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Columbia River Peace Corps AssociationServing our community. Engaging the world.
NEWSLETTERMarch 2010
Vol. 30, Issue 3 www.crpca.orgHelp Needed for Refugee Family from
Central African Republic
By shear luck, I’ve recently stumbled upon a family of 15 refugees from Central African Republic.
Just as I remember Central Africans, this family is amazing. They arrived in Portland five months ago, with children ranging from 8 months to 20 years. They were originally nomadic herders from CAR. Their cattle were stolen and house destroyed by Sudanese rebels. The entire family walked for one year to a Chadian refugee camp where they lived outside with limited food and water for two years.
Somehow, someone chose them be put on a plane (never having experienced electricity or running water) and transposed to a very small, run down apartment near 82nd and Powell. Only speaking Sango, very limited French and some Hausa – their transition has been challenging, to say the least.
Ever the optimistic Africans – the family has made amazing strides. But they still need help. Immediate needs include: size 4 diapers, food staples, clothing, school supplies and non-toxic cleaning supplies. Longer term needs include: affordable housing for a family their size, help navigating the systems of federal funding, food stamps, WIC, etc.Please contact me directly at [email protected] if you have any resources to share. Many thanks.Adrienne KareckiRPCV CAR 92 – 94RPCV Niger 95 - 97
CRPCA Forms Book Club
Come join the CRPCA Book Club! Over time we'll discuss a wide variety of books with an international focus: from Peace Corps memoirs to illuminating nonfiction to fiction from around the world. We have a big list of books to share. Those who attend our first meeting will get to choose the next several books we'll read and future locations and meeting times.
We will first gather Wednesday, April 21st @ 7:15 pm at the home of Linda Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland. The overwhelming choice of members participating in our February e-survey was Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes, by Tamim Ansary (2009). Please come prepared for a stimulating discussion!
FYI, Destiny Disrupted was chosen by 61% of e-survey participants. The runner-up choice was The Places in Between, by Rory Stewart (2006), which was chosen by 39% of e-survey participants; we'll be discussing that book at our May Book Club meeting, date/location to be announced.
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CONTENTSHelp Needed For Refugee Family, p. 1CRPCA Forms Book Club, p. 1CRPCA’s 2010 Takes Shape, p. 2Second Annual CRPCA Local Campout, p. 2Welcome to New Members, p. 3Images of CRPCA’s 2009, p. 3CRPCA Spring Events, p. 3Other Events, p. 52009 Financial Report, p. 6Contact Us, p. 6
CRPCA's 2010 Takes Shapeby Bill Stein, CRPCA President
The rah-rah text about CRPCA is back!
3/01/2010 starts the one-year countdown to Peace Corps' 50th birthday. As most of you know, President John F. Kennedy signed the Peace Corps Act on 3/01/1961. Our biggest local celebration of the anniversary, opening on or about 3/01/2011, will be a 3-4 month Peace Corps exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society (OHS), with thanks to our friends at the Museum of the Peace Corps Experience. OHS needs your help now! Please fill out their form if you would like to loan an artifact for the exhibit; forms are due April 1.
Back to CRPCA, our year is well underway. Already in 2010, 50 members traded gifts at our White Elephant Party, a dozen members enjoyed dressing up for our Starlight Parade photo, and dozens more attended our Klamath Basin potluck program and the events surrounding the regional RPCV meeting. We also had a family sledding event on Mt Hood and bagged pomelos at the Oregon Food Bank.
We now offer each of the following activities approximately once a month: potlucks with engaging programs, restaurant gatherings featuring diverse cuisines, soirées with good drinks and great conversation, service activities with several regional partners, discussions of books selected by our members, and family activities for our members with children. Game nights, outdoor activities, and group participation in community events are also being scheduled in response to member interest. Thanks to those who plan these events and to all who set the stage for them through frequent survey participation!
We've got several special events in the coming months. Our March 14 potluck dinner will be preceded by our winter grant awards and followed by a talk from one of Peace Corps' founders. Stay tuned for news of our "nom party," speaker trainings, and post-COS conference. Our 2010 local campout will be at Champoeg State Heritage Area June 25-27, and our 2010 West regional campout will be at Crane Prairie (near Bend) August 12-16.
I invite those with an interest in leading this fine organization to attend our elections potluck on April 11 in Vancouver, WA. All CRPCA board positions will be open for elections. We're particularly seeking folks for Co-Events Coordinator, Co-Social Coordinator, Co-Webmaster, Membership Coordinator, and Newsletter Editor. Exciting initiatives your current board is working on include 50th anniversary planning, the redesign of CRPCA's web presence, and growth in our
grant program. Over the next year I'll be psyched to hear what new ideas will emerge from our inspired members.
Please contact me at [email protected] or 503-830-0817 if you have any questions about the CRPCA board. Thank you!
Second Annual CRPCA Local Campout June 2010
CRPCA members have participated in the Northwest regional RPCV campouts for the past 19 years. We are very pleased to present the Second Annual CRPCA Local Campout for those who can't get enough of camping out with Peace Corps families. Location: Champoeg State Heritage Area. Champoeg is located off US 99W, 7 miles east of Newberg. From I-5, take Exit 278 and head west. Follow the signs. More details about where our group tent area is inside the park in upcoming newsletters.Dates: Friday night June 25 thru Sunday morning June 27, 2010Potluck: 6:00 pm Saturday 6/262 Group Tent Camping Areas: Beaver and Heron• Each of our two sites holds 25 people max.• 6 vehicles for each group site.• Each site has water and electricity.• No RV parking allowed in the group tent camping
areas.• No handicapped access really, since it's a little walk
from the parking lot to the group tent areas.• The pit toilets are also a bit of a walk. [farther away
than women and kids would prefer]
Cost: To be determined. Please stay tuned!
RSVP: To Brenda Michel ([email protected]).
We chose a campground close enough to the Portland metro area so if non-camper people want to come for a big potluck on Saturday evening, they can easily drive out just for the day. The potluck will be at 6:00 pm Saturday.
Please bring whatever food you want to the potluck, but we ask that you write the ingredients on an index card for those attendees with food sensitivities. Do bring your own chairs, plates, cups, utensils, and maybe logs for the fire.
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Welcome to New Members Ted Clifford - Krygyzston 1996 -1998; Matt Crighton - Samoa 2007 -2009; Erin Gettling - Ukraine 2003 - 2005; Nicola Dino - Ecuador 1993 - 1997; Emily Ross - Krygyzston 1997 - 1999.
Thank you to our renewing members! Marilyn Badurina - Togo 1972 - 1976; Deborah Brink Wohrmann - Philippines 1988 - 1990; Bobbie Carrie - Senegal 1995 - 1998; Carol and Philip Cloues - Venezuela 1971-1973; Linda Erickson - Liberia 1971 - 1974; Paul Erickson; Brian and Kate Fassett - Bulgaria 2004 - 2006; Richard Ireland - Haiti 1998 - 2000; Kate Miller - Malaysia 2001 - 2002; Elizabeth Samuels- Benin 1975 - 1977; Rick Samuels; Lesly Sanocki - Cape Verde 1990 -1992; Jeff Strang - Ghana 1980 - 1982; Tamara Boyd
Images of CRPCA's 2009
Eighteen photos from CRPCA's 2009 events have been added to the bottom of our annual report, at http://www.crpca.org/annual.html. Here's a preview from last June's backyard potluck...
CRPCA Spring Events
The following March-May events are confirmed; there will be more to follow. We have something for everyone this spring!
Tuesday, 3/02, 6:30 pm - Restaurant Gathering. Ya Hala, 8005 SE Stark St in Portland. Some of the best Lebanese food in town. Consider joining a group order of the Ya Hala Mezza, and you're guaranteed to leave happy. No RSVP necessary.
Thursday, 3/11, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Service Activity at the Oregon Food Bank, 7900 NE 33rd Dr in Portland. RSVP to [email protected] or call Tom at 503-267-3943 by Mon 3/08. Please see our Service page for additional details.
Sunday, 3/14, 5:00-8:00 pm - Business Meeting, Potluck and Program. Location at the home of Linda Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland. All are invited to participate in the business meeting (where we'll be awarding $2,000 in grants), share dinner over great conversations, and/or hear stories from a Peace Corps founder. Here's the full agenda/schedule:
Time Agenda Item / Activity5:00-5:05
Approve 1/31/2010 business meeting minutes
5:05-5:10
Decide whether/when to make grants to Peace Corps Partnership projects
5:10-5:35
Award winter 2010 grants• Review the current grant applications from
the Making Peace with the World, The Village Bicycle Project, Elizabeth Rowers Zambia Education Fund, and Visual Perspective of Macedonia.
5:35-5:55
Make decisions regarding upcoming events• May: Post-COS Conference (date, location,
schedule of events, what to charge)• June 25-27: Local Campout at Champoeg
(schedule of events, what to charge)• July Picnic (location)• August 12-16: Regional Campout at Crane
Prairie (schedule of events, what to charge)5:55-6:00
Brief update on web redesign project
6:00-7:00
Potluck dinner (please bring a dish to share)
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The Columbia River Peace Corps AssociationNewsletter is published monthly by the CRPCA
for the benefit of its members. The CRPCAserves Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and
others in Oregon and southwest Washington whoshare an interest in serving the cause of peace and
global development.To join CRPCA and, or, the National Peace Corps
Association, please visit www.crpca.org.Newsletter submissions are due by the 25th of
each month. Send by mail to P.O. Box 802,Portland, OR 97207, or e-mail to:
7:00-8:00
P ro g r a m o n P e a c e C o r p s H i s t o r y. Anthropologist Robert Textor was present at Peace Corps' creation in 1960 and is credited with making the case to the political leaders that Volunteers be trained in language and cultural skills. He developed the first training program for the very first group of Volunteers. Bob will share the fascinating stories of the early days and what it was like to participate as Peace Corps was being created very fast and by people who had almost no experience outside of the United States. Bob is an emeritus professor of anthropology from Stanford University. He is also the pioneering founder of Ethnographic Futures Research and the editor of Cultural Frontiers of the Peace Corps, MIT Press 1966.
Friday, 3/19, 6:30 pm - Game Night. Location at the home of Jim Maddry, 4053 NE 16th Ave in Portland. We'll chip in for pizza (including gluten-free and vegetarian) at 6:30, then the games will begin at 7:30. RSVP required! Please e-mail Jim with the number in your party and your pizza and game preferences. Games on hand may include Bananagrams, Chess, Scrabble, Settlers of Catan, and Ticket to Ride. You'll be welcome to bring bring your favorites. Call Jim with any questions at 503-288-3046.
Saturday, 3/20, 10:00 am to 1:00 pm - Service Activity: SOLV Spring Beach Cleanup at Cannon Beach, Oregon. Take US 26 west, then US 101 south to Cannon Beach (allow two hours from Portland). This event will happen rain or shine; be sure to dress for the weather. If you register in advance on SOLV's website, you can skip the paperwork when you pick up your gloves. Each adult needs to register separately but may list volunteers under age 18. Sign up as part of Columbia River Peace Corps Association in the grey box in the middle of the page, then let CRPCA's Anne Kimberly ([email protected], cell 503-929-1470) know to look out for you. After the event, folks are welcome to bring the kids over to Indian Beach at Ecola State Park (two miles north of Cannon Beach, $5 per vehicle day use fee) for some tide pool exploration.
Monday, 3/29, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.
Thursday, 4/01, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm - Service Activity at the Oregon Food Bank, 7900 NE 33rd Dr in Portland. RSVP to [email protected] or call Tom at 503-267-3943 by Mon 3/29. Please see our Service page for additional details.
Sunday, 4/11, 5:00-8:00 pm - Business Meeting, Potluck and Program. Location at the home of Tai
Bainter, 500 Martin Ct in Vancouver, WA. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting (agenda items will include electing our 2010-2011 board members and updates from recent NPCA webinars), 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program on Micro-Enterprise.
Wednesday, 4/21, 7:15 pm - Inaugural meeting of the CRPCA Book Club. Location at the home of Linda Centurion, 3940 SE 47th Ave in Portland. Those who attend will choose the next several books we'll discuss. The book to read for this first meeting is Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes by Tamim Ansary (2009).
Monday, 4/26, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland.
Thursday, 5/13, 6:30 pm - Nom Party. Location at Multnomah Arts Center, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy). We'll do it potluck style, details to follow. Come show support for newly nominated Peace Corps applicants from around Portland. After the event ends (8:30), folks will be free to continue conversations across the street at the Lucky Labrador Public House.
Sunday, 5/16, 5:00-8:00 pm - Business Meeting, Potluck and Program. Location at the home of Martin Kaplan, 19436 Wilderness Dr in West Linn. All are welcome to the 5pm CRPCA business meeting (tentative), 6pm dinner (please bring a dish to share), and 7pm program on the Immigrant Experience.
Monday, 5/31, 6:30 pm - Soirée. An informal gathering at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub, 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd in Portland. Yes, we'll be there on Memorial Day; for some reason we get great attendance at this one!____________________________________________
Above: CRPCA hosted Peace Corps folks from Boise, Eugene, Seattle, and Spokane at the regional meeting on February 6.
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Other Upcoming Events
YOGA WORKSHOP: Connecting communities through Yoga and SpanishSaturday, 3/6, 10:00am - NoonWHAT: Rigler SUN School and IRCO Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization will be hosting the first Yoga Workshop in Spanish. We are creating community through Holistic Health Education. Take time for yourself, soothe & strengthen, increase Spanish speaking skills, develop healthy lifestyle habits and cultivate awareness. Childcare and snacks will be provided.
Rigler SUN School is one of several run by IRCO “The mission of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is to promote the integration of refugees, immigrants, and the community at large into a self-sufficient, healthy, and inclusive multiethnic society.” http://www.irco.org/COST: FreeWHERE: Rigler School Gymnasium, 5401 NE PrescottCONTACT: Michelle Helman (503)916-6152 [email protected]
Upcoming Career Fairs I have several requests for RPCVs to attend career fairs in the Portland area coming up that I won’t be able to attend:Friday, 3/12: Linfield (McMinnville) Nursing Career Fair 11:30am – 1:30pmMonday, 4/12: Warner Pacific College Career Fair 10:00am – 12:00pmTuesday, 4/27: Portland Community College Career Fair 11:00am – 3:00pm None of these engagements involve actual presentations in front of groups, but rather getting someone to “man a table” and talk about Peace Corps, your experience, and the application process. I would mail a box of recruitment materials down ahead of time for each of these events, and all the RPCV would have to do is show up. Please have anyone who is interested in helping out with one or more of these events contact me. I appreciate it!
Cheers, Lisa WhiteRegional RecruiterPeace Corps – Northwest Regional Office1601 Fifth Avenue, Ste. 605Seattle, WA 98101(206) 239-6618RPCV Guinea and Mali, '06-'08
Help Peace Corps & Tanzaniaon World Water Day
World Water Day will be observed Sunday, March 21st, 11:00-3:00pm, at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland. Ally Packer, the Peace Corps Recruiter at Portland State University, is seeking the following assistance from CRPCA folks:
First, we're organizing a Peace Corps team for the Walk for Water, which raises funds to build drinking water wells in Tanzania. Depending on how many people join the team, the cost will be $10-20 per person (kids 12 and under are free). Walkers may choose to carry a container of water along the consciousness-raising 3-mile route; you'll be entertained by Boka Marimba and won't lack for refreshments. The walk starts at 1:00pm. Please contact Ally [email protected] ASAP if you would like to join the team.
Second, we seek RPCVs to fill shifts at the Peace Corps recruiting table before, during, and after the walk, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Again, please contact Ally at [email protected] if you are willing to help.
More information on World Water Day 2010 is available athttp://www.worldwaterdaypdx.com____________________________________________
Right: The Museum of t h e P e a c e C o r p s E x p e r i e n c e b u i l t excitement for the 2011 Peace Corps exhibit at the Oregon Historical Society.
Below: CRPCA's new Co-Webmas te r Br ian Newhouse shared his p l a n s f o r PeaceCorpsProjects.org
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2009 Financial Report
Income Expenses
Membership $2,060.00
White Elephant Event $375.00 $483.61Silent Auction $1,715.00 $1,859.00Nom Party $30.00 $314.54Individual Donation $104.00November Auction $3,729.00 $1,596.94Campouts, local $355.00 $210.00Events Subtotal $6,308.00 $4,464.09
Vanuatu School Library $446.00Mejor Communities $1,000.00Museum of the Peace Corps Experience
$750.00
Makindu Children's Program $750.00Cascade Festival of African Films $1,000.00
Grants Subtotal $3,946.00
Calendar Sale $5,725.00 $2,200.40
Newsletter, stamps, PO box, etc.
$757.96
Conference attendance $173.00Fees $85.00Operating Expense Subtotal
$1,015.96
Interest Earned $6.96
Total $14,099.96 $11,626.45
CONTACT US - CRPCA Board MembersPresident: Bill Stein, Niger 1990-1993 503-830-0817, [email protected]
Secretary: Brenda Michel, Sierra Leone 1986-1988 503-408-6933, [email protected]
Treasurer: Phyllis Shelton, Honduras 1986-1988 503-704-6298, [email protected]
Networking Coordinator & Program Coordinator Madeleine Mader, Cameroon 1984-1986 [email protected]
Newsletter Editor:Rachel Belida, Mali 2007-2009802-735-4203, [email protected]
Co-Webmasters:Scott Eckert, St. Vincent & the Grenadines 1987-1989971-832-9594, [email protected]
Brian Newhouse, Cape Verde 2007-2009770-713-4590, [email protected]
Education Coordinator: Marta Wicke, Mozambique 2001-2003 480-747-3875, [email protected]
Events Co-Coordinators Amy Evans, Jamaica 2002 – 2004 417-763-9956, [email protected]
Richard Ireland, Haiti 1998-2000 503-246-0479, [email protected]
Fundraising Co-Coordinators: Jenn Dederich Dominican Republic 2000-2003 520-906-0387, [email protected] Martin Dominican Republic 2001-2003 520-906-0436, [email protected]
Membership Coordinator: Elizabeth Samuels, Benin 1975-1977 503-228-7706, [email protected]
Service Coordinator:Tom DeMeo, Ghana 1980-1982, Botswana 1982-1984503-267-3943, [email protected]
Social Co-Coordinators: Dane Pikkola, Swaziland 1992-1994 971-544-1727, [email protected] Gabay, Malawi, 1984-1986541-578-0051, [email protected]
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