Portland, March 27th, 2015. A new sustainable savings coupon book is helping non-profit Trash For Peace expand their visibility and programs. Trash For Peace, which teaches urban kids about recycling and healthy eating, was featured at coupon book launch party and fundraiser at Slide Inn Restaurant.
Publisher, Raymond F. Quinton said, “I love what Trash For Peace does and what they stand for. They give urban kids a chance to have some hands on involvement with recycling and sustainability, and they get to see how to grow that involvement into business opportunities.”
Here’s an the website address with more information about the sustainable savings coupon booklet: www.globalmarketingconcepts.info
Organizers say sustainability should be a lifelong pursuit and should touch everyone in the community, regardless of race, color, gender or economic status. Global Marketing Concepts is committed to doing its part to make a difference, in part by publishing an exclusive coupon book that supports impacting sustainability everyday.
As a 501(c)3 organization, our mission is to turn “trash” into “peace”. To educate and spread awareness about the capacity we have as human beings to use our creativity and innovation to replace the concept of trash with resourcefulness and giving back. We strive to encourage people to reduce, reuse, and then recycle for a healthier and more peaceful planet.
Vision: Empowered, healthy communities living in a world without waste.
The event, sponsored by LoanStar Home Lending and Global Marketing Concepts had door prizes, from local sustainability focused businesses.
Trash For Peace, founded by Executive Director Laura Kuchner, works with schools to teach kids how to build recycling bins from recycled materials, teaches kids zero waste, healthy cooking techniques, and has plans to expand their coffee roasting project with a solar roaster to teach youths how to run a sustainable business.
Presenting Sponsor LoanStar Home Lending SVP of Marketing and Business Development, Kenn Bartley said, “We want to do our part and support the businesses and community who care about our future. We are demonstrating that sustainability can be fun, too! Everyone will also have an opportunity to learn more about energy conservation, indoor air quality, available remodeling and rehabilitation loans, loan incentive programs and discover the advantages of purchasing new energy efficient homes.”
From Trash For Peace:
As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, our founder, Laura Kutner, helped create the youth development program that focused on integrating a life skills curriculum into rural schools. One of the schools she worked in also happened to need new classrooms. One day during recess she realized that a technique she had heard about through the organization Pura Vida Atitlan could be modified to build these exact classrooms using plastic bottles and trash! After proposing the idea to the community, that is exactly what they did!
Soon the streets of Granados were much cleaner, as the entire community worked together to stuff more than 6,000 bottles full of trash to build the walls of their new classrooms. Towards the end of the project, the Non-governmental organization Hug it Forward stepped in to help finance the rest of the cement, doors, and windows that were necessary. As a result, a wonderful partnership was born. Hug it Forward is now working on their 16th bottle school in Guatemala!
Not long after the bottle school was complete, Tropical Storm Agatha surprised Guatemala with its strength and endurance. Many villages flooded, homes were destroyed, and worst of all, some lives were lost. In San Miguel Duenas, the second village where Laura lived, the flooding was made demonstrably worse because thousands of plastic bottles were dragged by the river to the foot of the bridge that led into the town, creating a giant plug. The community was shocked to see that trash had created such a disaster.
The storm was a reminder to Laura that – although much great work had been done with the bottle classrooms, there was much work still to be done. When she returned to the United States, she wanted to continue sharing this story and teaching the lessons learned from it, by finding creative and innovate ways of encouraging people to incorporate the values of reducing and reusing into their lives, and to see waste as a resource for positive change. She loves working with communities to teach them how to turn their trash into peace, sharing these ideas and experiences through creative construction. It was in this way that Trash for Peace was born, and the incredible people and communities that become involved and volunteer their time and energy are what make this organization flourish.
Portland, March 12th, 2015. Serendipity Center hosted it’s annual benefit dinner and auction, Pearls of Hope, at the Sentinel Hotel in downtown Portland. Pearls of Hope master of ceremonies Tony Martinez of Good Day Oregon celebrated with Serendipity Center graduate speaker Mariah Roelfs. (photo credit Julianna Patrick)
Serendipity Center board secretary Jeff Austin with Phanna Pich.
The 230 guests in attendance raised their paddles to generously support Oregon’s oldest and largest therapeutic school. Located in southeast Portland, since 1979 Serendipity Center has served children and young adults with severe cognitive and behavioral disabilities. Board member Wendy Ricketts charied this year’s event, which raised $133,000 to continue supporting Serendipity Center’s mission of providing the best environment for students to heal, learn, and become productive members of their communities.
MC Tony Martinez kept the Pearls of Hope attendees in good spirits throughout the silent and live auction portion of the evening. The event culminated after dinner with a stirring, emotional speech from Serendipity graduate Mariah Rolefs. The powerful speech earned her a well-deserved standing ovation that left many in the audience searching for a tissue and thinking about how they could do more to support the kids.
Portland, March 20th, 2015. The Grand Opening Celebration for PNCA’s Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design at 511 NW Broadway went off without a hitch. It was an opportunity to officially preview the new Center for Art and Design. Through a $34 million transformation of a nearly century-old post office, the College is positioned at the heart of the city’s burgeoning creative corridor. Community leaders say the opening of the center will usher in a new era of art and design education in the Pacific Northwest. The expansion is expected to bring vitality to the North Park Blocks as well as the Old Town and Chinatown neighborhoods. (Photo credit, Mario Gallucci)
Senator Ron Wyden
Governor Kate Brown catches up with Congressman Earl Blumenauer
About PNCA:
Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) is a leading West Coast art and design college. Founded in Portland, Oregon in 1909, PNCA has helped shape the region’s visual art and design landscape for more than a century. PNCA students study with award-winning faculty in small classes. In the last seven years, the College has doubled both the student body and full-time faculty, quadrupled its endowment, and added innovative undergraduate and graduate programs. With the opening on the $32 million Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Center for Art and Design in 2015, Portland’s North Park Blocks becomes its new campus, which also encompasses its Museum of Contemporary Craft and ArtHouse student housing. This Portland creative corridor will now be home to hundreds of PNCA students, teachers, and staff.
Portland, March 14th, 2015. The nonprofit SnowCap set a record for seats sold for its 13th annual action. 356 guests joined State Rep. Carla Piluso who served as emcee, and auctioneer JillMarie Wiles at the Holiday Inn Portland Airport. Brian and Noah Bean enjoy the revelry with Alisa Karin-Bean, who serves on SnowCap’s board of directors. (Photos: LeeAnn Gauthier)
Victoria Purvine admires a glass bowl made by presenting sponsor Alyson Huntting. Huntting bought an outdoor address base mount donated by Purvine’s company Evergreen Remodeling, Inc.
The dinner and auction raised $119,000 for food, diapers and clothing to help low-income families in east Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale, Parkrose and Wood Village. In 2014, SnowCap distributed nearly 1.2 million pounds of food. Because of community support and the Oregon Food Bank, SnowCap will be able to double the number of visits allowed per family, per year from six to 12.
OnPoint Credit Union was a golden sponsor of SnowCap’s 13th Annual Dinner and Auction. OnPointe staff Rene Wolfe was so excited by the handmade quilts, that she just wanted to kiss someone. Luckily, her husband, Craig Wolfe walked straight into it.
The flames were as high as the auction bidding thanks to SnowCap board vice-chair Jim Mahnke’s mastery of the bananas foster. This dessert dash prize served by Goldie Hohnstein (not shown) at SnowCap’s auction.
Sponsors included: Les Schwab Tire Centers, Boeing, Pacific Power, PGE, Parkrose Community United Church of Christ and Sally Gaudina, with RE/MAX Equity Group. More than 8,000 residents depend on SnowCap for food or clothing each month, and a multigenerational crew of volunteers helps the nonprofit organization run smoothly.
From SnowCap:
SnowCap volunteers make a difference for their neighbors in need. They feed over 8,000 people per month. This involves food drives, picking up and delivering food, sorting food donations, stocking shelves, packing bags. It also means driving trucks, weeding the garden, working on committees and interviewing clients. There is also administrative work to do; data entry, writing newsletter articles, thank you letters and sending reminder postcards.
Thanks to this network of over 1,000 volunteers children go to bed with full tummies, seniors are not forced to choose between heating or eating and families can gather around a dinner table to share their day.
Portland, February 28th, 2015. The theme for the annual Club Cabaret was Denim and Diamonds. Over 300 supporters enjoyed the night at the Portland Art Museum benefiting the Northwest Academy. Fans donated $190,000 to support NWA’s Scholarship Fund by bidding on silent and live auction items. The highlight of the evening featured a spirited show with vintage western music that had guests tapping the toes of their cowboy boots. Produced by theater director Wade Willis, the performance included Northwest Academy dancers, vocalists and musicians. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus)
Jock Nelson, John Ripper, Will Vinton, Mary Vinton Folberg, Trista Nelson
Denim and Diamonds Performance by Northwest Academy students
Event Chair Betsy Meier and Head of School Mary Vinton Folberg
From Northwest Academy:
PROFICIENCY-BASED LEARNING
At Northwest Academy, knowledge, skill, and academic maturity – rather than chronological age – determine a student’s placement. Appropriate placement is critical to the school’s proficiency-based program. Proper placement positively affects a student’s motivation, initiative, and risk-taking, and it also impacts a student’s ability to succeed in subsequent years of study in a subject.
STRONG ACADEMIC AND ARTS PARTNERSHIP
Our arts and academic partnership promotes an environment in both arts and academic classes where a student’s multiple intelligences can flourish. Through their arts experiences, our students acquire skills and strategies–such as attention to detail, self-discipline, self-awareness, and risk-taking–that help them succeed in their academic classes.
SMALL CLASS SIZES AND PASSIONATE FACULTY
Northwest Academy’s commitment to small class sizes and access to faculty help students succeed at high levels. In our classrooms, no student can disappear or remain passive about his or her learning. Combined with an environment that encourages free and open inquiry, our teachers’ passion for their subject areas motivates student interest in learning and creative thinking.
DOWNTOWN PORTLAND CAMPUS
Northwest Academy’s campus is located in downtown Portland’s cultural district, near its public transportation hub. Surrounded by the Portland Art Museum, the Central Library, the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, the Northwest Film Center, and Portland State University, Northwest Academy students and faculty participate in the cultural and academic offerings near campus.
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