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Rosa Olivares.

“I’d like to open a dialogue and not just throw information at you,” exclaimed Rosa Olivares, 1.5 Generation Mexicana and City of Newberg Community Engagement Specialist, as she started her presentation on “Engaging Newberg Latinos” last week. “Go ahead and ask questions, even if it might feel uncomfortable.”

Many questions were asked–in fact, there’s not enough room to include them all in this summary.

Like: How large is the Latino community in Newberg?

Rosa said that as of 2015, Latinos make up 12% of the population. That population breaks out into Mexican, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Nicaraguan and other Hispanic nationalities.

Like: How has that number changed over the years?

Rosa offered to share reports with lots of historical nformation on this. She said one of the biggest changes is that the population is not so migratory now and immigrants are settling down.

Like: What does “Latinx” mean?

Rosa explained that Spanish is a very gender-specific language. The “X”  is to express recognition of the LGBT community.

Like: How can Rotary engage more with the Latino community?

Rosa suggested three main things:

  • Know the basics about this group. Learn more about things such as demographics, history, family and culture
  • Participate/engage. She suggested that Rotarians “go where Latinos are.”  Be present at their activities. Be a volunteer. Be visible. She also suggested participating in the Chehalem Cultural Center’s Latino Heritage Month activities.
  • When planning an event or something, think bilingual. Maybe do part of the programming in Spanish.

And a “big no-no”: “Don’t invite a Hispanic to a Cinco de Mayo Celebration!” she laughed. “It’s not a Mexican holiday. It is not celebrated widely in Mexico. In fact, it’s only observed in the state of Puebla. But for some reason, in the U.S. it has become a huge event.”

Like: How many Latino-owned businesses are there in Newberg?

Rosa initially thought there might be about 6, but group discussion took the number higher.

Like: What are the needs of the Hispanic community in Newberg?

Rosa said there were three big ones: housing, access to education, and healthcare. She urged Rotarians to find ways to get involved with any of these issues, especially education by working with DACA students.  Note: The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA,was an American immigration policy that allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors, and had either entered or remained in the country illegally, to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for work.

Rosa also gave some historical perspective on Mexican in-migration. She said that during World War 2 there was a shortage of agricultural workers because of Americans’ involvement with the war effort. So Congress created the Bracero program, and mostly men migrated to the U.S.  to do seasonal work. These days, it is much more common for an entire family to move.

Past President Leah Griffith introduced Rosa.  She said they first met 12 years ago when Rosa was hired as the Library’s Latino Services Director.  Rosa is a grad of Oregon State and has an MBA from Willamette University.  “She developed the ‘Dia de Los Muertos’ celebration with the Cultural Center and has really made a connection with the community,” Leah said.  Then the City decided to have a community engagement specialist and hired Rosa.

Rosa ended with recommended reading, and has since sent me links to many of the reports she referenced. If you would like any of them, please email me.

GUESTS

Jake Ramirez from Water Bear attended, and was a valuable contributor to our meeting topic.

Spike Sumner introduced Ken Winder as his lunch guest.

Dan Keuler’s wife, Lydia, and baby son, Jackson, were able to join Dan for lunch again.

MISCELLANEOUS

Leah Griffith sent this photo of school kids using the new dictionaries supplied by our club. Thanks to all who volunteered with this project.

It’s not too late to donate a turkey to a family in need. Tony Lelack is again coordinating this effort through Excel Fitness. If you can, please drop off a 15-lb. one (feeds a family) there.

Ann Dolan now has the distinction of being accepted as the club’s first-ever “Friend of Rotary.” Congratulations and welcome, Ann.

Dec. 13 is the date for the upcoming election of club officers. Rotarians who wish to nominate themselves or others for officer or director positions for the 2018-19 Rotary Year should submit nominee names to Paula Radich no later than Wednesday, December 6th.

Note: If a Rotarian wishes to nominate a fellow Rotarian, the person who is nominated should agree to have his/her name placed on the ballot.

FACT OR FICTION: PEOPLE SWALLOW 8 SPIDERS A YEAR WHILE THEY SLEEP

Do you know how many spiders you eat at night while you are sleeping? Somehow club members found themselves discussing that creepy topic last week. Well, I had to Google it. Here’s what it said: “Fact is, the odds of swallowing even a single spider over your entire lifetime are so low that they’re virtually zero. In fact, it’s extremely unlikely a spider would even approach a sleeping human, much less crawl into their open mouth.”

Oh, thank goodness! Now maybe some of us can get some sleep again.

UPCOMING EVENTS

  • Past President Leah Griffith announced that plans are well underway for the Holiday Tree lighting event on Saturday, Dec. 2 in the Cultural District. It’s way more complicated than you might think. The City Public Works Dept. secures a tree, and PGE installs it. CPRD is in charge of making sure it is secure and standing straight, and TVF&R is in charge of installing lights. The Interact Club will help decorate it.  Leah said she ordered 900 electric candles to hand out to kids, as they were a big hit last year. Festivities will get underway at 3pm on the 2nd; Santa arrives at 5:30pm. A holiday craft fair and a kids craft sale are also planned.
  • Providence Newberg Health Foundation is sponsoring “An Evening of Hope” on Dec. 13, from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Chehalem Cultural Center. Well-known violinist Aaron Meyer will be performing. The event is to fund new technology which will help increase breast cancer detection and save more lives.  Tickets are $25, and are available at http://pnhf.ejoinme.org/benefit or by calling 503-537-1671.