YOU are invited to a free community party tomorrow, Thursday, September 6, to celebrate the Grand Opening of Sisters’ new Personalist Center! This Grand Opening Block Party will start at 4 pm on NW Davis Street between Sixth St. and Broadway.

Featuring a barbecue, cotton candy and snow cones, tours of the new Center, and great live music by Marisa Anderson and Lana Rebel, this cross-class event runs from 4pm to 7pm.  There is a presentation by Portland Chief of Police Rosie Sizer at 5:30pm.  There will also be tours of the new Personalist Center, which now opens onto NW Davis Street.

Work for Sisters: Apply by 9/21

We are seeking to fill two full-time positions for our Administrative/ Management Team.  People of color and/or people with experience of homelessness and poverty are encouraged to apply.  These positions provide full benefits.  Full job descriptions will be posted on our website (click here); applications for both are due no later than September 21st, 2007.  Please send resume and cover letter to Monica Beemer at Sisters Of The Road, 133 NW 6th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 or email Monica at monica (at) sistersoftheroad (dot) org. No phone calls please.

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR: This position is responsible to ensure that all of the programs have the tools and resources they need to run smoothly and within the philosophies of non-violence and gentle-personalism.  Desired skills include; community organizing, expertise in supervision and support of staff, leadership in long-range planning and implementation, creative visioning, listening and empowering others to create & implement solutions, and personal organization.  Three years of program management experience is desired.  Salary:  $46,300.  Click here for full description.


FINANCE & OFFICE MANAGER This position is a member of the management/administrative team at Sisters providing leadership on budgeting and financial reporting for the organization.  QuickBooks Pro & Excel proficiency, financial management and reporting expertise, cash flow analysis experience required; IT experience (management and maintenance) a bonus.  This position also provides human resources management & support to supervisors and oversees AP/AR; payroll; benefit & insurance administration; bank reconciliation; general ledger and job cost accounting, and regulatory agency maintenance.  Salary: $40,673.

Thank-you for participating in Operation Cornbread - you helped us keep the cornbread comin’!  In a dramatic photo-finish, we cruised in over our $60,000 goal at midnight on July 31.  It was truly inspiration how so many people in our community pitched in a lot or a little to make sure that Sisters can keep up its great work in the summer months.

Make this Hoedown a Biggun: Saddle Up

Get your tickets for the Hoedown, Saturday, October 13 4:30- 9:30 pm at the Portland Art Museum’s Kridel Ballroom.  It’s our most important fundraiser of the year and we’re savin’ a spot for you!  Click here for the full run-down. Tickets are $85 for individuals and tables of 10 are $850 with a limited number of patron tables available.  To buy tickets or a table, email monica (at) sistersoftheroad (dot) org, call (503) 222-5694 ext. 19, or click here, and you will be rerouted to a secure page where you can purchase tickets online, order the type of dinner you’d like, and tell us the name of any guests you’ll be bringing.  To find out more about sponsorship, click here.

Cowhand, if you have gear you can donate to the auction, give a holler to Lisa:  email her at Lisa (at) sistersoftheroad (dot) org, or call her at (503) 222-5694 ext. 14.  Click here to get a PDF version of the item donation form.  Or, if you can volunteer to solicit Auction items or services, or volunteer on the day of, email Mary at mary (at) sistersoftheroad (dot) org or call 503-222-5694 x17.  Thanks!

A very warm thanks to everyone who ate out for dignity in August, and to the 14 generous restaurants (and a theater) that raised funds to end hunger and homelessness in our community – and there’s one more event in September: Tin Shed will have a Last Show of the Summer benefit for Sisters – donations at the door, Last Thursday, September 27th, 7:00 - 10:00 PM. 1438 NE Alberta St, Portland (503) 288-6966.

The final numbers are not in, but Dining with Dignity has so far raised at least $6,500 dollars to fund Sisters’ work.  In the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, we want to thank Backspace, Old Town Pizza and Tube.  In other great parts of the city we want to thank
McMenamins Kennedy School (raised $3533 in one night!), Escape from New York Pizza, Sal’s Famous Italian Kitchen partnered with Quintessence Language and Imagination Theater, Il Piatto and its sister the Jade Lounge, SubRosa, Elephants Delicatessen, Daily Grind, Wolf from the Door, and the Wingstop Cafe.  Wolf from the Door, a group of eleven elementary-aged kids who held a home restaurant (pictured above), raised $1,500 cooking and serving food and selling shirts and art they made.

Weren’t able to participate this year?  It’s not too late to donate a generous gift certificate to Sisters’ Hoedown and Auction.  We will pair it with donated tickets to a concert, ballet, theater etc, helping us raise funds and letting over 400 major donors hear about your generosity.  Click here for a donation form; or to learn more, email Lisa at Lisa (at) sistersoftheroad (dot) org.

Voices: No Hokum

Click here to learn about the book that Ursula LeGuin says contains “no hokum whatsoever!”

Voices Quote of the Day: “Tony:  I’m going to go to NA (Narcotics Anonymous) and ask them for some help.  And just pray.  I’m gonna pray like I do when I’m standing out there with that sign and people are giving me money. I’m gonna pray that those people will help me get off the street to start with. And I think they will.” Voices from the Street: Truths About Homelessness from Sisters Of The Road

Saturday, September 15 & Sunday, September 16, you are invited to the Under the Autumn Moon Festival, an annual community celebration of the historic heart of Portland, Sisters’ neighborhood.  Last year more than 35,000 people turned out!

Festivities take place on NW Davis and Flanders between the NW 3rd and 4th Avenues. Open air markets, multi-cultural music and dance, fireworks, a spectacular mid-Autumn parade, an international food area and craft activities among other things will highlight the rich history and culture of Old Town Chinatown.  Events include:

*Saturday, September 15th 10:00am- watch the parade led by 25 foot dragons and lions along NW Broadway south to SW Alder and back to the NW Flanders festival street along 5th avenue.

*Saturday, September 15th at sunset- watch spectacular fireworks from the NW Flanders Festival Street followed by a big screen outdoor movie.

*Sunday, September 16th 11:00am to 4:00pm- visit the Classical Chinese Garden for free and enjoy local street performers.

*Saturday and Sunday, September 15th and 16th starting at 11:00 am- enjoy family entertainment on the University of Oregon World Stage on the NW Flanders Festival Street featuring the Dragon Arts Puppet Theater, Charlie Brown jugglers and Westside Dance & Gymnastic Academy. For the slightly older, Klezmocracy, Dirty Martini Trio, Earl and the Reggae Allstars and Bethany & Rufus represent the multicultural neighborhood of Old Town Chinatown.

CFC and United Way Campaigns

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) and United Way workplace giving campaigns have begun!  Campaigns like this are important to Sisters because individual support accounts for 60% of all our income.

In both campaigns, you can make donations through automatic deductions from your paycheck.  With the United Way, you can also donate online at www.unitedway-pdx.org; with cash, check, or plastic; or donate appreciated securities that you have held for at least one year, which have become very popular in part because you pay no capital gains taxes and the stock is totally tax deductible.

With the CFC, federal workers can support Sisters by choosing Code No. 8230 on their pledge form.  Learn more or fill out a pledge form online at www.opm.gov/cfc, or get one from your CFC Coordinator.  Retired federal employees or family of employee can donate by using the “Other” area of the same form and paying with cash or check.

Thank you to all the wonderful businesses, workers and agencies who participate.