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Giving BackPrograms and People Who Make Things Better |
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Sometimes stereotypes paint the 425 area as a completely wealthy, happy, healthy place. But just like everywhere else, the region has its challenges. The truth is that the 425 area is quite diverse. On one hand, there’s plenty of need, but there are also a number of generous people who dedicate their time and resources to causes they believe in. Whether your passion lies in rescuing abandoned animals, protecting the environment, supporting the arts or working with at-risk kids and families, there are plenty of amazing organizations in the 425 area and beyond that you can support. Read on to discover how you too can give back. Organization Name: Overlake Hospital Foundation, Bellevue What does your organization do? The Overlake Hospital Foundation was established to raise funds needed for capital improvements, patient programs and investments in medical technology at Overlake Hospital Medical Center. After nearly 50 years serving our community, many people still don’t realize Overlake is a nonprofit organization that receives no local tax support. The hospital relies on donations to continually invest in the life-saving equipment and technology that are necessary to provide area residents with world-class healthcare.
One of the Overlake Hospital Foundation’s recent projects was our South Tower Capital Campaign that helped fund Overlake’s campus expansion project. The Foundation was instrumental in reaching out to local businesses and individuals to raise nearly $15 million of the $134 million project cost. This expansion was critical to the hospital’s ability to serve the growing Eastside population. Through this fundraising effort and the generous community response, the hospital was able to add a new five-story patient care tower with an additional 104, mostly-private, patient rooms, as well as an expanded emergency and trauma center, a new critical care unit, six additional operating rooms and four floors of underground parking. Between now and Dec. 31, the Foundation is completing the community portion of the campaign. Anyone interested in supporting Overlake can contact Larry Richards, Director of Major and Planned Gifts, at 425.688.5533 or larry.richards@overlakehospital.org.
It is important to me that the time I put into volunteer work provides a positive impact. I believe there is no better way to achieve this than through supporting high quality healthcare. The Overlake Hospital Foundation provides important funding that enables Overlake to provide exceptional care to residents in our region. As an employer, I feel a responsibility for ensuring that the people in my company have access to the best quality healthcare. As chairman of the Overlake Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees, I serve with many dedicated professionals who share that belief. We believe in Overlake and the quality and compassion shown to every patient.
There are many ways individuals can support the hospital in addition to writing a check. Volunteering your time at the hospital is one way to give back. Overlake volunteers provide assistance to the nurses and staff and offer friendly smiles and welcome comfort to patients. Some volunteers in our Healing Arts program play piano in the lobby; others knit hats for newborns or bring specially trained pets to visit patients. We even have our own “Mirth Lady” who dresses in costumes and encourages patients and visitors to laugh as an aid to healing. For more information on volunteering at Overlake, contact volunteer services at 425.688.5552. Joining or establishing an auxiliary is another way to support Overlake. Our auxiliaries host a range of events throughout the year, from the senior care pancake breakfast, to perfect pairings/perfect settings, to the annual bandage ball gala and auction. Extra hands are always needed—and appreciated—to make these events successful and fun. For more information on joining an auxiliary, e-mail auxiliaries@overlakehospital.org.
Launched during Live Earth/SOS (7/7/07), our web-based carbon calculator is a unique three-minute survey that helps individuals learn about their environmental footprint. Ours is the first carbon and lifestyle calculator of its kind and is one of the few that allows individuals to save their results upon completion. They can come back, make pledges (based on suggestions on how to reduce their score), track their reductions over time, and develop their own plan for incorporating a more “earth friendly” lifestyle. The EarthLab Web site is a leading global warming/climate crisis community that provides a practical guide to green living through community interaction, advice from experts and easy, simple steps individuals can take to have a positive impact on the planet.
The EarthLab Foundation is developing a curriculum that provides online and classroom interactive lessons that teach children (kindergarten through 12th grade) how to be good stewards of the environment. Plans are in development for a “kids’” calculator. It’s engaging corporations to educate their customers and employees on specific actions they can take to reduce their impact on the planet. EarthLab maintains the belief that technology has the power to make a positive long-term contribution to solving the world’s environmental challenges through education and localized analysis.
I have had a strong interest in and concern for the environment since childhood, and I have tried to have a positive impact on the planet, either through the positions I have held or through volunteer work. The consensus is in, and climate change is real. It represents the biggest threat to our planet, our economy and our quality of life. It’s very gratifying to be involved with building an online community that is educating people on the issues surrounding the climate crisis and motivating them to make changes in their lives that will help the planet. We have received tremendous positive feedback about EarthLab.com and the carbon footprint test, and our message has resonated so well that we have had close to 2 million people take the test and join our online community in just over a year.
Go to earthlab.com, take the three-minute carbon footprint test, find out your score, then make pledges to reduce your score and start your plan for decreasing your impact on the planet. Tell your friends about EarthLab, challenge them to see who can reduce their score the most, write to us and tell us what motivated you take action (your “green light” moment) and share your tips with us.
Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. Hopelink’s work is based on the belief that every person has a right to a safe place to live, sufficient healthy food to eat, decent educational and employment opportunities, and access to affordable, quality healthcare. Hopelink provides emergency services, food, housing, heating assistance, transportation access to medical appointments, access to basic literacy and educational opportunities, financial literacy assistance, employment training and living wage job opportunities – supported by individualized case management to provide a foundation for families as they access these building blocks of success. These are areas in which families living in poverty often need support and assistance to make changes that will allow them to move permanently out of poverty. Hopelink’s work is based on the premise that as all families in North and East King County thrive, so do our communities.
Hopelink helps the community every day through dozens of services provided throughout 77 square miles of North and East King County. Last year, Hopelink helped more than 1,000 students gain reading, math, job readiness, financial management and other skills through Adult Education classes and tutoring. In that same period of time, Hopelink enabled more than 5,000 families to keep their lights on through Energy Assistance, and provided more than 1,000,000 rides to important appointments, work or school through our transportation division. Every year, Hopelink helps families and individuals secure a safe place to sleep with nearly 100 units of housing. Last year, nearly 7,000 people were able to avoid homelessness through Hopelink programs including eviction prevention, transitional housing and rental assistance, and our six food banks provided nutritious food to 12,707 people.
The work we do at Hopelink is important to me because we are able to give individuals and families the tools, encouragement and support they need to visualize, and then create, a better future for themselves and their children. The ways in which we help people gain and apply skills that help them move out of poverty and create a better life for themselves, their families and for succeeding generations, touches my heart and makes me feel optimistic about the future for all of us. I am very fortunate to lead an organization made up of so many dedicated staff and community volunteers committed to helping people create a future filled with hope. It’s my inspiration.
Hopelink needs all kinds of support to continue helping people who need that hand to move permanently out of poverty. You can: Volunteer. We need people to teach ESL or money management skills, provide tutoring in basic literacy or subjects covered on the GED exam, sort or distribute food at our food banks, deliver food to homebound clients, and much more. Participate in a campaign. Hopelink has several drives during the course of the year. In the spring and summer, our “End Summer Hunger” campaign stocks food bank shelves for the summer for families with kids who normally eat free or reduced cost meals during the school year. Hopelink’s “Kids Need School Supplies” campaign equips kids with the supplies they need to succeed in school. And each autumn, our “Holiday Food and Gift Drives” enable Hopelink families to select presents to give to the children in their lives and choose festive foods for holiday meals.
PACE was organized to design, build, launch and operate a state-of-the-art, 2,000-seat performing arts center in downtown Bellevue, serving the entire Eastside. The PACE Board of Directors consists of 32 of the region’s most successful and influential leaders, engaged in a $160 million capital campaign. The project is currently in the design development phase and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2011. When complete, PACE will offer an Eastside performing home to Seattle Symphony, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Bellevue Philharmonic, among others, and will present an extensive season of the world’s finest performing artists. The facility itself will be notable nationally for the intimacy of its connection to the urban infrastructure that surrounds it.
PACE will bring the world’s finest performing artists to planet 425. Our seasons will present music, theatre and dance programs selected for the unique audience we serve. From hot jazz to orchestral classics, ballet to Broadway, country stars and opera divas, comedy, drama, and a speakers series of the finest minds and most compelling ideas of our time. We will also work with schools and social agencies to extend and improve the quality of arts education for Eastside residents, and especially for young audiences. We are acutely aware of the things that make 425 unique in the nation, and we are creating a cultural organization tailored to its needs.
I’m an evangelist for the power of arts and culture in communities. Our greatness as a nation – and our future as a healthy, strong, just, and compassionate society – lies both in our remarkable diversity and in our individual capacity to embrace and celebrate it. The Arts are as indispensable to a successful community as good health care, universal education, a strong economy or effective systems of politics, transportation, communications and law. And the Eastside is ready – overdue, in fact – for a cultural institution to match its extraordinary achievements as a residential, business and retail center.
PACE has numerous volunteer opportunities, including the Act One Guild (which has raised almost $1 million so far through special events), the newly-formed Act Two Guild and the PACE Ambassadors. Call 425.462.4295 or visit pac-eastside.org.
We help infants and children with special needs. Kindering Center targets infants and children whose development is affected by biological disabilities or environmental factors that impact an array of skill areas including cognitive, motor, communication, feeding and behavior. Children come to us for services because of a wide range of conditions, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder; Cerebral Palsy; chromosomal abnormalities; congenital heart failure; Down syndrome; metabolic disorders; the effects of prematurity; seizures; visual and/or hearing impairments; and abuse or neglect. Kindering Center is the largest neurodevelopment center in Washington State and the only center serving urban East King County. Kindering Center’s programs provide services throughout the Eastside (early intervention), King County (CHERISH program for foster care), Washington State (Fathers Network), and even nationwide (e.g. Sibling Support Project). Last year 36 different languages were spoken by the 2,610 children and families who received services. Families represent the full range of socio-economic status. Children from Spanish-speaking families represent 10 percent of our total early intervention program enrollment. The Washington State Infant and Toddler Early Intervention Project estimate that 2.5 percent of children zero to three years of age are disabled. In addition to children with identified disabilities and delays, approximately 23 percent of children zero to five years old in Washington State are born with two or more risk factors that jeopardize school-readiness.
Kindering provides the following services to children and their families: comprehensive developmental assessments; physical, speech, and mental health therapies; special education; childcare consultation; nutrition and feeding therapy; foster and kinship care interventions; family counseling; and parent education.
There are so many reasons. I’ve served on the Kindering Center Board of Directors since my son Jordan turned three years old and graduated from Kindering. The years go by so quickly, and it’s hard for me to believe that Jordan is already a high school senior! Kindering Center was there for us when we really needed it – just as it has been for thousands of families that have gone through its doors. The Kindering Center had such a profound impact in helping us navigate through such a tough time in our lives, that I can’t imagine not being involved with this very special organization. I want to make sure that Kindering Center will always be an integral part of the Eastside community and able to offer the kind of services and moral support that was available for our family when we needed it. Having a child with special needs can be an incredibly isolating experience. Watching your child progress at Kindering Center has a way of “normalizing” the experience. Kindering helps to inform you in addition to working with your child, and it gives you some of the tools you need to help your child succeed. Being around other people that had children with similar challenges was the first step towards putting things in perspective for our family. The staff couldn’t have been more supportive, professional and caring – to all of us. Besides just writing a check, how can anyone reading this magazine help? Kindering Center’s volunteers are instrumental in meeting our mission. You can go to kindering.org for a full list of opportunities, but they range from administrative support, to staff training on the use of the latest and greatest software programs. We love having volunteers for our auction committee, and can always use help with procuring items for the big event. We’re always looking for committed community members to serve on our board of directors, too. Believe me – it’s always been an honor to serve on behalf of this amazing organization. But don’t be afraid to “just write a check” too. Kindering Center accepts all children in its program area that need its services, whether or not they can afford to pay for them. Those checks allow that to happen, so don’t be afraid to write a big one!
The Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), a Northwest leader since 1967, shelters homeless companion animals, rehabilitates injured and orphaned wildlife and empowers people to demonstrate compassion and respect for animals in their daily lives.
Companion Animal Sheltering and Adoption – PAWS places up to 4,000 cats and dogs each year in loving, responsible homes, provides training and education to strengthen the human/animal bond and works to end animal cruelty and overpopulation. We do this through the operation of a shelter, our satellite adoption facility Cat City, spay and neuter clinic, lost and found services, as well as by offering animal behavior resources. PAWS was the first animal shelter in Washington State to end euthanasia of healthy and adoptable pets. PAWS also supports wildlife care and rehabilitation at the PAWS Wildlife Center; youth education programs and advocacy.
The PAWS mission is important to me because in my life I have been positively affected by my experiences with animals and the general respect that I have for nature and the environment. It also feels incredible inside knowing that you've helped animals who really need the help and that would not be receiving care. Helping animals for me is a way to give something back to your community that has given and continues to give to us all.
Anyone can act compassionately toward animals by speaking and doing things with their well-being in mind. Examples include adopting from a shelter, getting your pet spayed or neutered, preparing an animal-friendly vegetarian meal for your friends or family, wait to trim trees or shrubs until after baby birds and mammals have left the nest. In addition, PAWS offers a variety of ways to volunteer including hands-on care for animals, walking dogs, providing administrative support, attending outreach events, and more. People who care about animals and want to make a difference in their communities can also sign up for PAWS e-newsletters to learn how they can take action. Sign up at paws.org.
What does your organization do? We battle the number one cause of death in America – heart disease. The Hope has a nearly 50-year history of revolutionary medical advances and educational curriculums that make heart disease more treatable, beatable and preventable. Many of our programs are free, but for those that do have a cost; inability to pay will never prevent a person or group from receiving a program. That’s how strongly we believe in our mission.
We take a comprehensive approach to the fight against heart disease, through both research and education. Our scientists work at the Hope Heart Program at the Benaroya Research Institute, studying the extra cellular matrix to uncover new ways to prevent and treat cardiovascular illnesses. We partner with the area’s top cardiologists to bring clinical research to Pacific Northwest patients, who wouldn’t otherwise have access to the newest treatments. Because many forms of heart disease are preventable, our heart curriculums are in schools, helping teachers meet state learning requirements in health, fitness, and science. The curriculums, called Kids Take Heart, Youth Take Heart, and Teen Take Heart, reach about 6,000 students a year. Free community outreach programs like Parents Take Heart, Women Take Heart, and free stroke screenings target populations most at risk with tools for living healthy and full lives.
Everyone knows someone affected by heart disease. Even though we’ve come a long way in medicine and education, heart disease is taking more lives than the next 5 causes combined. There’s much more work to do. The Hope creates solutions for healthier families. Forming healthy habits at an early age is key, and we love the spill-over effect: when kids come home excited about eating well and being active. It spurs the family to play basketball after dinner and snack on fresh fruit. Our mission includes reaching people with less health care access. Free stroke screenings and Women Take Heart programs connect communities to local resources and realistic tools for healthy living. The science behind the disease is critical. We can live a healthy life and still get heart disease. The discoveries in our molecular and clinical research are incredibly exciting; the disease will look very different in the future.
You can tell your son or daughter’s teacher about our programs at the elementary, middle, and high school level – programs that align with state learning requirements. Come volunteer at one of our community outreach events; share your story with us, of how heart disease has affected you or someone you love. Subscribe to the Hope Health Letter, the most widely read health publication in the world (the sale of this newsletter covers our administrative costs). Most importantly, take the best care of your heart. That gives us hope.
What is the purpose of your organization? We are a lifeline for kids and families on the Eastside. We offer a wide range of services to keep families healthy. Our organization started in the ‘60’s mostly to help families facing drug problems. YES was originally started by the community. Volunteers came together, and we are now licensed to provide mental health services to kids and family members, drug and alcohol outpatient services. Our services are designed to prevent problems such as abuse, teen dating violence and teen pregnancy. However we do offer services that respond to problems that are already occurring. We catch them when they do fall.
General counseling, individual and group mental help, drug and alcohol abuse counseling are some of our biggest causes. Specifically, we have a mentoring program called Success. Qualified volunteers are asked to stick with one of our kids for a year, help them stay healthy and stay in school, offer homework help and guidance. We also have Eastside Healthy Start that helps with teen moms. We also have a youth violence program and an outreach teen dating violence program. We serve a lot of newcomers, or immigrants. This is huge for the Eastside, because things are changing around here pretty fast.
I believe that our youth really are our future. I had a healthy family growing up, but when you see kids as an adult that are hurting, it’s just very hard to see. Knowing you can be there and make a difference means the world to me and doing something that really matters is amazing. Just understanding that sometimes, “it” happens, but helping kids bounce back and get through it is so rewarding. Besides just writing a check, how can anyone reading help? Certainly volunteering, everything form being a mentor to answering the phones, helping with fundraising, donate back-to-school items, backpacks, etc. During the holiday time, we have an adopt-a-family program. Go to fundraisers. It’s a huge challenge to get donors sometimes because there’s a stereotype about the Eastside not having low income families. People have to understand that it can happen to anyone, across all income and cultural levels. For the full story pick up the latest copy of 425 magazine. Subscriptions are available by phone at 425.646.1380 or you may order your subscription online. |
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CommentsAndrea (Bellevue) Nov 25, 2008 11:36 AM
I think there are tons of worthy organizations not mentioned. I'm guessing that if they wrote about all of them, they would fill the magazines for the rest of the year. But I think Rennie has a point. Maybe there will be more stories like this in the future. This was very inspirational. I bet it could be a regular feature! So many good things happening on the Eastside. This story is a great start! More!
Rennie (Bellevue ) Nov 24, 2008 6:36 PM
All of the organizations are worthy a mention but in the case of the arts I was a dissapointed to see no mention of Bellevue Art Museum or the Bellevue Philharmonic or Bellevue Ballet. I think PACE is a great dream project but we need to pay more attention to the arts groups currently on the Eastside making a difference in people's lives every day. It seems the sexy new projects get all the attention while in the capital building phase only to be tossed aside when a new toy comes along...come on!
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