FISH Food Banks of Pierce County will host a fund-raising dinner and auction May 8 in support of the organization’s seven food banks and eight mobile food bank sites.
Silent and live auctions, dinner and dancing to live music by the Kim Archer Band will be part of the event from 6 to 10 p.m. at Hotel Murano’s Bicentennial Pavilion in Tacoma. Tickets or tables can be purchased at www.fishfoodbanks.org/events/nourish-dinner-auction.
FISH Food Banks serve as many as 50,000 people each month.
Additional information is available at 253-383-3164 and nourish@fishfoodbanks.org.
Silver and blue pinwheels that will begin appearing soon around Pierce County are part of an effort to call attention to child abuse and a county program that supports victims.
For the second year, the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is planting pinwheels during April, which is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. The pinwheels are a symbol for the happy, healthy and carefree childhood every child deserves, CASA officials said.
Pinwheels will be popping up in locations ranging from Frontier Park in Graham and Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway to multiple spots in Tacoma. The latter will include a “garden†of 750 pinwheels in the lawn of Pierce County Juvenile Court – one for each child without a CASA.
Officials said there are more than 1,500 abuse and neglected children in the foster care system in Pierce County. CASAs are volunteers who advocate for the children so that their needs are met in the system. CASAs remind all of the parties involved – social workers, attorneys, parents, judges – that the child is the focus of the case, and the child needs a permanent, safe, stable home.
There are about 250 CASAs in Pierce County, and 750 children who don’t have a CASA. Pinwheels for Prevention raises public awareness of child abuse and the need for CASAs who can help prevent abuse and neglect. More information about CASA is available from Carrie Appling at 253-798-3837 and http://piercecasa.org/.
Pinwheels for Prevention is a national campaign that was started in 2008 by Prevent Child Abuse America and Healthy Families America.
This is how Wesley Homes Bradley Park would look from the front. (Courtesy graphic)
Wesley Homes, which operates two retirement communities in King County, is in the midst of a fund-raising drive as part of the planned construction of a new community in Pierce County.
The not-for-profit organization has purchased land in Puyallup near South Hill Mall that would be the site of the 62-resident Wesley Homes Bradley Park. Ground will be broken for the $65 million project when funds raised from individuals and businesses reach $3.5 million, which is half of the $7 million philanthropic goal.
A fund-raising team is headed by Jayne Absher, the honorary chairwoman. More information about it is available from campaign manager Jamie Gregory at 206-870-1212 or jgregory@wesleyhomes.org.
The 14-acre site of the project borders the south side of Bradley Lake Park, a city of Puyallup park which has a small lake for fishing, paved walking trails and other recreation facilities.
Wesley Homes, a not-for-profit organization, is affiliated with the Pacific Northwest Conference of United Methodist Church. It operates retirement communities in Des Moines and the Lea Hills area of Auburn.
The Puyallup community, with all levels of care, would give seniors in east Pierce County an opportunity for security and socialization while aging in place, according to Wesley Homes officials. Amenities and nearby services would include:
• Nearby shopping and medical facilities.
• Private accommodations for independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled-nursing and rehabilitation.
• A health and wellness center with a variety of classes.
• Dining venues and meal options with chef-prepared menu choices.
• Social and intellectual activities on-campus and off-site, large common spaces for community events, and other common spaces for smaller events and activities open to relatives and friends.
• Pastoral and spiritual activities for all faiths and beliefs.
With caregiving considered the new normal in families, four public meetings in University Place, Tacoma and Puyallup have been scheduled for informal discussions on resources and help for long-term family caregivers.
The discussions, sponsored by Pierce County’s Community Connections and Aging and Disability Resource Center, will explore ways families share responsibilities, how to handle caregiver duties and avoid burnout, the challenges most caregivers face and the resources that are available.
The free events, each about an hour long, are scheduled for:
• April 11 at 11 a.m. at the University Place branch of Pierce County Library, 3609 Market Pl. W.
• April 13 at 12:10 p.m. at the Pierce County Annex, 2401 S. 35th St. in Tacoma.
• April 15 at 12:10 p.m. at the County-City Building’s Rainier conference room (seventh floor), 930 S. Tacoma Ave. in Tacoma.
• April 15 at 6:30 p.m. at the Puyallup Public Library, 324 S. Meridian.
Aging and Disability Resource Center coordinates the Family Caregiver Support program that upports family caregivers. The program serves over 2,000 families countywide, a spokesman said.
One in four families are in caregiving roles to help members stay in home surroundings instead of moving to formal care facilities.
