November 26th	Thanksgiving - Where the Sidewalk Begins - Closed
November 27th	Where the Sidewalk Begins - Open 8am - 5:30pm
Nov. 30 - Jan. 11	12,000 Books in 12 Days - Reading for All Holiday Book Drive
December 2	First Wednesday - "Holiday Traditions"  - Wine Tasting - Trinity Vinyards - 5-8pm (Click Here for More Info)  - Complimentary gift wrapping
December 10	Where the Sidewalk Begins   - Men's Private Shopping Night at 5-8pm   - Beer tasting provided by Oakshire Brewing   - Complimentary hors d'houvres   - Complimentary gift wrapping and more   - Please R.S.V.P. by Dec. 7
December 12	Parade of Lights  - Where the Sidewalk Begins - Open until 9pm  - Stop by and sample our assortment of flavored hot chocolate
Dec. 21-Jan. 3	Holiday Break - No school

Break the Chain Apparel NOW available AT WHERE THE SIDEWALK BEGINS

Launching Nov. 27th


Break the Chain Apparel was founded in 2006 by domestic survivor Tammi Burns. Tammi formed a team of people who aspired to make positive changes in the lives of others by creating “clothing with a voice,” clothing with messages that would inspire social change. Tammi’s vision is twofold: to use apparel as a tool to help fund social programs, and to inspire change by making stylish messages against violence and addition. “These messages speak so you don’t have to,” says Tammi. “It allows the person wearing the clothing to speak out while remaining non-invasive.” For more information, call Where the Sidewalk Begins at 503-364-2933 or visit www.breakthechainapparel.com.

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Tucker Tree Farm and Salem Keizer Education Foundation (SKEF) want you to have an Awesome Christmas!

Purchase a tree and mention SKEF, and Tucker Tree Farm will donate $3.50 to SKEF.

Wear your Awesome T-shirt to Tucker Tree Farm and receive $5.00 off the price of the tree. Tucker Tree Farm will also donate $3.50 to the SKEF.

While at the tree farm, make your own wreath, have your picture taken, sample some wine, drink some hot cocoa and eat a cookie. Bring the whole family for a fun, festive and holiday-filled day at Tucker Tree Farm.

 

 

12, 000 Books in 12 Days Reading for ALL Holiday Book Drive

READING HELPS KIDS SUCCEED IN LIFE!

Students all across Marion County are facing unprecedented challenges that create barriers to success. Supporting reading will help them to succeed in school and in life.
 
A countywide book drive will be taking place the first 12 days of December for new or gently used children's books to distribute to children, youth and families in need in Marion County.

There are many ways you can volunteer for this excellent opportunity! Beginning today, go through your own books and see what you can donate. This is a great way to spend Family Volunteer Day on 11/21!

Various Volunteer Opportunities from 11/30-12/14
Various tasks could include, but are not limited to: * transporting collection bins & books to/from partners * assembling packets * calling partner organizations * and more!!!!

Drive Thru Book Collector on 12/11
Volunteers are needed to staff the drive thru collection site on Friday, December 11th between 8:00am - 5:30pm. Volunteers will assist drivers who come through the book lane to collect their books and put them in the receptacle. Shifts will be for 1-2 hours at a time.

Book Sorter on 12/19
Help the team to sort, sticker and process collected books for distribution to community programs.

Book Sorter on 1/18
Help the team to sort, sticker and process books from the book drive to prepare them for distribution to community partners. Note: This is an excellent way to engage in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service!

Read to and with Kids flexible dates and times
Volunteer with a school in the county to read with children and help them to advance their reading proficiency. We will assist you in finding a school or program in your area that needs your help!

 

For additional information contact Cathy Crocker at 503-588-7975
www.Reading4All.com

By Lisa DeBruyckere

Norma Sadler Hansen – Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Volunteer

Norma Sadler Hansen – Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Volunteer

Norma Sadler Hansen had her priorities when she was raising children-being a good parent-but now that her children are adults; she chooses to give a great deal of her time and energy to the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation through local Chambers of Commerce. Why?

"An educated population makes better parents, better providers, better employees, and better citizens," Norma said. In other words, an educated population creates healthy communities that provide quality of life for its citizens. Norma wants to be a part of creating that kind of community.

"I believe education is the single most important experience for a child," Norma said. "I want to be a part of something that I consider essential for our community."

Volunteering is considered by some a balancing act-a person gives up something to dedicate time to something else. Norma reflects on the times in her life when parenting and raising a family prevented her from being a volunteer. Now that she has the time to volunteer, she realizes a double return on her investment-giving back to those that gave to her in the past, and networking and meeting others that share her passion for education.

"I think it is my responsibility to give back for all the times someone did something that was positive for me or for my family," said Norma.  And besides, it feels wonderful!  It is a fantastic way to connect with others in areas one might not normally travel."

Norma’s volunteer contribution to the annual Crystal Apple Awards reinforces her belief in the quality of teachers in the Salem-Keizer area as well as the important role of the Foundation.

"I am always impressed with the fine educators this event highlights, and I know there are many, many more people doing the same great things under the radar," commented Norma. "I appreciate the Foundation’s role and the support of both Chambers in bringing them the recognition they so richly deserve. It is very gratifying to be a part of it all."

And it is gratifying to see volunteers like Norma dedicated to community excellence.

By Lisa DeBruyckere

Mt. West Investment Corporation - The Essence of Legacy

The great poet Walt Whitman once said, "The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give." This must indeed be the case, given the generous philanthropic record of the Mountain West Investment Corporation. Since founding his company 13 years ago, Larry Tokarski has repeatedly donated to numerous community organizations, many with a focus on the elderly and children.

From giving students at risk of dropping out of school a second chance (21st Century Schoolhouse) to supporting a network of homes where foster children are guaranteed a roof over their heads (Forever Homes), Mountain West Investment Corporation has been a stalwart of philanthropy in the Salem-Keizer communities.

To recognize excellence in education, Larry initiated the idea for the Crystal Apple Awards 13 years ago. The award, which celebrates and recognizes teachers, administrators, and support staff who exceed expectations of their profession and engage community in their work, has been so successful that it has been replicated in communities throughout the United States.
But the giving doesn’t stop with Larry. His son, Jason Tokarski, has a vision for continuing the great legacy of his father.

"Suffice it to say that I have a healthy appreciation for the importance of supporting a variety of local interests, and have witnessed firsthand, over the years, my father’s commitment to Salem and its citizens - the focus being on children and the elderly," said Jason.

That commitment includes the seed planted 13 years ago - The Crystal Apple Awards - that continues to mean a great deal to the company and its family.

"Involvement in the Crystal Apple Awards gives us the opportunity to recognize those who have dedicated themselves to the motivation and inspiration of the rising generation," said Jason. "It’s exciting to think of the positive impact these extraordinary educators have on their students and peers. We count it a privilege to support education in this way and be a small part of honoring those who inspire all of us to be better."

Inspiration - the essence of legacy.

233 Commercial St. NE Salem, OR 97301 Phone: 503-364-2933 Monday - Saturday 9:30 - 5:30 Directions

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Save the Date

Break the Chain Apparel NOW available AT WHERE THE SIDEWALK BEGINS

Launching Nov. 27th


Break the Chain Apparel was founded in 2006 by domestic survivor Tammi Burns. Tammi formed a team of people who aspired to make positive changes in the lives of others by creating “clothing with a voice,” clothing with messages that would inspire social change. Tammi’s vision is twofold: to use apparel as a tool to help fund social programs, and to inspire change by making stylish messages against violence and addition. “These messages speak so you don’t have to,” says Tammi. “It allows the person wearing the clothing to speak out while remaining non-invasive.”

For more information, call Where the Sidewalk Begins at 503-364-2933 or visit www.breakthechainapparel.com

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About Oakshire Brewing Company: Oakshire Brewing Company of Eugene, OR was founded in October 2006 (as Willamette Brewing – changed to Oakshire Brewing in July 2008) by Native Oregonian brothers Jeff and Chris Althouse. With the singular goal of brewing the highest quality artisan beer, Oakshire has become recognized for consistently brewing fresh, unique and delicious beers in relatively small batches. Oakshire has an active blog on the web at http://oakbrew.com and they also offer brewery tours and beer tasting at their brewery every Saturday from 12-4pm. The brewery is located at 1055 Madera Street in Eugene. They can be reached at info@oakbrew.com or at (541) 688-4555. For  Men’s  night, we will be sampling and have available for purchase,  their Great American Brew Festival silver winner, Overcast Espresso Stout, as well as, their Watershed IPA and the Ill Tempered Gnome.

 

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For the Holidays

Make sure to stop by and check out the new holiday ornaments, decorations and unique gift ideas!!

Hours:
Mon-Sat  9:30-5:30

View More Pictures!

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Tucker Tree Farm and Salem Keizer Education Foundation (SKEF) want you to have an Awesome Christmas!

Purchase a tree and mention SKEF, and Tucker Tree Farm will donate $3.50 to SKEF.

Wear your Awesome T-shirt to Tucker Tree Farm and receive $5.00 off the price of the tree. Tucker Tree Farm will also donate $3.50 to the SKEF.

While at the tree farm, make your own wreath, have your picture taken, sample some wine, drink some hot cocoa and eat a cookie. Bring the whole family for a fun, festive and holiday-filled day at Tucker Tree Farm.

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Here for the Holidays

Living up to its name and in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, we are pleased to have Ambassador, Salem’s Riverfront Carousel’s official representative. It will be showcased in our front window through the holidays, helping welcome you to Where the Sidewalk Begins. A special thanks to the Carousel’s Executive Director Marie Bradford-Blevins and her team for making our holiday even more special. While here, be sure to pick up your “Buy 1 Ride, Get 1 Free” carousel ride coupon.

http://www.salemcarousel.org/

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Service Learning Club

Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2009, teacher James Decker along with his Service Learning Club and some other volunteers went to West Salem High School to help clean up, remove invasive species (English ivy, blackberry bushes, etc.), create trails, weed and spread bark dust. There were a total of 85 people that ended up taking part in this activity. The goal was to give back to the community, learn about making a difference and honor veteran’s on Veteran’s Day.

Each child worked hard and had a great time. Thanks also to the City of Salem and the folks at West Salem High School who worked in conjunction with Houck Middle School, helping in a myriad of ways.

View More Pictures!

Mission Statement: Ordinary people making positive changes in the lives of others by creating clothing with a voice; that inspires social changes while using apparel  as tools to help fund social programs.

Where the Sidewalk Begins is the only location in Salem where Break the Chain apparel is located. A perfect fit – two local organizations making positive changes in the lives of others. Salem-Keizer Education Foundation  helps support the academic culture of teaching and learning and Break the Chain helps fund several local shelters and services in Benton, Lane, Linn, Marion and Polk counties.
For more information or to see styles and sizes available, go to www.breakthechainapparel.com.

Come Read with Me
Adria Farina-Miller
Richmond Elementary School

By Lisa DeBruyckere

At first glance, reading seems like an individual activity. Not so, according to Richmond Elementary School Library Media Specialist Adria Farina-Miller.

"Research conducted over the last thirty years demonstrates that there is a direct link between parental involvement and the ongoing development of literacy skills," said Adria. "The more opportunities we give families to share good books with kids, the more success those kids will have in school and beyond."

Because of these statistics, Richmond Elementary School began offering a monthly family reading night in 2008.

Adria said, "We opened the library to families to read together, listen to story time, or just share the joy of a good book. In addition, parents were encouraged to check out books to take home and read with their kids."

This has all of the makings of a success story, except for one key element—adequate resources to feed the demand.

"As the year went on, we became aware that Richmond served as the primary access many Latino families have to library materials," said Adria. "The increase in parents checking out Spanish language materials created a demand that our library was unable to meet. This deficit limits the potential of Spanish-speaking families to develop literacy skills at home and disadvantages the academic success of these students."

The solution? Adria developed a $8,649 "Come Read With Me" grant proposal to obtain funds to purchase high quality books relevant to families in the Salem-Keizer community.

"The ‘Come Read With Me’ grant makes popular, culturally relevant literature available to a population of students and families that are currently underserved at Richmond," said Adria. "Students and their families experience the library as a place for them to learn and explore.  As a result of Richmond’s focus on family literacy, a second vision is emerging—to expand the scope of the project to include access to computer-based literacy resources."

The Salem-Keizer Education Foundation awarded the grant at the September 2009 annual awards ceremony.

"The role of the S-K Education Foundation is invaluable," commented Adria. "Not every school district is fortunate enough to have a foundation so committed to the success of its youth.  The value the Salem-Keizer community places on education is demonstrated by the involvement of so many people supporting endeavors of the S-K Foundation. When times are hard, budgets are tight, and families are making considerable sacrifices just to get by, the generous support of the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation makes dreams possible that would otherwise go unrealized. 

FASTSIGNS - Mark Smith

One Salem business' own is realizing his life dream and giving back to the community that is helping to make his business successful. Mark Smith, owner of FASTSIGNS on Commercial in Salem, has owned the company for over three years. He purchased it from someone who started the company 10 years earlier.

"I started my career in advertising and marketing, and have been in sales for the past 20 years," said Mark. "Owning my own business and being in better control of my own financial destiny has always been a goal of mine."

And caring for the community that is helping him to realize his life dream is an important component of his life plan.


"We are a big believer in supporting the education of our youth, and support that belief by sponsoring a number of educational groups throughout the Salem area," Mark said. "We have worked and partnered with the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation for a number of years, and felt this was a good way to support and encourage the many other businesses to get involved with the Foundation."

But with the many nonprofits that exist in the Salem area and Oregon, in general, why this Foundation? Part of it has to do with the challenges we face educating youth today. Small businesses can play a role in creating a sound environment for learning to occur.

"Businesses can assist with intern or apprenticeship opportunities—whether short term or longer term—speaking out, and getting involved in educational issues in their respective communities and of course, sponsoring either with money or time in educational-focused events," said Mark.

And the role of the Foundation?

"They are a strong ancillary source of financial support through the business community," noted Mark. "Most businesses understand the need to get involved in their communities to some extent to help build their businesses. Many have budgets set aside for causes like the Foundation, but simply need a face to go with it." The Foundation provides that face, and companies like FASTSIGNS and business owners like Mark Smith are pleased to be associated with the Foundation.

Mark has also offered enthusiastic support for the Foundation's Great Educator Circle.

West Salem High School Teacher Named Milken National Educator

By Susan Castillo

The high-quality teaching and learning that happens in our classrooms across the state everyday is vital to student success. We know that talented teachers are the foundation of our education system and that the most successful teachers carry with them a belief that all students are capable of great things. They come to the classroom everyday looking for ways to connect with their students around the learning process to instill a love of learning and a record of academic achievement.

This is especially true of West Salem High School social studies teacher Drew Moneke and Gladstone High School science teacher Kevin Zerzan. It was with great pleasure that I joined with Lowell Milken, chairman and co-founder of the Milken Family Foundation, earlier this week to award them both with the Milken Family Foundation National Educator Award. Both teachers were each recognized in surprise ceremonies at their respective schools on November 17th where they both received a $25,000 cash prize.

Both Drew and Kevin have a special way of connecting with their students and take learning beyond the routine to bring history and science alive for their students.

Drew Moneke of West Salem High School teaches about 120-135 students a day spread over 4 sections. His AP History classes are particularly popular. He’s been known to dress up in Army uniform and knock over desks to create a trench-like war atmosphere. He works hard to create a dynamic classroom that keeps students engaged and active in the learning process. This hard work has paid off. He typically convinces 95% of his students to take the Advanced Placement (AP) exams each year; 80% of those students go on to earn a passing grade. His students know that he is always available to help them. He’s created a website that’s makes expectations clear. Students know exactly what they are going to learn and also what they need to do to succeed on an assignment. His students and their parents comment on the phenomenal support he gives to his students. He has begun teaching credit recovery classes and I am sure that his enthusiastic and nurturing personality will help lead struggling students to great success.

Major Literacy Initiative Announced for the Northern Willamette Valley

Salem, OR –The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) today announced a three year, $1 million initiative to improve literacy in the Northern Willamette Valley region.  OCF will partner with the Marion County Children and Families Commission and the Polk and Yamhill County Commissions on Children and Families to expand a literacy model called Reading for all!

Reading for all! (RFA) was developed three years ago by the Marion County Children and Families Commission to support student success.  RFA is a community mobilization strategy designed to be inclusive; it involves all community members including individuals, families, organizations and systems in an effort to improve both children’s and family literacy. 

With funding from OCF, three facilitators will be hired, one in each county, to coordinate "Reading for all!" They will work with local commissions and community volunteers to implement OCF’s Reading for all Initiative. 

"We would love to see all children enroll in kindergarten ready to learn and all parents understand the central role of literacy and vocabulary in early child," said, Sue Miller, OCF board member from the NWV Region. "Reading for all encourages the entire community to become involved in this goal."
The decision to focus on literacy in general, and Reading for All in particular, was made by OCF’s volunteer Northern Willamette Valley Leadership Council as a way to address a pressing problem in the region.

"OCF asked us to identify an issue in our region that we thought we could positively affect. Literacy quickly rose to the top of the list. We’re very excited to be able to implement Reading for all, a proven program, throughout the Northern Willamette valley," said Mike Blanchard, a member of the Leadership Council from Dallas.

The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships.

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Oil Can Henry's Partners with Salem-Keizer Education Foundation to support schools!

 

BECOME A SKEF VOLUNTEER

When the story of these times gets written, we want it to say that we did all we could, and it was more than anyone could have imagined. - Bono, U2 Lead Singer

It's the human factor that makes SKEF so successful. Volunteer your time to help make a difference to a student, a teacher, or another friend in the community. SKEF volunteers come from all walks of life, including senior citizens, retired professionals, service organizations, business partnerships, and students.

Volunteer opportunities can include clerical work, assisting with a class or workshop and preparing outreach class supplies, or working on one of our many great special events like the AWESOME 3000 or Crystal Apple Awards. If you have a special talent or skill you want to share, we will create an opportunity for you.

If you are interested in learning more about volunteering for SKEF, please contact us at info@skeducationfoundation.org or call (503) 364-2933.

• Plastic totes with lids
  
• Small ice machine
• Postage stamps
  
• Card Stock - Basic white
• Tab inserts for 3 ring binders
• Paper clip - regular size
• Menu printing needed - Call for details
• Grid shelves for Student Gallery/gift shop - Call for details
• Volunteers - Assorted office and clerical work - Call for details
  

Feel free to drop them off at Where the Sidewalk Begins gallery/gift shop at 233 Commercial St. NE Salem, OR. 97301 or call (503) 364-2933 to make other arrangements.