Published: October 10, 2006

The News-Register staff

Numerous events and activities will take place during National Hands and Words are Not for Hurting Week, Oct. 15-21, a spotlight on ending abuse and violence.

n Many area churches will acknowledge Hands and Words during services Sunday, Oct. 15, or Sunday, Oct. 22. Some will have tables at which churchgoers can make purple hands, similar to the Hands and Words Project logo. At others, youngsters will lead the hands pledge.

n The Purple Pail Project. More than three dozen area businesses will display purple pails, into which community members may drop signed "I will not use my hands or words for hurting myself or others" pledge forms. At the end of the week, each business will draw a name and award a door prize. All entrants will be eligible for the grand prize, a three-night stay on the coast.

n McMinnville School Board read a Hands and Words proclamation at its Monday meeting. Students from Memorial Elementary School led the pledge.

n Students in many local schools will mark the week. At Patton Middle School in McMinnville, for instance, leadership students plan an in-school Purple Pail Project with daily prizes. Other schools will have assemblies or recognize the week in classrooms. Many schools already use the Hands and Words pledge on a regular, often daily, basis.

n Incahoots, 905 N.E. Baker St., will host a Purple Hands tea party from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21. Purple hand-shaped cookies will be featured.

n Yamhill County Jail's female inmates will add more purple hand prints to their wall during the week. The women take the Hands and Words pledge on a daily basis. They also will have their own Purple Pail Project, and the door-prize winner will receive a makeover from hair designer Christa Ferguson.

n McMinnville City Council will read the Hands and Words proclamation tonight.

n Yamhill County Commissioners will read the proclamation Wednesday, Oct. 11.

n Hands and Words banners, decorated with purple hands, will stretch across Adams and Baker streets, starting Wednesday night. Posters, flyers and brochures about ending abuse and violence also will be on display around town.

Ann Kelly of Salem started the Hands and Words project as part of her effort to address the root causes of domestic violence. Kelly also started the annual domestic violence conference in Salem and served on the governor's task force to reduce school violence, a group that has focused on bullying and harassment.

Her Hands and Words effort soon became state-, nation- and worldwide. Hands and Words week, the third week in October, is part of a more extensive anti-violence effort - National Non-Violence Month.

For more information, check the website, www.handsproject.org, or call Gretchen Olson, local coordinator, at 503-835-0345.