Save the Muddy Waters

Hello,

This is a notice to let you know that Muddy Waters Community House is going to be shut down at the end of the week unless 10,000 dollars is raised to pay the bills. We are a non-profit, pro-community organization that has been caught in the wrath of the recession. Our focus has always been toward creating stronger, healthier people through an atmosphere of creativity, compassion, and contagious better good. We are an employee owned orginization which is transcending its former role in the business sector in order to actively serve and build our nieghborhood and community of southeast Portland, Oregon.We have had 2 Thanksgiving events feeding accumulatively 250+ people, we have had 2 fund raisers for a local homeless service obtaining $800 towards health provisions for the less fortunate of the city. The four owners have forfeited wages in order to insure our endeavors. We transformed the business from a coffee shop to a community. We have hosted a screening for Invisible Children, in order to bring awareness to Americans of what we can do about the children in Uganda. Every week we provide 30 gallons of coffee to the wonderful people that live outside in our city. Daily, there are 30+ people that call our shop their home. We support their art, feed their bodies, provide a stage for their music, listen to their stories, validate their purpose, and give them friendship.

Alot of people will be on the streets provided this does NOT happen, for they have put their livelihood on the line for this place, and as some may know, an extremely beautiful venue has just been finished in the back of the cafe to provide an extremely warm and aesthetic atmosphere for events, shows, and community gatherings like writing workshops that I will be facilitating through Write Around Portland to people with low-income or are otherwise not able to afford a quality writing workshop. ANY help would be appreciated. Also, I understand this is a very short notice but if you could do ANYTHING to help us with getting the word out, announcing, blogging, whatever, would be so much appreciated. You can donate online via paypal- Nworden08@yahoo.com.


Every night until Sunday starting today we are going to be open 24 hours. We will also be holding events every night as fundraisers from 5-10pm. On friday we will be holding a 'suprise' party at 7pm that will be 5 dollars, 21 and over. On Saturday we will be having music all day until 6pm. Colour, Loaded Bear, and Kelli Schaeffer will be playing at 7pm, 4 dollars, 21 and over. On Sunday we will be having the Bottom Up Radio Network broadcasting live with a live audience at 5pm. Portland Tree Co. and Mother Mackenzie will be playing at 7pm, 21 and over, 3 dollars. At 8pm we will be having our own “Date A Barsita Auction” at 8pm. In all the midst of this will include art shows, music and spoken word performances, and potlucks put on by the owners and supporters in the community. Thank you so much for reading this and for whatever future support you may provide.

Yrs,
Brian Anthony Hardie
2908 SE Belmont
503-888-9263

See also http://blogtown.portlandmercury.com/BlogtownPDX/archives/2010/01/05/muddy-waters-cafe-needs-10000-to-stay-open