03-19-2024  4:25 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
By Patricia | The Skanner News
Published: 28 July 2016

Portland Heroes Unite to Support Innovative Lung Cancer Research

Hundreds of local residents are joining forces to fight lung cancer, united in the belief that surviving lung cancer should be the expectation, not the exception. These everyday superheroes will be meeting at the Portland Free to Breathe 5K Run/Walk and 1-mile Walk on Sunday, August 21 at the Eastbank Esplanade – Main Street Plaza. All proceeds from the event support Free to Breathe, a lung cancer research and advocacy organization dedicated to doubling lung cancer survival by 2022.

It’s easy to join the ranks of these lung cancer heroes. Simply register, raise funds, and run or walk. “By fundraising and joining us on event day, you are bringing hope to those touched by the disease,” said volunteer event chair Glenna Marshall of Portland. “More treatment options are needed, and the innovative research we’re funding can help ensure everyone diagnosed with the disease has a fighting chance.”

The Free to Breathe events community has raised over $14 million to support groundbreaking research and educational programs since 2005. This year the organization will be funding two new lung cancer research grants totaling over $1.2 million dollars.

Last year, community members, teams, and companies across the region supported the Portland Free to Breathe 5K Run/Walk and 1-mile Walk by raising $34,900. Event chairs hope to surpass that total in 2016, which will go a long way in supporting programs specifically designed to ensure that more patients become survivors. Every dollar counts to the more than 224,000 people diagnosed in the U.S with lung cancer each year. In Oregon alone, an estimated 2,970 residents will be diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016.

This year’s event will feature a 5K Run/Walk and 1-mile Walk. The day will also include kids activities, the musical stylings of a local DJ, the chance to win prizes and fun for the whole family. Special recognition will be given to top finishers and fundraising heroes. Gather your superhero squad, and join us for an inspiring day focused on doubling lung cancer survival. To register and begin fundraising, visit www.freetobreathe.org/portland.

 

Portland Underground Graduate School Hosts Class on African American Poetry and Protest

The Portland Underground Graduate School (PUGS) is offering a 4-week course, Elegizing Black Lives, on African American poetry of mourning and protest. Targeted at anyone interested in learning the history behind recent racially-charged killings and the African American community’s poetic responses to those losses, the course will read poetry through a historic and contemporary lens. The class will read poems by Jean Toomer, Gwendolyn Brooks, Langston Hughes and Claudia Rankine, among others.

African American poetic elegies protest a long history of racist violence, from slavery and lynching to recent police killings and incarcerations. Reflecting on the death of Michael Brown, the poet Claudia Rankine wrote: “national mourning, as advocated by Black Lives Matter, is a mode of intervention and interruption.” Our discussion of poems from earlier eras will give participants tools to better appreciate contemporary artistic responses to racial violence, from poetry to Beyonce.

The PUGS class will meet Wednesdays, August 10-31 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the People’s Food Co-Op in SE at 3029 21st Ave. The course costs $100, and space is limited to 28 students. This course is for everyone--those who love poetry and those who have never read a line. Facilitated by Gabriele Hayden, the class will bring to bear her experience teaching African American poetry at Reed College and her scholarly research, including her discovery of an unpublished poem sequence by Langston Hughes on racism, policing, and incarceration.

For more information, visit the PUGS website: http://www.pugspdx.com/elegies.

The Portland Underground Graduate School is half learning, half community and operates an 11-month rotating calendar of 4-week courses designed to provide affordable ways to never stop learning.

For enrollment queries, scholarship requests and general inquiries, contact Valerie at coordinator@pugspdx.com

 

North Portland Library Announces August Computer Classes

The North Portland branch of the Multnomah County Library announces the following computer classes in August:

iPad Part 1*
2-part class to learn to use your iPad.
Mon, August 1 & 8, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Start Here: Code Your Own Website*
This class will give you an understanding of how HTML, CSS and JavaScript work to make a webpage display and function.
Tues, August 2, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Beginner's Guide to the Cloud*
Everyone's talking about "the cloud," but what do they mean? Take this class to find out.
Wed, August 3, 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

Start Here: Game Programming*
No experience programming? Are you curious about what it’s like? Then this class is for you. We will be learning some of the basics of programming by writing code for a game!
Tues, August 9, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Gone Blogging*
A blog (web log) is a great way to share your knowledge, practice writing and to express yourself. This class will help you get started.
Wed, August 10 & 17, 10:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m.

Start Here - Programming for Web Development *
Have you used HTML and CSS, but are ready to learn some JavaScript? Come to this class to learn the basic syntax of JavaScript, learn what a server has to do and spend some time talking about resources for learning server-side programming..
Tues, August 30, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

*It is important to see the online description for individual class requirements.

Computer Help Lab
For one-on-one assistance with computer/technology questions, help with resumes and other projects we have the Computer Lab. The lab has a scanner and color printer, and options for free faxing through the internet. The Lab is open during the following hours:
Monday/Tuesday 1-5 p.m. (Closed August 15 - 29)
Wednesday/Friday 1-3:30 p.m.
Saturday 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Tech Help
You can now book individual technology help time with the Computer Lab Coordinator. We can help you learn things like how to:
• Install and use library software. (OverDrive, 3M, Hoopla, Library catalog).
• Use your web browser.
• Navigate your smartphone.
• Stream movies on your mobile device.
• Download eBooks and audiobooks.
• Make the most of your eReader.
• Install apps on your smartphone or tablet.

 

Fore more Portland and Seattle area events, please see the Community Calendar.

Recently Published by The Skanner News

  • Default
  • Title
  • Date
  • Random

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast