All Posts in "Everything Else"

focused philanthropy is a powerful tool for change
Focused philanthropy is a powerful tool for change

Some problems seem beyond our control:  world hunger, child abuse, epidemics.  When you think about such thorny issues, you may feel helpless.

But break those problems down into smaller pieces, and you may find a way to tackle them.  Once upon a time smallpox ravaged the earth. It caused blindness. It deformed children.  It killed 300–500 million people during the 20th century. Just 32 years ago, through a combination of inoculation and education, it was eradicated.

Likewise, only 70 years ago, polio was a terrifying epidemic.  57,000 cases were reported in the U.S. that year.  In truth, more individuals died that year from cancer and tuberculosis, but public concern made polio the most feared disease. Today it has been essentially eliminated.
What role did philanthropy play?  The national campaign against polio is a good example.  Rather than appeal to wealthy benefactors, the March of Dimes invited small donations from millions of individuals.  This raised hundreds of millions and led directly to the development of vaccines.  By 1961 only 161 cases were reported in the US.

The lesson is that focused philanthropy is a powerful tool for change.   Your gifts to annual campaigns for all sorts of good causes have made America the most charitable nation on earth.   But sending a check is not the only option. Most nonprofits also welcome bequests that help them sustain their work.
Our state is home to more than 80,000 registered charities.  The combination of volunteerism and philanthropy accounts for more than half the revenue they report. Close your eyes, name an alarming issue, and you are almost certainly going to find a local or national nonprofit dedicated to addressing it.
Here’s a quick test:   Worried about Puget Sound pollution? At least seven nonprofits work on it:  Alliance for Puget Sound Shoreline; People for Puget Sound; Forterra; the Nature Conservancy; Puget Sound Restoration Fund; Puget Soundkeeper Alliance; the Trust for Public Land.  This does not count dozens of regional watershed efforts like Puget Creek Restoration Society.

In short:  pick a concern that keeps you awake.  Check the Internet to see if there’s a nonprofit focused on it.  Since big problems like that don’t disappear overnight, find out if they could use a gift in your will to support that work over the next 20 years.

Mike Robinson is Senior Vice President for Planned Giving at United Way of Pierce County.Please consult a qualified estate planner before making a gift in your will.

Contributing Author by — January 25, 2012 in Everything Else

Phoenix House operates a program called Dressed for Success where individuals can go to get professional clothing articles.
Phoenix Housing Network Dressed for Success area of professional clothing. Photos by Joan Cronk

For homeless families, there is no better place than Phoenix Housing Network (PHN). This group works hard on a daily basis to help homeless families stay off the street and find permanent or temporary housing.

Joy McDonald, Shelter Case Manager and Volunteer Coordinator for PHN said their shelter program utilizes a network of 27 churches and faith-based schools who volunteer to shelter families overnight.

“Each host site prepares an evening meal and brings it in,” she said, adding that they also provide crafts for the kids and one or two folks volunteer to spend the night with families.

“We have over 2,000 volunteers that work during the course of the year,” said McDonald, who added a large percentage of those volunteers are senior citizens.

Each church participates from one to two weeks out of the year and house approximately five families at a time.

Eighty-one year old Franko Fountaine, coordinator for Fircrest United Methodist Church, said his host site sees anywhere from four to five families twice a year.

Fountaine said his work with the group is always rewarding.  “I get the satisfaction of helping the community,” said Fountaine. “I grew up during the depression and my folks were on welfare. I know what it is like to go through tough times.”

He said some of the families were sleeping in their cars before they came to PHN.

Fircrest United Methodist Church offers a great area for families.

The large basement affords a private space for each family to set up for the night. The dining area has large round tables with lots of chairs, and the church community provides a hot meal and a breakfast.

McDonald explained that PHN is a transitional housing program and offer a number of services, shelter being only one.

McDonald said that each family has a case manager and is provided with services tailored to their specific needs.
PHN relies heavily on their volunteers.

The Day Center located at PHN offices at 7050 South G Street in Tacoma offers clients a place to do their laundry, cook meals, relax with their families and make phone calls.

“We provide services that allow families at the end of a two year period to stand on their own,” said McDonald.

One of those services is their Suited for Success program, which consists of a three-hour workshop and a choice of business clothing from their Clothing Boutique, which is stocked with professional clothing for all sizes.

The large, bright area offers dressing rooms along one wall and clean and pressed clothing displayed just like in the Malls.

Classes are given in drawing up a resume and beefing up one’s interview skills. Professional clothing donations are always needed.

Other classes offered include money management, domestic violence, women’s health issues, life skills, parenting, legal advocacy and fair housing.

Alan Brown, Director of PHN said, “Our objective is to get families housed. We work with 80 units of transitional and permanent housing in Pierce County.”
McDonald said PHN started out about 15 years ago and housed two or three families in local churches.

“That has grown into case management and now we serve over 100 families in housing in a year,” she said. “We could do more if we had more.”
She added PHN is always in need of clothing and hygiene donations and volunteers.

Anyone interested in donating or volunteering can contact Joy McDonald at (253) 471-5340.

Joan Cronk by — January 25, 2012 in Everything Else

Gail Kouame, consumer health outreach coordinator for National Network of Libraries of Medicine, will share how to find trusted health information on the Internet and recommend techniques for evaluating health-related websites. Kouame will present the information at a free event at the Bonney Lake Library, 18501 90th St E. on Jan. 21 at 11 a.m.  Friends of the Bonney Lake Library are sponsoring the event—Go to the Web and say ahh:  Finding and evaluating online health information.  For additional information on this event, call 253-548-3308 or go here.

Press Release by — January 9, 2012 in Everything Else

Tacoma Councilman Marty Campbell called the 2011-2012 biennium budget “a lot of moving targets” at a meeting held at the Portland Avenue Park and Community Center on Jan. 4.  One of those moving targets involves the Lighthouse and Beacon Senior Centers.  The City of Tacoma needs to make up for a $31 million shortfall on top of the $40 million dollars worth of cuts the city made last year. At  $1.7 million per biennium, the two senior centers budgets make up a tiny portion of the city’s budget, however, the city hopes to reduce that expenditure to something in the neighborhood of $700,000 by merging the two senior centers.  Campbell said that he would like an extension of at least three months (until March) to entertain some options although in his discussions so far he felt the director was leaning on keeping the Beacon open and closing the Lighthouse.

The footprint of the Lighthouse Senior Center is around 7,000 square feet while the Beacon Senior Center is 13,000.  This would seem to indicate a logical choice however; the parking at the Beacon leaves a lot to be desired as it is in an area of downtown Tacoma with limited parking and extremely steep hills.  One recommendation Campbell had entertained prior to the meeting was to have seniors park at the parking garage across from Freight House Square and take a shuttle bus from there but Campbell said it wasn’t a good option.  Community members were quick to ask Campbell if it was even possible to fit all the members into just one facility should the parking consideration be resolved.

The Pt. Defiance/Ruston Senior Center operates through a shared program with Franke Tobey Jones, a retirement community near Pt. Defiance Park and one community member asked if there were any talks with organizations willing to share costs with the city.  Campbell admitted that the city was in talks with a few organizations that might be willing to “adopt” a senior center and carry half the costs for one or both of the centers.

“These are the only programs we do for seniors in the city and that’s such a fraction of the budget,” said one community member who advocated that the city find other options aside from closing one or the other senior center.  Another added, “They have so much to offer it’s amazing.  It’s a life saver.”

Campbell offered that the seniors were very effective at calling him but suggested that calls also be made to the rest of the council and the mayor.  “Be your own best voice,” he said.

Name Position E-mail Address
Marilyn Strickland Mayor Marilyn.Strickland@cityoftacoma.org
Anders Ibsen Position 1 Anders.Ibsen@cityoftacoma.org
Jake Fey Position 2 Jake.Fey@cityoftacoma.org
Lauren Walker Position 3 Deputy Mayor Lauren.Walker@cityoftacoma.org
Marty Campbell Position 4 Marty.Campbell@cityoftacoma.org
Joe Lonergan Position 5 Joe.Lonergan@cityoftacoma.org
Victoria Woodards At-Large Position 6 Victoria.Woodards@cityoftacoma.org
David Boe At-Large Position 7 David.Boe@cityoftacoma.org
Ryan Mello At-Large/ Position 8 Ryan.Mello@cityoftacoma.org

To contact the mayor or council members via snail mail, write to:

747 Market Street, Suite 1200
Tacoma, WA 98402-3766
To contact the mayor or council members via phone:  (253) 591-5100

Bonnie Dickson by — January 5, 2012 in Everything Else