The purpose of this non-profit corporation is to unite the Eastern European Communities in Oregon and promote Eastern European culture.
The objectives are as follows:
- To solicit active participation and support from the Eastern European Communities and other interested parties in Eastern European affairs.
- To enhance cultural, social, and economic ties among Eastern Europeans and Americans.
- To actively support charitable, educational and humanitarian causes.
- To support and advocate on behalf of underrepresented and marginalized Eastern European communities.
- To organize and participate in community activities to promote Eastern European awareness.
- To organize and support the Annual Russian-speaking Youth Leadership Conference.
- To preserve Eastern European culture, language, customs and values.
- Those additional purposes which are not set forth in the articles of Incorporation, and which may from time to time be added to by laws by amendment.
EEC plan on concentrating on the following projects:
a) Russian-Speaking Youth Leadership Conference. This Conference of 200-300 high school Russian-speaking students from Oregon and SW Washington has been in existence for the past 22 years and has been organized by a loose group of volunteers. The Conference will be held in a convenient location, and in the past each participating high school or organization has contributed $30 for each student to attend.
b) Russian Festival/Conference. This activity has not previously existed. We plan on building a network of experts in many different fields – education, health care, law enforcement, business, government – and hold an annual conference where workshops of interest in the Russian-speaking community can be attended. These educational opportunities will be held in concert with a celebration of Russian music, food, art, and language. Fees will be reasonable and have not yet been calculated.
c) Community Advocacy. This activity has been done by a loose group of organizations and volunteers for many years, but the quality of work has been lacking, mostly due to lack of funding and staff time. Our organization plans on finding funding opportunities that will allow us to hire qualified staff to spend targeted time on advocating for Russian-speaking children and families, those seeking jobs and training, and businesses and organizations that serve Russian-speaking clients.
d) Promoting East European Cultures and Languages. We will actively seek opportunities to promote interest and understanding of the East European cultures and languages. The Portland area has around 150,000 people from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and one of our goals is to show the value to our society of maintaining these cultures here in Portland. We will place advertisements, hold trainings, and build a network in and around Portland that will address these community needs.