Join Keith May, author of Ghosts of Times Past: A Road Trip of Eastern Oregon Ghost Towns (Sigh Drighed, 1998) for a not-to-missed two-day bus tour of ghost towns of central Oregon. The first day includes stops at the long-forgotten boom towns of Boyd, Dufur, Friend, Shaniko and Antelope. The group lodges in Fossil for the evening, where we’ll meet staff from the Fossil Museum and take in a lecture by Dick Pugh, renowned meteorite scientist from Cascadia Meteorite Lab. The following day, will have a short hike through the spectacular Painted Hills, led by tour guides from the Paleo Lands Institute, an organization dedicated to leading education programs on the geology of eastern Oregon.

Date: September 22, 2010

Time: 5:30-8pm

Location: 5315 N Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217

More info: http://www.portlandonline.com/humanrelations/index.cfm?c=50683&a=315707

Movie Screening and Fundraiser! September 17th

El Viejo y Jesus or The Old Man and Jesus:

A documentary by the film collective Calle y Media chronicling the lives of two men living on the streets of Caracas in the middle of a right-wing offensive trying to reverse the gains of the revolutionary process in Venezuela. The lyrical wisdom of the Old Man and the explosive word of Jesús, demonstrate the liberatory commitment of the people of Venezuela, beyond the influence of leaders or any enlightened vanguard.This film is the documented prophecy of a rebellion that minute by minute silently plots from under the bridges and the sewers a world that will sooner or later rise up thirsting for justice.

Join Sisters Of The Road and our friends to honor and celebrate the many individuals, organizations and communities that work ceaselessly for Nonviolence and Economic Human Rights.

MC: Blacque Butterfly Keynote Speaker: Max Rameau of Take Back the Land Performers: Good Sista/Bad Sista and Mic Crenshaw

Saturday, September 18th 6:30pm to 8:30pm, reception with beverages, appetizers and desserts following Eliot Center at the First Unitarian Church 1211 SW Main in Portland

Artist/Creative Community Happy Hour! This Thursday, September 16th, 5-7 pm at the new Director Park, downtown

Art Spark is helping the Oregon Cultural Trust to kickoff Oregon Days of Culture, October 1 – 8, an 8-day week to Celebrate! Participate! Give! to Oregon culture. This is going to be a fantastic celebration come join us!

The interactive website lists hundreds of events to choose from and a blog for posting your cultural confessions.

At ArtSpark, you’ll be able to snap your own cultural confession photo in a booth created by Tatiana Wills.

Looking for a friendly venue to sell your handmade art and fine crafts? Now is the time to apply to the 5th annual da Vinci Arts Fair. Scheduled for December 4th & 5th inclusion is by juried application. Applications are due October 1st. You can download an application at www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/davinci. Cost to the artist is a $10 application fee (returned if you are not accepted) and 30% of sales. This event takes place at the school, 2508 NE Everett, Portland. Funds raised support arts programs at this premier public school. Phone: 503-916-5356 Email: [email protected]

Contact: Jane Van Dyke

Phone: 503-281-1132

Email: [email protected]

Watershed Council Holds Open House

The Columbia Slough Watershed Council invites you and your family, friends, and co-workers to an open house on Thursday, September 30th from 4 pm to 6 pm. Still located at Whitaker Ponds Nature Park, at 7040 NE 47th Avenue, Portland, the Council recently moved into "new" to them space. This new space was formerly a residence that the Council renovated it as their Watershed Education Center for workspace and a multi-purpose room/classroom.

Are you looking for a fun way to make a positive impact in the community? Consider becoming a Team Captain and form a team for Growing Gardens' Dawn of the Bed. No prior garden experience necessary!

Dawn of the Bed is a day to build garden beds for low-income Portland families with the support of volunteer teams who will build the gardens and raise financial pledges for the cause.

How does it work?

Today (September 15) from 6:30 until 8:00pm, we will meet at the IRCO's Main Office (10301 NE Glisan Street) to continue Faces of IRCO, our on-going series of monthly cultural workshops offered by IRCO staff and volunteers, to learn more about Iraq. People from Iraq only began to be resettled in Portland a few years ago, but already were the largest population coming in 2009 and it is expected that the Iraqi population will continue to grow at a rapid rate in the coming years.

We hope to see many of you there!

Visit http://irco.org/about/faces-of-irco/ for more information.

Do you appreciate local parks and national forests? What about clean drinking water and your public library? Do you find the internet useful? Welcome to the commons. Some things are no one’s private property—they belong to all of us.

"Mapping the Commons" is a participatory 2-hour workshop in which we will explore the diversity of the commons and identify opportunities to become more active as stewards of the commons.

Workshop date options in the Portland area are: Sept. 25, Oct. 2 and Oct. 9. It’s free and open to all, but advance registration is required.

Sign up for Mapping the Commons here:

Come join the fun and help raise funds for a great local nonprofit!

Ecology in Classrooms & Outdoors (ECO) is holding our 5th Annual Trivia Night on Sept 21 from 7-10pm!

Shanrock, Portland's favorite Trivia Jock, will test your trivia knowledge! Entry is only $5!

Our lovely hosts, Beauty Bar (111 SW Ash St), will also be donating a percentage of profits for the evening!

Enter our raffle for a chance to win Blazers tickets, a round of golf at Beacon Rock, a case of Brew Dr. Kombucha or McMenamin's gift certificates! Raffle tickets are just $10.

Bring a team of 5, or join a team when you arrive, and prepare to have fun!!

Metropolitan Family Service is always looking for qualified and dedicated employees committed to helping us strengthen the community. If you are looking for an opportunity to apply your skills and enthusiasm to help people in the Portland area, we would love to talk with you about our current opening listed below.

Group Facilitator - Parent Education - Part-Time - Bi-Literate in Spanish required

The Portland chapter of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is accepting applications for Fall Local Economic Development Grants.

The application deadline is Tuesday October 12th.

CCHD Local Grant Proposals may be up to $5,000, which are available for one year. Local CCHD Grants fund or support economic development initiatives that are small or in the early stages of development. Economic development projects assist poor and low-income people to develop new businesses, create new jobs and protect assets. These local grants are intended for projects that provide the potential for those in poverty to participate in decision-making while having the dominant voice in the organization.

A friend of mine, Chris Jarvis (credentials listed below), is coming to Portland and will be hosting a workshop for nonprofit organizations and corporate businesses about corporate volunteering and strategic partnership with nonprofits. Here are the details:

Date: Tuesday, Oct 5, 2010

Place: Mercy Corps Headquarters, The Aceh Community Room, 45 SW Ankeny St, Portland OR 97204

Cost: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/846486865/estwbreg

"Corporate Volunteering: Why it Works & How To Prove It" Seminar in Portland, Oregon on October 5, 2010

As corporations jump on the volunteering band wagon, nonprofits are frantically trying to manage the influx. Incidentally, both are finding themselves a little frustrated. Corporations make a lot of (sometimes unreasonable) requests of nonprofits when it comes to setting up the ideal volunteer experience for their employees. The result is often less than satisfying for all involved: the company, the nonprofit, and the employees.

This October, Innovative Changes will be hosting a four-part group workshop series on: Making Ends Meet, Budgeting and Saving, Hands-On Banking, Building, Repairing and Protecting Credit. Classes can be taken individually or as part of the series. The classes will be held on Saturdays from 10am-12pm at the Hewitt Place Townhomes Community Room in Troutdale and Wednesdays from 11am-1pm at the New Columbia Opportunity Center in North Portland. See more information below or on our website at http://www.innovativechanges.org/fall-2010-workshops.

Learn about advocacy from the experts!

Who: Barbara Dudley (former Director of Greenpeace USA) & State Senator Chip Shields

What: Will teach a course on "Advocacy and Public Participation by the Nonprofit Sector" emphasizing the practical strategies that win campaigns as well as the intellectual underpinnings of our discourse on civil society.

Where: Portland State University

When: Thursdays 4 -- 6:30 PM, September 30 thru December 9, 2010

For more info on this Portland State University course, contact us at [email protected] or see the website at www.inpm.pdx.edu .

Best, Sharon

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Portland State University logo

Become a Zenger Farm FOOD EDUCATOR! Help us build food security in our neighborhood by being a part of our newest program, Healthy Eating on a Budget. Volunteer Food Educators work as a team to conduct gardening, shopping and cooking workshops in East Portland. Help folks with limited budgets gain skills to grow, shop for, and cook healthy meals.

Come to Sauvie Island for the Beach and Riverside Cleanup and stop the spread of invasive plants by volunteering at the Wapato Greenway Weed Pull. The project runs from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, September 25th. Learn more about invasive weeds and help keep them off valuable farmland just minutes from Portland. SOLV and the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District will be attacking ivy, garlic mustard, herb Robert, shiny geranium and more. Volunteers will be served munchies like bagels, chips, fruit, cookies, and juice!

Young Audiences Arts for Learning is seeking volunteers for its annual Artist Showcase to be held on Sunday, October 3 from 1-5 pm. We need enthusiastic volunteers to help out with this fun event which is open to the community and highlights the programs of our roster artists. In particular we are looking for folks to serve as a timekeeper, parking lot assistant, greeter, runner, photographer, sound system manager (for a simple sound set-up) and stage manager. If you are interested in helping out, and earning both gratitude and Run For The Arts swag, please contact Artist Programs Manager, Miriam Budner at 503-225-5900 ext. 226 or [email protected].

Utilize your GreaterGiving/Auctionpay skills for a fantastic cause!

Juvenile Rights Project is looking for 4 volunteers who have used and know the GreaterGiving (formerly Auctionpay) software to help with registration and check-out of auction attendees on October 30th.

The event will be held at The Nines in downtown Portland on Morrison Street. Below are specifics.

Date: Saturday, October 30th Volunteer Hours: 4:15pm to approximately 11:30pm Location: The Nines Hotel, 525 SW Morrison Street, Portland, OR

Volunteers will be served dinner and enjoy a fun evening at the event, Great Oregon Wine & Chocolate Smackdown.

ROSE CDC's Homework Club is part of our youth development programs, aim at helping children and youth from low income families succeed in school and in life. The Club runs from 3:30-5:00pm Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students engage in warm up activities before working with their tutor on homework and/or areas in which they need help.

Tutor responsibilities: 1.Help students with homework and/or identified subjects 2.Build positive relationship with students. 4.Must commit to at least one day a week for 3 months

Volunteer qualifications: 1.dependable 2.enjoys helping young people 3.willingness to maintain the confidentiality of youth and families served 4.friendly, patient, and optimistic

The Media, Arts, and Technology Institute is looking for classroom volunteers.

MATI is a non-profit agency offering rich arts-media experiences that help Portland’s youth, especially underserved youth, become informed, skilled, literate and compassionate global citizens of tomorrow.

MATI is running a journalism/newspaper class for about 20 students, grades 5-8. We are looking for classroom volunteers to support and encourage students, as well as assist students with writing and media projects. The class time is from 12:30-1:15, 5 days a week. We are looking for volunteers that are available at least 2 days a week.

Just Between Friends, the NW's largest kids and maternity consignment sale, is at the Portland Expo Center this weekend, Sept 17-19th. All of the unsold clothes and shoes at the end of the sale are donated to the Portland Police Sunshine Division. This is HUGE for us and allows us to keep our free clothing room STOCKED FULL of baby, toddler, kid, and maternity clothes and shoes ALL THE TIME.

But we need your help and are asking for volunteers.

On Sunday, September 19 we need to assist Just Between Friends with sorting all of the clothes at the end of the sale. It's a fun way to meet new people and work hard for a great cause. They also provide yummy snacks and water for all volunteers.

Details