(NAME-MCE) Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality Turns 10!

[Anselmo Villanueva]

 [image: statesmanjournal.com]


April 21, 2009

Equality coalition turns 10
Local leaders praise group's growth into a community force
*
By Dennis Thompson Jr.
Statesman Journal*

The Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality celebrated its 10th anniversary
Monday amid some high-powered company.

The group that gathered for the luncheon included Salem Mayor Janet Taylor,
Police Chief Jerry Moore, Salem/Keizer School Superintendent Sandy Husk,
Marion County Commissioner Janet Carlson and former Oregon Supreme Court
Chief Justice Edwin Peterson.

Not bad for an advocacy group that started a decade ago with 24 dedicated
volunteers, said coalition Executive Director Eduardo Angulo.

"We did a lot of rallies. We did a lot of marches. We did a lot of
demonstrations," Angulo told the lunch crowd of more than 100 people. "I've
got to tell you, it's been a ride."

Local leaders spoke in praise of the coalition's growth during the years
into a force for community good.

The coalition focuses much of its work on children, providing
parent-education classes and volunteer mentoring for students attending
troubled schools.

Husk recalled a recent incident at a local high school in which two groups
of students were facing off and threatening violence.

The school district called the coalition for help, and the next day parents
were on the high school's campus, helping to defuse the situation.

"No need for law enforcement. No need for school resource officers," Husk
said. "It was very good work."

Taylor praised the coalition's efforts to involve Salem's Latino population
more fully in the community, schools and government.

"We are trying to build a great city, and they make a difference every day
in our community," Taylor said.

Salem attorney Eric Lindauer echoed Taylor's sentiments.

"There are so many parts of the community we've pushed aside, that we've
pushed to the margins," said Lindauer, who volunteers for the Oregon
Community Foundation. "Are we going to continue to push them out, are we
going to continue to marginalize them, or are we going to put our arms
around them?"

*dmthomps at StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6719*

Additional Facts

Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality Initiatives: Parent Organizing Project.
Parents are taught how to get involved in their child's school. They attend
workshops that teach them about how the education system works and how they
can advocate for their child.

McKay Area Coalition for Student Success. The program brings volunteers and
mentors into Northeast Salem schools to help combat that area's low reading
and math scores, high dropout rates and lower graduation rates.

*PLEASE SUPPORT OUR WORK IN THE COMMUNITY:  Together We Can Do It!*

*Make Check or Pledge address to Salem/Keizer Coalition for Equality—Po Box
4296 Salem, Oregon 97302*
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