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To fully serve the community, the Mid-county Memo offers this section to showcase upcoming special events, celebrations of milestones in our readers’ lives, those seemingly small accomplishments that often do not receive the recognition they deserve and everyday events that should be shared with friends and neighbors.

Memo Pad submissions for the November issue are due by Wednesday, Oct. 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. Or mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave, Portland, OR 97230. To leave a phone message, call 503-287-8904. The fax number is 503-249-7672.

Busy Parkrose student selected teen of the month
Andrea Bunica, a senior at Parkrose High, celebrates her selection as Gateway Elks Teen of the Month in September.
PHOTO COURTESY RALPH HARTMANN
Gateway Elks Lodge has begun the school year with its selection of Parkrose High senior Andrea Bunica as the first Teenager of the Month. Bunica excels in academics — she carries a 3.68 grade point average — and is active in her school, her community and her church.

She is a member of the National Honor Society and is taking college-level Advanced Placement classes in English, math and science. She is active in the ACE Mentor Program of America, a highly selective career-awareness program that teams local youth with area professionals in architecture, construction and engineering. Additionally, she travels each morning to Vancouver to attend pre-engineering design technology classes.

Bunica volunteers her services as a representative to the city of Portland Parks & Recreation Department. She is the youngest member of the Project Advisory Committee. This committee meets to publicly discuss planning and design, review proposals and generally guide the development of Parkrose area parks.

With a respectable average of 130, Bunica is a member of the Parkrose High School Bowling Club. Two to three times each week, she meets with the Christian Body of Parkrose, a discussion and prayer group organized by the students.

Bunica lives with her parents, Joseph and Sylvia Bunica, along with her two sisters and brother. In addition to the Spanish she takes in school, she enjoys speaking Romanian, which is part of her ancestry. She also likes to cook with her family, especially baking breads from scratch.

Somehow, she still finds time to enjoy music. She taught herself to play piano and clarinet at a young age and continues to play today. She prefers classical music and church hymns. She and her family attend the East Hill Four Square Church in Gresham.

Volunteer fair seeking vendors
If your nonprofit organization wants to expand its volunteer base to include high school students, get involved in the upcoming Parkrose High School Volunteer Fair hosted by the Community Connections Office on Wednesday, Oct. 11 from 10:45 a.m. to noon.

One mission of Parkrose High School is to organize student and community partnerships to ensure the success of all students. Interested vendors should contact Erica Martin in the PHS Community Connections Office at 503-408-2645.

SnowCap issues appeal to beat old man winter
The calendar has a way of quickly transitioning from the sunshine and warmth of late summer to the dampness and chill of fall and winter, and the folks at SnowCap Community Charities have learned from experience to start planning early for a rainy day.

“We are faced with rising costs, increased demand and dwindling resources,” SnowCap Executive Director Judy Alley said. “We are making this early annual appeal for donated winter clothing and blankets and donated cash to cover the cost of helping low-income families stay warm and keep their lights on.”

SnowCap is a faith-based, nonprofit volunteer agency that provides food, clothing, energy assistance, English language instruction and other advocacy services for families and individuals struggling to make financial ends meet and live in east Multnomah County.

“Many of our clients are elderly, unemployed, disabled or parents trying to raise children on minimum-wage jobs,” Alley said. “Food prices are really jumping this year and we are already trying to plan for our traditional holiday food boxes. At this time, it looks like it is going to be difficult to make up a good Christmas box this year.”

SnowCap continues to accept your extra garden produce at its receiving and distribution facility at 17788 S.E. Pine St. Winter clothing and blankets can also be delivered to that address.

Alley said SnowCap is also faced with a shortage of volunteers, especially people for interviewing new clients and drivers to both retrieve and distribute food boxes. “We can always use additional hands in our pantry,” she said.

Nominate now for Spirit of Portland Awards
Nominations for the city of Portland Spirit of Portland Awards are due no later than 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24. Awards are given to individuals, groups, neighborhoods, businesses and volunteers and are one way the city recognizes the importance of community involvement in shaping the livability of Portland.

Mid-county is home to a number of Spirit of Portland award winners. Submit your candidates now to continue to showcase the contributions made by members of our community. Nomination forms are available at East Portland Neighborhood Office, 1017 N.E. 117th Ave., or online at www.portlandonline.com/oni.

The mayor and city commissioners will present the awards at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11 in the council chambers at City Hall.

Elks donate quilts to local food bank
Wes Clark, from left, board member of the Northeast Emergency Food Program, accepts handmade quilts from Gateway Elks Leading Knight John Lillestrand, Exalted Ruler Russ Muma and lodge member Diana Mills, who made the quilts.
Submitted Photo
Gateway area resident Diana Mills has made more than 280 quilts this year. Mills is a member of the Gateway Elks Lodge and donates quilts to the lodge for distribution to local charities.

Twenty-three of her creations were recently presented to the Northeast Emergency Food Program at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church. The quilts will be distributed through the food bank’s facilities to those in need to help ward off the chill of the upcoming winter months.

NEFP helps meet the urgent food needs of our North and Northeast Portland neighbors while working to develop community solutions to secure access to adequate, affordable and healthy food. Their work is grounded in the belief that nutritious food is a basic human need and a building block for a healthy life of possibility.

NEFP is one of many community ministry programs of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. The food program is a community-based response to the unmet food needs of the community. They primarily serve families with children, the working poor, people with special needs, and immigrants and refugees who are new to our community.

NEFP provides a three-to-five-day supply of nutritious groceries to neighbors in crisis. Their commitment to nurturing community food security includes offering community gardening opportunities, coordinating neighborhood food workshops, educating and empowering community members around local food issues and building community partnerships to ensure a comprehensive safety net for our neighbors in need.

NEFP is located at Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, 4800 N.E. 72nd Ave. They are open from 1 to 4 p.m., on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

MHCC trains literacy tutors
One in five adults in Oregon cannot read. Many of these individuals are high school dropouts lacking the basic reading and writing skills needed for today’s jobs.

Training volunteers to become tutors commit Mt. Hood Community College to helping reduce these statistics. The MHCC Adult Basic Education Volunteer Literacy Tutor program offers free workshops that teach attendees the techniques used in tutoring an adult.

Volunteer literacy tutors are in demand because there are more students requesting assistance than there are tutors available. The requirements to become a volunteer tutor are a high school diploma or general educational development certificate, a willingness to help others and a commitment to the program.

Once trained, tutors are asked to donate two to four hours per week for three or more months. Tutoring sessions are held throughout the area, including at the college, local libraries, businesses, churches and community centers.

Volunteers are also needed for interviewing students and assisting in student registration. For more information about the volunteer literacy program, interested individuals may contact MHCC’s Adult Basic Skills Department at 503-491-7406 or maria.pelayo@mhcc.edu.


Awards showcase commitment to sustainability
Applications are now being accepted for the 2008 Governor’s Sustainability Awards. The Governor’s Sustainability Awards program is intended to promote and advance the inclusion of sustainable practices in government and the private sector.

Winners will show a commitment to sustainability that goes beyond compliance with regulatory requirements. Winners will be innovators in their fields and show that becoming more sustainable is not in conflict with achieving the individual organization’s core mission. Sustainable practices are broadly defined as those that strive to optimize an organization’s financial, environmental and social performance for these awards. For more application and event details, visit www.oregon4biz.com/susProgram.htm.

Applications must be received by 5 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 7.
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