Archive for the ‘Volunteer Event’ Category

PELA News: See Art in the making in the Pearl!

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

This Labor Day Weekend is a great time to attend the Art in the Pearl Festival, held just north of PELA in the North Park Blocks.  Art in the Pearl is a community event where Portlanders get to enjoy creativity in many forms–dance, drama, painting & sculpture–as well as see art being made by local artists.  You can even create your own art!

Some of our PELA students will be attending this event as part of our Volunteer Program.  They will be greeting guests, helping artists, working information booths, and helping run various activities and events throughout the weekend.

At their Music Stage, you will enjoy music and dance performances from cultures around the world.

You can find information on the location and hours for Art in the Pearl here.

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PELA News: August Volunteer Activities

Friday, August 20th, 2010

Portland is a great place to not only learn English; you can participate in dozens of Volunteer Activites throughout the year! Volunteer activities are also great opportunities to use your English with locals!

Here’s three events PELA Volunteer+English program students are participating in this month:

8/18 - At the Portland Nature Conservancy, students will  help produce and distribute fliers, meet and talk with American volunteers, and work towards promoting greater awareness on what we can do to protect the natural beauty of Oregon!

8/21 – Alberta Street Fair is a day-long event in Northeast Portland is a great opportunity for our students to practice English and experience American culture.  With live music and performances, 150 vendors, childrens parade, and a beer garden, this is one really fun festival!  Money raised from the Fair go towards the Community Cycling Center. Our student Volunteers will work at the information booth, selling t-shirts and handing out festival information pamphlets.

8/26, 8/27, 8/28 – At the Festa Italiana, you can stomp grapes to make wine, enjoy music and dance performances, and eats a lot of Italian food!  Volunteers will help with admissions, helping out at the information booth, setting up displays, and helping to dismantle tents and booths at the end of the festival.  Volunteers will also receive a free meal!

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PELA News: Fishing with Foster Children

Monday, June 7th, 2010

This Saturday, June 12th, PELA students are invited to participate in the annual Kids Free Fishing Day at Hagg Lake. Every year, hundreds of foster children enjoy a day fishing at the lake, with volunteers providing breakfast and lunch, along with fishing poles, tackle and bait. 

This PELA Volunteer Event is a great opportunity for our students to interact with local children and adults in a fun-filled setting, getting to use their English in the real world as well as learn a little bit about American culture.

Foster children are kids who have been placed (by the government) in the homes of someone other than their parents–usually because the parents are unable to care for the children or the children were mistreated by their parents.

In the United States, there are many volunteer organizations which help needy children and families, and every year PELA works with several of these groups to bring happiness and love into the lives of people of all ages.

 

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PELA News: Volunteering in Portland

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Portland is a great place to not only learn English; you can participate in dozens of Volunteer Activites throughout the year, giving your support to events that raise money to fight disease and poverty, support education and sport programs, or just help people have a fun time! Volunteer activities are great opportunities to use your English with locals!

Here’s two events PELA Volunteer+English program students are participating in this month:

The Cascade AIDS Project’s annual Art & Auction Evening has raised over $4.4 million since 1990, and works towards preventing HIV infections, supporting people suffering from HIV/AIDS, and educating the community on what HIV/AIDS is. PELA students will work with the auction organizers, helping with event setup and the silent and oral auctions throughout the night.

The Hands On Greater Portland Cares Day is held every year in April, too. During one Saturday, more than 1,800 volunteers will plant trees, sort school supplies, paint and meet critical community needs. PELA students will help plant vegetables for families without enough money to buy food, as well as prepare boxes of school supplies for needy children. PELA students will also be working to clean up community parks which have become overgrown with invasive plants.

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PELA News: Welcome back from Spring Break!

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Today we welcome students back from Spring Break! Many of our students took advantage of this week-long vacation to travel around the United States, heading to Seattle & San Fransisco, Las Vegas, and various beaches along the Oregon Coast.

On Sunday, March 21st, over a dozen PELA students and teachers participated in the Walk for Water held at Waterfront Park. In addition to carrying water for 4 km around the city, students met the Kenyan Ambassador to the United States and enjoyed live African music! Come and check out photos from this event at our Photo Gallery!

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PELA News: PELA Walks for Water

Friday, March 19th, 2010

On Sunday, March 21, several PELA students and teachers will attend the 2010 Walk for Water, sponsored by the Portland Roasting Coffee company.  The Walk for Water is a fundraiser to help pay for the construction of two water wells in Kenya.  Each participant donates $20 for important projects in Africa, as well as carry buckets of water from one end of downtown Portland, highlighting the distance that Africans must walk in order to get clean water for their homes.

On a different note, over 30 students and teachers had a great time at our miniature golf party at Glowing Greens last Tuesday!  Visit our website and see photos from the event here!  Students loved this event so much, we plan on going back to Glowing Greens in the summer!

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Portland is the Beer Capital of America!

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Portland has been brewing beer since before Oregon was even a state.  Since 1985, we have been famous for having more kinds of beer made here than anywhere else in the U.S.  Is it any wonder that Portland hosts over 20 different beer festivals and events throughout the year?

These festivals are also great opportunities for our PELA students to volunteer!  Dozens of PELA students each year volunteer at the following festivals, using their English with local Portlanders!

 

Zoobrew (April 29th) Local beers are served and live music performed inside the Oregon Zoo!
Portland International Beer Festival (July 17th-19th) This festival invites beers from all over the world to compete with each other to see which beer is voted “Best in Beer”!
Oregon Brew Festival & Parade (July 23rd-26th) Over 70,000 people attend this event celebrating local beer-makers.
The Bite of Oregon (Aug 7th-9th) This festival celebrates local beer, wine and food!
Widmer Oktoberfest (Sept 4th-6th) This is the largest German Oktoberfest in Portland.
Holiday Ale Festival  (Dec 2nd-6th) This festival takes place in the heart of downtown Portland at Pioneer Courthouse Square next to Portland’s city tree.

We hope to see you in Portland at one of these festivals!

Last week we took our students to the Oregon Coast, to the cities of Seaside and Cannon Beach to enjoy a sunny day in the surf and sand.  Check out pictures from our beach trip in our photo gallery. In September, we will take our students to Sauvie Island enjoy getting lost in a local Corn Maze!

 

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