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January/February 2006 NW Newsmakers
Community News

Genny Nelson Winner of National Caring Award!

Bravo to Genny Nelson, co-founder of Sisters of the Road, on winning the 2005 National Caring Award. Given by The Caring Institute, the award honors the ten most caring men and women and five most caring young people in America as selected by a prestigious panel of judges each year.
The National Caring Awards reinforce the message that you can do well by doing good, and that success is defined by having a passionate concern for the welfare of others. It honors and promotes a new standard of social responsibility and the concept that one person can make a difference.

Past recipients include Mother Theresa, President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter; Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity; and Mary Jo Copeland, founder and driving force behind Caring & Sharing Hands.

Sisters Of The Road is modeled across the country as place of dignity and community for people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty. This Portland, Oregon café is open to everyone, serving hot nutritious meals for low cost ($1.25) that can be purchased in a variety of ways, including with cash, food stamps, or in exchange for work. Sisters also provides job training, support to parents and children, and innovative solutions to the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness.

U. Utah Phillips headlines Winterfolk 18 in Aid of Sisters of the Road
Gibson Hummingbird Guitar Raffled

Winterfolk 18, Portland's largest annual celebration of folk music, will take place at 7PM Saturday, February 4th at the Aladdin Theatre. Tickets go on sale December 15th, at Music Millennium, Ticketmaster, and the Aladdin Theatre box office at 3116 SE 11th Ave.

An annual benefit for Sisters Of The Road café, Winterfolk features some of the finest regional folk acts in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Begun in 1988, it has become an annual standing-room-only event that raises thousands of dollars to provide low- and no- cost meals at the café's location in Portland's Old Town/ Chinatown neighborhood.

Also raising thousands of dollars for Sisters' good work is the 11th annual Guitar Raffle. Tickets go on sale December 15 and cost $10 a piece, available at both Music Millennium locations: 3158 E Burnside St. and 801 NW 23rd Ave. This year's guitar is truly spectacular: a new Gibson Hummingbird with a cherry sunburst finish, rosewood bridge, solid mahogany back, sides and neck, mother-of-pearl headstock inlay, and classic Hummingbird-theme pickguard. Gibson's suggested retail price is $3,229. As an added benefit, U. Utah Phillips will sign the guitar from the stage during Winterfolk!

Ruling Your World Talk and Book Signing in Portland

At a time when we often feel that our lives are out of control, Sakyong Mipham, hailed as an "East-West Renaissance Lama" (and the leader of Shambhala Meditation Centers worldwide), will talk about his new book Ruling Your World, offering strategies rooted in the ancient warrior tradition of Shambhala. Learn how to approach everything from the smallest decisions to life’s biggest setbacks with total confidence, clarity, and purpose. Public talk and book-signing held on Friday, January 27, 7:30 pm at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave. Tickets are $12 advance/$15 at the door. Tickets are available at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne, 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd., at all Safeway TicketsWest ticket centers, and online at www.ticketswest.com. Sponsored by the Portland Shambhala Center and Powell’s Books.

A Ruling Your World workshop led by Sakyong Mipham—with practical instruction on the key principles of rulership, including guided meditation—will take place on Saturday, January 28, 9am-5 pm at the First Congregational Church, 1126 SW Park Ave. All are welcome but space is limited. Workshop donation is $75. To pre-register or for more information, please visit www.portlandshambhala.org.

Free Pranic Healing Clinic

There is a sign outside the Multnomah Art Center in SW Portland every Tuesday that invites the public to come to a free Healing Clinic. Pranic Healers have been gathering in this space for two years now to practice their skills and offer treatment for various complaints from stress to physical pain. The Tuesday sessions are open to the public who may be curious to explore energy healing or a current health issue.

Pranic Healing is a non-touch energy healing modality. Pranic Healing also changes our awareness of how we can make subtle shifts to enhance our daily lives. Practitioners learn about energy hygiene to prevent burnout and contamination. Parents can learn to bring down fevers and heal earaches and sore tummies. People can do treatments on themselves to heal chronic ailments and relieve pain or depression. Everyone is welcome to join for meditation or a healing at the following locations in Portland....

• Multnomah Art Center, 7:15 pm Tuesdays
  7688 SW Capital Hwy, info Andrea (503-293-0481
• Peoples Food Co-op, 10 am Wednesdays
  3029 SE 21st Ave, info Skye (503-232-7663
• The Center Ring, 7 pm Sundays
  5339 SE Foster Rd., Micah (503-230-0906

Washington’s First Organic Soap

Seattle, WA. – Nov. 25th, 2005 – Ballard Organics is now certified organic through the Washington State Department of Agriculture. With this certification Ballard Organics is now the only company to ever be approved by the WSDA to produce certified organic soap.

Ballard Organics’ owner Ben Busby-Collins says he applied for certification so his customers could be assured that Ballard Organics soaps are the purest around. "With so many questionable labeling practices out there, I wanted my customers to know that the claims we make about our ingredients are true".

Mr. Busby-Collins started Ballard Organics as Ballard Soapworks in April 2005 with the goal of making the best soap possible. "I began using organic foods and buying organic products a couple of years ago, so it was a natural progression to start using organic oils in my soaps". When the switch was made to organic ingredients, Ballard Soapworks became Ballard Organics. For more information visit www.ballardorganics.com.

Community Holistic Health Fair

Portland Center for Spiritual Awareness is running a free Holistic Health Fair on Sunday, January 22 from 12pm to 3pm at the Oregon Convention Center, Room F150, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in Portland. They will be offering free demonstrations and samples from caring professionals in Spiritual Mind Treatment, Reiki, rituals, nutrition, hormone balancing, music therapy and more. They also invite the community to attend a Celebration Service at 10:30am before the Fair. For more information call 503-261-0677.