Concordia Neighborhood Association | Portland, Oregon

Author Archives: Web Manager

Combine labor of love with sense of purpose

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Health and Wellness

By Keren Brown Wilson, Ph.D

Labor Day is upon us. Started in 1882 to recognize the contributions of men and women in the U.S. workforce, in 1887 Oregon was the first state to make it a legal holiday.

Today it’s widely viewed as the unofficial last weekend of summer. But it’s still a celebration of the dignity of work, largely of the contributions that benefit society – like building things, caring for others or supporting the work of teams. And work implies a state of being worthy of esteem or respect.

Last month I mentioned that having purpose is an important element of successful aging. Tome, that’s related to dignity of work. Consider the phrase “labor of love.” Typically that’s something one does based on one’s interest in the work itself rather than any payment – work for one’s own enjoyment, or for the benefit of others.

For anyone who is retired from paid work – or sufficiently disabled to not work in the paid labor market – there is no barrier to being involved in a labor of love. It can give purpose to one’s life.

There is much to be done in our communities and for others in acts large and small. Imagine not only benefitting others, but yourself by various activities in which you get involved. Look around as you enjoy the last weekend of summer and ask yourself, “Where am I needed?”

Never think you are too old, too used up or too out of date to be able to contribute meaningfully as a part of aging gracefully… with purpose and with dignity.

Keren is president of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation. Based in Clackamas, the nonprofit helps elders live full lives with dignity. Its strategies focus on bridging the gap for elders, families and communities throughout the United States and around the globe. Contact her at 503.408-4088 or KWilson@jfrfoundation.org, or visit JFRFoundation.org.

Cully Camina invites you to ‘walk, go, trot, wend your way’

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Events

The Cully Association of Neighbors and Oregon Walks are partnering Sept. 18 for the first of a new series of free, pedestrian-focused open streets events. The 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cully Camina will encourage participants to explore the Cully neighborhood on foot and use the streets for play in Oregon Walks’ new Oregon Walkways program.

What’s a camina? Loosely translated, it’s the Spanish word to walk, go, trot, home in on and/or wend one’s way.

Inspired by the success of the city of Portland’s Sunday Parkways, this event will close off portions of Killingsworth Street and Alberta Court to cars and open them to people. The route will highlight the newly minted Living Cully Plaza and the forthcoming 42nd Avenue Plaza, with activities along Cully Blvd, Alberta Street and Alberta Court, especially in and around Khunamokwst Park. Booths for food and art vendors as well as local nonprofits will be located near both plaza areas.

Volunteers, vendors and participants are all invited. Volunteers are needed on the planning and outreach teams, and to direct traffic.

Potential vendors may email Inna Levin.

Sponsors already include: Metro, the city of Portland, Our 42nd Avenue, Living Cully, Verde, Hacienda CDC, Andando en Bicicleta en Cully and City Repair and individuals who live and work in the neighborhood.

Oregon Walks is a pedestrian advocacy organization that works to ensure walking and the conditions for walking are safe, convenient and attractive for everyone. Learn more about Cully Camina.

Stop! Look! Listen!You could save a life

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family

By Karen Wells

It’s back to school time. You can feel the excitement, the anticipation in the air. The shopping trips to get the new school clothes, gear and electronics – the stuff that makes it all possible.

If you do the traditional, round robin of shopping malls and outlets, you drive there and back, right? If you’re lucky, the ideal parking space awaits, right?

Remember to Stop! Look! Listen! Check for your children or other kids around your car before you park, after parking and before pulling out.

Kids are short. Parents are distracted. Kids are excited and curious. Parents are in a hurry. Cars have blind spots. Kids are oblivious to cars, both parked and moving. Parking lots and driveways are dangerous places, ripe for tragedy.

Stop! Look! Listen! Check where children might be before getting into your car. It takes seconds and could save a life.

According to KidsandCars.org, about 114 children younger than age five were killed in 2015 from backovers – cars that backed over unseen children – and frontovers – cars that moved slowly forward over unseen children.

Don’t leave a child younger than five unattended in a car, even for a minute. Heatstroke or another medical emergency can occur in moments. If the outside temperature is 70 and the windows are closed, it’s 125 inside that car.

We’re good parents. Let’s do our best to keep our children safe. Stop! Look! Listen!

karen-wells-100x100Karen is a master trainer in early childhood education at Oregon Center for Career Development in Childhood Care and Education. She provides health and safety training to parents and childcare staff via Child Care Resource and Referral of Multnomah County. Reach her at 5CornersFamily@gmail.com and 619.244.7892.

Aquifer Adventure September 17

Posted on by Posted in Events, Family, Volunteer Opportunities

Free family event - Aquifer Adventure - Sept 17 NE 166 and Airport Way

Saturday September 17, 12:00pm – 4:00pm

Big and little pirates alike are welcome to join us for a family festival all about groundwater! Play fun games and go on a scavenger hunt in search of hidden treasure – not gold, but groundwater, a precious resource that flows beneath your feet! Come dressed in yer finest pirate togs, or else the Cap’n might make ye walk the plank! Free kids T-shirts to the first 300 kids!

Location

Portland Water Bureau Launch
16650 NE Airport Way
Portland, OR 97230

Admisssion: Free

Learn more about the Aquifer Adventure

Black lives matter to shop, shoppers

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Local Businesses

By Ryan O’Connor

The owners of a Concordia neighborhood flower shop on Alberta Street know black lives matter. An artistic, handmade sign on the front door of their shop says so.

Beneath the words, “black lives matter,” Elie Wiesel is quoted. “Whenever & wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation, take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”

When news broke of the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, two black men killed by police in Louisiana and Minnesota, respectively, shop owners Mary Anne Huseby, Pat Hutchins and Lily Hutchins said they were devastated.

They believe they have the privilege of not worrying about how their white skin might affect their interactions with police and others in authority. They agreed they could not remain silent.

Lily proposed making the black lives matter sign, and Pat suggested adding the Holocaust survivor’s quote. Lily said she worried briefly the sign might cut down on walk-in traffic.

“But we all feel really empowered by stating our beliefs so clearly on the front door,” she explained. Overall, reactions from neighbors and customers have been positive.

Customers and passers-by have taken notice. John Middleton, a Concordia resident and longtime customer who is black explained, “The sign shows that ignoring and keeping a silent voice through all oppression is not OK.”

John started doing business with Flowers in Flight for the quality of the artistry. He believes some people have negative reactions to the sign, and that Flowers in Flight’s decision to retain the sign despite possible negative reactions means to him the owners care about people of color.

Mary Anne and Pat are sisters who have lived in northeast Portland for about 30 years, and started their business in 1984. Lily is Pat’s daughter, who joined them at work in 2012.

They have a racially diverse family, so they are aware of the issues facing people of color in Portland. Concordia’s history of diversity and the challenges presented by gentrification propelled them to post their sign.

Although the women did not post the sign to increase business, John reported he takes note of any store that posts one.

“I try to find a reason to go into to that business,” he said. “It has a huge influence on where I go, and it makes me feel better about the people who go to that business.”

1-Ryan-OConnorRyan O’Connor moved to Portland for college in 1997, and he and his family moved to the Concordia neighborhood a year ago. Most weekends, you can find them playing in Fernhill Park or walking to one of Concordia’s many excellent coffee shops or restaurants.

Concordia University’s K-Street Commons Dedication

Posted on by Posted in Events

k-street-commons

Friday, September 9, 2016

10:10 – 11:00 a.m.
1650 N.E. Killingsworth Street

Join us to bless Concordia University’s new K-Street Commons as we celebrate its opening and dedicate it for use by our students.

Designed for undergraduate students 25+, graduate students 21+, or married students, the K-Street Commons are just 15 blocks from Concordia’s main campus and include three different apartment options, on-site bike storage, and new retail shops on the ground floor.

RSVP: 503.280.8505 / events@cu-portland.edu

Reception and tours following ceremony.

Keep kids supported this summer

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family

By Jennifer Allison

Summer has come into full swing with longer days and later nights, and all the extra sunshine has everyone busy with activity. In the natural world, nature is teeming with life, plants are at their peak growth for the year, and animals are busy foraging and feeding their young.

We are all part of this cycle of life, and we can easily get swept into the energy that is available to us at this time. Our children are feeling it, too! They are out of their school rhythms, and there is a freedom that comes with that. In my household, it can be frazzling to have later nights and days full of activities.

How about you? Are you also feeling the fullness of summer in your home? When our kids are whirling with the day’s activities, it is nice to help bring some calm and groundedness back into their beings. That helps restore rest, and it supports the growth they are also experiencing during the summer.

As a follow up to last month’s column, here are some additional ways to support your kids now that summer is here, and the energy is running high.

  • Keep a consistent bedtime: What does this mean exactly? Well, if you are taking advantage of the later daylight, then you have probably moved bedtime back a bit. That is just fine, so keep it the same for your children. They still need eight to 10 hours minimum of rest per night, depending on their age, and more if they are younger. No child can do well with fewer than eight hours of sleep. Their bodies are still developing, and they need our help to get the rest they need.
  • Use natural remedies: In our house, we love to take Epsom salt baths and use essential oils on our bodies. Warm salt baths help to ground and support their bodies physically and emotionally. Essential oils, like lavender and chamomile, offer gentle therapeutic benefits. Also dilute the oils with carrier oil like almond or coconut oil, or another one you like. Start with just a small amount — one drop — to make sure your child doesn’t have a reaction.
  • Take an evening walk: Nature is healing. Children will do much better in the evening spending time outdoors on a walk, at a park or just in your backyard – as opposed to watching television or doing screen time before bed. Media can be a challenge for many children, winding them up and creating mental hyperactivity. It’s a good idea to bring some mindfulness about when you are allowing their interaction with media.

May these suggestions serve as tools to benefit your family on these long summer days, and to help keep healthy rhythms in your home!

Jennifer Allison is an early childhood educator at Gnome’s Home. Visit gnomeshome.org for information on classes for children and adults.

Pop-up café teaches zero waste

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Family, Local Businesses

It’s a pop-up café, it’s in Concordia, and it’s got kid-friendly activities scheduled throughout the month.

Comunid Cafe at Leaven is open every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Leaven Community/Salt and Light Lutheran Church on the corner of 20th Avenue and Killingsworth Street. Tea, coffee and pastries are available – all at suggested donation prices – and free wi-fi is available.

Kid-friendly activities planned for August include:

  • Aug. 4: iced and blended coffee and story time
  • Aug. 11: Italian sodas and bubble wands
  • Aug. 18: smoothies and balloon improv art

Run entirely by volunteers, the café is a partnership between Trash for Peace, the Leaven Community, Home Forward, Create Plenty and community members. Its slogan is, “Where zero waste, meets community, meets coffee.”

Along with community classes, the café is intended to educate youth and communities on reducing, reusing and rethinking waste, while additionally providing valuable nutrition education, vocation and businesses skills.

Learn more about about Comunid Café and other Trash for Peace programs. For additional information or to volunteer, email here.

Life changes as you age, but purpose shouldn’t

Posted on by Posted in Concordia News, Health and Wellness

By Keren Brown Wilson

Many are talking about the makeover of various Portland neighborhoods, including the Concordia community and surrounding areas. I leave that discussion for others. I want to talk about changes that occur when we age, and about how we react.

As someone who has worked with and on behalf of older adults for the past 40 years, I have observed many changes in myself, my family and my friends. Many of these occurred slowly. Some are relatively minor, such as changes in hair color and body shape, or decreases in hearing and eyesight. Others are more significant, like limitations in mobility and chronic conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure. And we note our forgetfulness with a certain anxiety in case it is a sign of dementia.

Then there are the social, psychological and economic changes. Our networks change as we lose friends, stop working, or limit our external activities for various reasons. We might experience the loss of a spouse or siblings. Children grow up and create their own lives. If school, raising a family and work occupied a large part of our lives, then who are we when that is in our past? Often our mentality shifts to conserving our personal and financial resources. Sometimes the response to these changes is to hunker down, avoid others and look inward.

Clearly maintaining good health, having opportunities to interact with others and being economically secure make it easier to age successfully. But there’s one strategy that does not require good health, a large social circle or money. It’s having purpose.

Purpose can take many forms, such as volunteering for an organization, taking care of grandchildren, caring for a pet, learning a new skill or becoming more knowledgeable about one’s religion. The question to ask oneself regularly is, “What gives my life purpose?” If the answer is “nothing,”then it is time to give some thought to what could bring purpose into your life.

We plan around our purpose, organize our lives around it and use it as a method to remain engaged in ways important to us physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally.

If you feel you have no purpose – and don’t know what it is – ask yourself this one important question, “What would motivate me to act?”

Keren Brown Wilson, Ph.D., is president of the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation. Based in Clackamas, the nonprofit helps elders live full lives with dignity. Its strategies focus on bridging the gap for elders, families, and communities throughout the United States and around the globe. Contact her at 503.408-4088 or kwilson@jfrfoundation.org, or visit the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation website.