“Hey, let’s get our bikes, we can go over to the Sandy River. There is a lifeguard there today and it’s supposed to be a hot one. We can even take the MAX back with our bikes!”

How would you feel waking up every morning knowing that every day will hold unforgettable adventures, bonding with a diverse group of co-explorers, facing exciting challenges, learning life lessons from trusted mentors, and looking back at the end of each journey with a sense of the world around you grown closer and full of possibility?

Camp Bike Fun will run two to three week long summer programs between June and August 2010 for 10 to 15 year olds. Cost is 190 per week- with scholarships available. Bicycles and helmets (and more) are provided by the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Registration begins in March at the North Portland Bike Works. 3901 N Mississippi Ave. Portland. 503-287-1098.

http://www.northportlandbikeworks.org/

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Laura at Believe Movement Studio wants the neighborhood to know about all the FREE stuff going on this month!

FREE Body Composition Analysis; Saturday, December 5th  from 12PM – 4PM

An incredibly informative session that will determine lean muscle mass. Great baseline information to start your new year goals off right. No appointment necessary. Should take around 20 minutes.

FREE Teacher Training Yoga Class;  Saturdays, December 5th, 12th, and 19th from 5PM – 6:30PM

This is an ALL-LEVELS class that is taught by the current Prananda Yoga Teacher Trainees. It is supervised by Joy Wolfe (director). Tell your friends. This is part of the training so you are helping the trainees too! First come, first serve basis.

FREE Yoga Classes for Seniors; Mondays at 1 PM (ongoing)
On a personal note, I’ve been going to yoga classes at Believe Movement Studio for the past few weeks and I highly recommend them!  The space is lovely and welcoming and you get personal attention and instruction from the teachers.  Make sure you check out their calendar, rates and events at www.believemovementstudio.com.

This article is being re-printed with permission from the latest Safe Routes to Schools newsletter put out by the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

- By Dr. Jennifer Rupert, MD

What do walking and biking to school have to do with obesity, mental health, and asthma? — A lot! Children who walk and bike to school have higher physical activity levels throughout the day, helping them meet the recommended 60 minutes of activity daily. This level of activity helps prevent childhood obesity and supports healthy bones.

Walking and biking to school is also a great way for kids to get the physical activity needed for healthy minds. Kids who are more physically active have better academic performance. Studies are also beginning to show that exposure to nature and free outdoor play can reduce stress and relieve ADHD symptoms.

If that isn’t enough to get you out of your car, think about the air quality around a school when dozens of parents sit in idling cars while their children jump out. Air pollution has contributed to childhood asthma rates doubling between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Asthma rates remain at historically high levels and cause 14 million missed school days every year.

Walking and biking to school is healthy for kids, healthy for communities, and healthy for the planet.

Dr. Jennifer Rupert is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist practicing at Kaiser Permanente in North Portland. Dr. Rupert was one of six dignitaries to address James John Elementary students on Walk+Bike to School Day.

Join Lenore Bijan, a feisty and vibrant 78-year-young instructor as she generously shares her enormous talents with our neighborhood through yoga classes offered at Believe Movement Studio (8th and Dekum). Classes are free for seniors Mondays from 1-2 PM and everyone (of senior age) is welcome and encouraged to attend – even if you have never tried yoga. The greater the demand, the more classes Lenore will be able to offer, so spread the word and help this neighborhood resource/business thrive.

Article by Marilyn Mauch, Coordinator of the Backpack Lunch Program at Fremont United Methodist Church

For many students, the federally-sponsored school lunch is their main source for a nutritious, satisfying meal during the day.  If there’s not enough food in the house, these children can go hungry on the weekend when the school lunch isn’t available.  In its second year of operation, the Backpack Lunch Program puts food items for two weekend lunches each Friday into the backpacks of 40 children at Woodlawn Elementary.  The need is much greater.

Your food donations can make a difference.  We invite you to bring food donations to the monthly Woodlawn Neighborhood Association meetings, so that we can reach more Woodlawn Elementary students who are at risk of hunger on weekends.

Food items to donate:

* cans of chili, soup, ravioli in meat sauce, cans/boxes of mac n’ cheese

*  small juice boxes—100% juice only, no foil containers

*  individual-size fruit cups

*  small packages of crackers w/cheese, raisins or fruit snacks,

* granola bars (no peanuts)

Four NE Portland United Methodist Churches, including Woodlawn United Methodist, are working with community friends in this non-profit, all volunteer effort.  To learn more about the program, contact Marilyn Mauch at 503/287-3014 or Fremont United Methodist Church at 503/284-4647.

All residents of our community deserve equal access to services and opportunities. The trouble is that good jobs, high performing schools, social service agencies, and even grocery stores are not always conveniently located. Census data shows that poverty now extends past the inner Portland neighborhoods to the County’s outer reaches. Yet, basic amenities and services such as parks, sidewalks, health clinics, and social service agencies are still concentrated in Portland’s inner core. Language and other cultural barriers may also stand in the way of people of color and immigrant communities seeking to connect with these vital resources.

Your input will inform how federal dollars are spent on programs addressing equitable access to services for households in Multnomah County.  You’re invited to a public hearing on equitable access to services, as part of the process of developing the 2010-2015 Consolidated Plan.
Where:          King Elementary School Cafeteria
Date:           Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Time:           6:00-8:00 pm
Trimet:         Bus lines 6 & 72 (www.trimet.org)

If you can’t attend this hearing, there are four other convenient ways to comment. Read the rest of this entry »

1st Annual BBQ – Saturday Sept. 26th
noon-3pm at 5431 NE 20th Avenue

The Firehouse Restaurant, located at 711 NE Dekum Street, is selling tickets for a five-course dinner benefiting the Woodlawn Children’s Garden. The event will be held on Tuesday, October 6th, with a no-host cocktail hour beginning at 6:00pm, followed by a family-style supper featuring fruits and vegetables grown in the Children’s Garden. Tickets for the event are $50, which includes dinner with wine, and are tax-deductible. The evening will include a short speech by Portland Parks commissioner Nick Fish, and an opportunity to tour the garden from 5:00pm – 6:00pm. Please use the contact information above for tickets and other ways to support the Children’s Garden.

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Your input is needed as the Portland Bureau of Transportation plans improvements to the MLK-Columbia (and Lombard) area! The focus of the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is about freight mobility, but input from the Woodlawn neighborhood is particularly needed to ensure that the needs of pedestrians (especially parents and small children coming from north of Lombard to Woodlawn school) and bicyclists are understood and incorporated as much as possible.  Come to the next meetings:

Thursday, September 24 from 3:30-5:30 pm (follows an agenda)

Thursday, October 15 from 4-7 pm (open house – drop in anytime)

Both meetings are at the Oregon Humane Society at 1067 NE Columbia Blvd. Portland, OR 97211

ALSO – Woodlawn School will be talking with parents and proposing changes to how traffic approaches the school to ensure the safety of children.  If you are a parent, you’ll hear about it at Back to School Night (Sept 24) and we’ll keep you posted here…

From neighbor Gregg Lavender, a re-post from LivableStreets.com:

Where are social networks created? The answers often embrace institutions such as work and school and today, a host of online communities, while the neighborhood block, a historically vibrant source of local relationships, has largely become a disconnected collection of houses and residents. For many communities, this trend of fewer informal links within a neighborhood has been associated with a heightened sense of risks that threaten the health and well being of neighborhood residents and their children. Furthermore, studies have shown that neighborliness influences perceptions of health and reinforces the local relationships enabling response to community concerns. Read the rest of this entry »