive exercises, we will explore ways to meet neighbors and create positive and peaceful relationships with your neighbors.

WHAT: Make a Friend of Your Neighbor Workshop
WHEN: Wednesday, March 23 from 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
WHERE: Friendly House, 1737 NW 26th Avenue
FREE and open to anyone interested. Light snacks provided. Sponsored by Community Outreach of Our United Villages. Please RSVP by Friday, March 18th to outreach@ourunitedvillages.org or 503.546.7499. Child care (9 and under), transportation, and interpretation provided upon request.

For more information, visit www.ouvcommunityoutreach.org.

Hands On Portland Offers Updated Volunteering System

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Hands On Portland has upgraded their website to a new system that will make it easier for you to connect to well-organized, meaningful volunteer opportunities that match your schedule and interests.

This new site represents the next evolution in online social engagement. Built on a dynamic platform, it will make your online experience with them more productive, fun and engaging. As it first goes live, they anticipate some bugs and usability issues typical of new websites. Please know that they will be working diligently to address issues as they arise.

Ultimately, the new Hands On website will give you more control in finding the information that’s important to you through a sophisticated search function. You will have an increased ability to find opportunities that match your schedule and interests. You can create volunteer teams for your friends, family, co-workers, fellow students or club members and more. You can also manage your projects, track your volunteer history and share your stories.

If you are a current volunteer with Hands On Greater Portland, you already have an account in the new system under the same username you had before (your email address). You will have to create a new password using the “forgot password” link. If you don’t have an account yet, go to the registration page. After signing in, you will be asked to list your skills and interests to best match you with volunteer opportunities.

Hands On Portland hopes that you enjoy the new features of their website. If you have any questions or concerns, please check out their FAQ page. If you don’t find your answer there, feel free to contact them at info@handsonportland.org.

Randy Leonard on Last Thursday

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Randy Leonard

Dear Mr. Silver,

Thank you for your letter regarding Last Thursday. I deeply appreciate your concerns regarding this event. I too, and concerned about the impacts of the event as you describe them and support your efforts to improve the event. I fully support this event becoming a permitted event and abiding by the same rules as all other events in the City of Portland.

Mayor Adams and Commissioner Fritz have been leading the effort on working to get this event into compliance and I encourage you to contact them with your concerns as well.

Sincerely,

Commissioner Randy Leonard

Read KNA’s Letter to the city on Last Thursday here.

Read our blog post on the letter.