On Friday, October 23rd, put on your best bib and tucker and join Sisters Of The Road at the Portland Art Museum for our annual Hoedown and Auction. Hoedown is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and this year it’s going to be an extra special affair honoring all the great work Sisters has done in 2009 and celebrating our 30th birthday! To reserve your tickets, please contact Monica at 503-222-5694 ext 19 or monica at sistersoftheroad.org.

We are seeking awesome auction items! Do you or a friend have a vacation house to donate for a week? Or great theatre tickets or a restaurant certificate? Contact Lisa at 503-222-5694 ext 14 or lisa at sistersoftheroad.org. To volunteer for the auction, contact Lisa at 503-222-5694 ext 14 or lisa at sistersoftheroad.org.

Join Sisters, Neighbors West-Northwest, Community Alliance of Tenants and fellow Portland-based community advocates Tuesday, March 31 from 6-8 pm for an evening of reflection, discussion and learning. Hear about diverse organizing efforts in housing rights, homelessness, and local livability issues. Build skills in individualized workshops ranging from advocating at city hall to community organizing.

The event is being held at First United Methodist Church’s Collins Hall, 1838 SW Jefferson, Portland.

For details or to RSVP, contact Mary-Rain O’Meara at mary-rain @ nwnw.org or 503-823-4288 ext 6; or Angela Southwick at angela @ nwnw.org or 503-823-4211.

Volunteers are a vital part of the community at Sisters Of The Road. Last year, over 300 volunteers gave 4633 hours working in the cafe, supporting our administrative office, and helping out on committees and at special events like Winterfolk and Hoedown. Interested in learning more about volunteer opportunities at Sisters? Click Here.

The next Volunteer Orientation will be held in the Cafe (133 NW 6th Ave) on Saturday, March 28 from 9 am to noon.

Prospective volunteers can expect to:

• Experience Sisters’ Photo Voice Display
• Explore the spirit of volunteerism
• Learn about Sisters’ history, philosophy and operations
• Discuss the many different volunteer opportunities at Sisters
• Learn about Cafe roles, scheduling and sign-up
• Have the opportunity to seek answers to questions

If you’d like to attend our next orientation, contact Volunteer Coordinator Michael at (503) 222-5694, ext. 43 or email michaelb @ sistersoftheroad.org. He will mail you a volunteer Application/Registration for you to complete and return as soon before the orientation as possible. Thank you for your interest!

Sisters has enthusiastically embarked on its new journey to sustainability. More organic and humanely raised foods are finding their ways to the cafe. More efficient lighting has replaced old fixtures. Our recycling effort, already in full swing, is exploring composting as a way to cut down on kitchen waste.

Big kudos to Marlowe Kulley, Sustainability Advisor extraordinaire with Portland’s Best Business Center. The BBC is a collaboration between the city’s Office of Sustainable Development, Metro, Portland Development Commission, PGE, and Pacific Power. After visiting Sisters to look at refrigerators, toilets, lights, ovens, ice-maker, and more, Marlowe prepared a detailed report with resources. Her advice and the resource agencies that are specific to our needs are available free of charge.

Our next step will be to engage each of the resource agencies to see what we can do in our facility, which is old and does not belong to Sisters. There are both limitations and opportunities to explore as we strive to make our carbon footprint as nonviolent as our customer relations.

Genny Nelson, our hard-working co-founder, is organizing Sisters Of The Road’s extensive 30 years of archives, and she needs somewhere to put it all! We are seeking a donation of 15-20 four-drawer filing cabinets—the sooner, the better. Genny’s records and knowledge go back to the beginning planning stages of the cafe, and her history project will be invaluable to Sisters as we approach our 30th Birthday this November.

If you (or your company or faith community) are able to provide one or more filing cabinets, please contact Michael Burgwin at 503-222-5694 ext 43 or michaelb @ sistersoftheroad.org. Thank you!

Visit Sisters Of The Road’s trade show exhibit and learn all about green living at the Better Living Show, March 27-29th, at the Portland Expo Center (2060 N Marine Drive). The Better Living Show is the Northwest’s largest sustainable lifestyle show, and gives you access to local resources that will improve your life in six core areas: lifestyle, home/garden, food/beverage, transportation, clean tech and conservation. They have three days packed with experts and entertainment planned—there will be something for everyone.  And admission is free!

From now until April 22, 2009, Michele Pearce, MSW QMHP CADC I, is offering 20% of the proceeds from any new clients at her counseling practice to Sisters Of The Road! Be sure to mention Sisters when scheduling the appointment. Find out more about Michele here, or you can contact her at (503) 290-8255, or by e-mail at michele @ michelepearce.com.

1. Have a house party to raise funds and friends for Sisters! We can provide a speaker and materials. At right, Alexander and Orion enjoy superb service at the “Wolf from the Door” benefit dinner for Sisters.
2. Have a garage sale for Sisters!  Ask your friends to help and to donate items. We’ll provide brochures and a sign that says “This sale to benefit Sisters Of The Road!”
3. Are you in a bowling or soccer league (backgammon, dominoes or roller derby?). Rally your team to do a car wash for Sisters!
4. Add our website link to your website, with a reason why people should check it out. Your recommendation can go a long way!
5. Ask your friends and family to make a donation to Sisters as an alternative to gifts for a birthday, graduation, or other important life event. All sizes of gifts are a great help to us!
6. Cook a theme meal and invite your friends and family over, for a donation to Sisters. Build your own pizza, Pie Party, or luau, anyone?
7. Host the PhotoVoice Project’s Look Here! exhibit at your office, school, faith community or book club! 
8. Sponsor a day in the cafe by gathering your co-workers, family and friends to come volunteer together for a day!
9. Invite us to your neighborhood street fair, faith community, service club or anyplace where folks would like to hear about Sisters.
10. Anything else you can think of – give us a call at (503) 222-5694 ext 14 or ext 22 to check it out!

TriMet is again proposing cuts in Portland’s Fareless Square service. Read more about the proposed changes here.

You can reach TriMet with your comments at 503-962-5806, by e-mail at comments @ trimet.org or by mail at TriMet-MK2, 4012 SE 17th Ave., Portland, OR 97202. Please submit comments by 5 pm Tues, March 31. Thank you for making your voice heard!