Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC relief effort to benefit Gulf Coast hurricane victims

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College is doing its part to help the victims of the recent hurricanes. The college’s Theater Arts Department is hosting "PCC for Relief: An Afternoon Performance for Gulf Coast Recovery" from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20 at the Performing Arts Center on the Sylvania Campus, 12000 S.W. 49th Ave. The event will raise awareness of the Gulf Coast disasters and give money to assist hurricane victims. Donations will be accepted at the door and all proceeds will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Many local artists and PCC students will perform monologues, dance and music. Some of the performers include artistic director Kimm Mahoney-Watson and her Kinetic Images Dance Company, John Mery (music instructor), Sylvia Gray (history instructor), Jane Zunkel (composition and literature instructor) and Dan Hays (theater manager and instructor). The production was conceived by Michael Najjar (theater arts instructor and director of PCC’s theater productions, including the relief benefit) as a response to the tragic events of the Hurricane Katrina disaster. The event is a collaboration of PCC Sylvania Interim Campus President Paul Hill, Hays and a host of faculty and students. For more information, please contact the box office at 503-977-4949. You can help the victims of the hurricanes and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. For more information about the American Red Cross, please call 1-800-HELP-NOW, or email info@usa.redcross.org.