Urban Growth Bounty Classes

It’s a new year, and the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is gearing up for its 2012 series of Urban Growth Bounty classes. We hope that you can help spread the word in your neighborhood — it’s a terrific lineup of courses, with plenty of old favorites to go along with some fresh new subjects.

  • Learn everything you need to know about vegetable gardening with Oregon Tilth and Josh Volk. • Find out the secrets of delicious, home-made cheeses with Claudia Lucero.
  • Join Glen Andresen for his unique insights into backyard beekeeping or fruit production.
  • Maximize your garden bounty with Will Newman’s insights into soils and tools.
  • Start your own backyard flock with help from Naomi Montacre’s chicken, goat, and mixed herd classes.
  • Dive into edible landscaping with Jen Aron.
  • Explore the world of food preservation (canning, freezing, fermentation, etc.) with OSU Extension Service and the folks at Living City.

You should register now to ensure a place in these limited-size classes. They’re the perfect way to explore urban homesteading and connect with the community. Feel free to email food@portlandoregon.gov with any questions, or by telephone at 503-823-6947.

http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=50648

Portland OIC seeks hosts for Job Shadow Day

From Asa Pritchard, career coach and youth advocate at Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center:

Many employment programs have been cut from Portland schools, thus reducing the chances our youth have to be successful in today’s workforce. I have come up with a plan – JOB SHADOW DAY! And now I need your help; just one half of a day is all that I am asking.

By allowing a student to observe you on the job, you are providing them with a firsthand look at the skills and knowledge required to succeed in your job and build a career. I know this may be a lot to ask. But we must look out for our youth in our city and do what we can to assure that our future will be in good hands.

This is just a general inquiry. I’m trying to get a sense of who is interested in participating and what positions are available to be observed by our students.

The students really need your help on this one. If you have any other contacts that may be interested please send them my way. I am very much interested in creating a Portland Job Shadow Day. With your help we can make this happen.

Attached is a “Host Profile” for you to complete and email back.

Thank you for your time, I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Asa Pritchard
Career Coach / Youth Advocate
apritchard@poicrahs.org
Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center
Rosemary Anderson High School
717 N. Killingsworth Ct. Portland, OR 97217
www.portlandoic.org

Host Profile Form

NECN Awards $33,469 in Grants for Community-driven Projects

From NECN:

Mobile vendors supplying food deserts with healthy, affordable meals, spring break programs pairing sixth-grade girls with high-school mentors and a food and culture festival highlighting senior hunger are just three of sixteen innovative projects funded by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods’ Small Grant Program in 2012.
With a goal of building livable, equitable and sustainable neighborhoods and communities for all, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement allocated funds to NECN for two funding categories: Neighborhood Small Grants as well as for Graffiti Abatement Projects. The Coalition received fourty-four proposals, with requests totaling $123,921.
With the support of Commissioner Amanda Fritz, NECN incorporated economic development as a funding priority this year. Both Oregon Outreach’s certified nursing assistant job training program and Port City’s creation of a micro-enterprise, training adults with developmental disabilities to remove graffiti on businesses on N Williams Avenue fit into this category.

The following projects are excellent examples of how people in inner north and northeast Portland are working together to improve the quality of our neighborhoods by building community, increasing volunteer capacity and forging new organizational partnerships (listed alphabetically):

Neighborhood Small Grants

Access to Healthy Food through Community-based Mobile Vending
Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. (PCRI) Granted $1,488
PCRI and Fork In The Road propose to provide low-income individuals with access to affordable, healthy food by bringing mobile vending into areas of concentrated need.

After-School Chess Programs at King, Woodlawn, Vernon and Faubion
Chess for Success Granted $1,500
Now in its 20th year, this project funds after-school chess clubs at Faubion, King, Vernon and Woodlawn schools.
Continue reading

N/NE Economic Development Panel Discussion

Join the NECN Community Economic Development Council for:
A Framework for Community Economic Development in N/NE Portland

Learn how current state, regional and city policies shape neighborhood-level community economic development. Panelists will address how governmental policies and programs set the stage for local work and translate into community benefits.

Join us on Wednesday, February 1st at St. Andrew Catholic Church, 806 NE Alberta, Portland. Doors open at 6:30pm for networking and refreshments, program from 7:00pm – 9:00pm.

Panel Speakers include:
• Karen Wilde Goddin, Managing Director of the Business, Innovation and Trade Division, Oregon Business Development Department
• Charles A. Wilhoite, Commissioner, Portland Development Commission and Managing Director, Willamette Management Associates.
• John R. Williams, Deputy Director – Planning and Development, Metro
• Rey España, Director of Community Development, Native American Youth and Family Center
This event is part of an ongoing series. Please join us for this and future events as we explore economic development. For additional information please see the attached flyer, visit necoalition.org or call 503.823.4575.

Click here for the flyer:ExploringEconomicDevelwSpeak

Occupy Portland Health Fair: This Sat., Jan 28th, in King N’hood

Portland Occupy Health Fair

January 28th, 2012

11am until 4pm

4867 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Portland Occupy Health has organized an Occupy Health Fair to empower the community to reclaim their health. This unique event is meant to create dialog between Healthcare Organizations and Communities, provide information on alternatives to the current profit-driven insurance model of care, and educate on broad-spectrum health.

This is a grass roots organization of citizens and professionals dedicated to empowering communities to take control, and positively transform their health and the healthcare system. We are bringing awareness to the community about solutions to the current broken model of healthcare and educate them on solutions available to them currently.

Many uninsured and underinsured do not know that there are alternatives to a costly trip to the ER or waiting until you are seriously ill to seek help. Moreover, there is a need to educate the community on ways to stay well and keep not only their body healthy but the surrounding community.

For a list of presenters and providers will be attending, please see https://sites.google.com/site/portlandoccupyhealth/events-schedule