2009 Volunteer and In-Kind Donation stats…WOW.
$113,616.00 – The total amount of gifts in kind/donations received – everything that comes through our front door. The categories listed below that have a dollar value are reflected in this grand total.
- 115 birthday cakes were donated ($1,150 at $10.00 per cake)
- 1,102 total volunteer hours
- 150 volunteers throughout the year
- 13 group yard projects were completed
- 38 volunteers volunteered on an ongoing basis (birthday cakes, birthday gifts, roberts cleaning, etc.)
- 151 quilts received ($13,090)
- Supply drive donations (toilet paper, paper towels, toys, books, etc) ($4,118)
- 2 cars donated ($2,575)
- Holidays (Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Back to School) ($56,839)
- Household furnishings (includes furniture and other household items) ($8,943)
And this total doesn’t even include the use of a duplex, donated every year by the South Hill Rotary, and other donated units across Pierce County.
Isn’t that amazing?? Thank you to each and every one of you that contributed to our families this year – this is $113,616 worth of assistance that went directly to serving some of the neediest families in our community. Kudos! You do it well, Pierce County!
Thank You from the staff of Helping Hand House…
Northwest Children’s Fund honors HHH with designation as a “Silver Anniversary Partner”
A letter from Northwest Children’s Fund Director Victoria Peattie Helm:
Dear Nola,
In 1985, four women were inspired to create something new and special in Seattle: an organization devoted to helping children in need, and to growing social service philanthropy among their peers. From this inspired beginning, Northwest Children’s Fund has evolved into one of the Northwest’s premier grant-making organizations, igniting the philanthropic spirit and connecting nearly ten million donor dollars to agencies like yours, who share our mission of ending child abuse and neglect.
I am writing on behalf of the NWCF Board of Directors to invite Helping Hand House to accept a designation as a “Silver Anniversary Partner” as Northwest Children’s Fund celebrates its first quarter century of connecting our community with children in need. You are one of 25 agencies that our Board of Directors has selected from our 300 past grant recipients for this designation.
While the designation does not carry any monetary value, we look forward to commemorating our relationship to date and to highlight the work of both of our organizations.
We hope that you will elect to accept our invitation, so that we may highlight your organization as one of NWCF’s longstanding partners in the fight against child abuse and neglect – and so that you may share with us this year in our celebrations and outreach efforts.
Sincerely,
Victoria Peattie Helm
Executive Director
Needless to say, we accepted the honor! Thank you to Northwest Children’s Fund for their long partnership with our families and mission at Helping Hand House. We’re proud to be serving, and honored to be recognized in such a way.
Milgard Lends Hand to Helping Hand House
Tacoma, WA, November 12, 2009 –When Milgard Windows & Doors presented an $8,334 grant to Helping Hand House, the Tacoma-based building products manufacturer brought to life the phrase “lending a hand to a neighbor in need.” Helping Hand house is one of three non-profit agencies sharing a $25,000 grant directed by Milgard from the Masco Corporation Foundation, the charitable arm of Milgard’s parent company, Masco. Other beneficiaries include Simi Valley Samaritan Center, Simi Valley, California, and A New Leaf, Mesa, Arizona.http://www.pr.com/press-release/192305
“Helping Hand House is dedicated to preventing and ending family homelessness right here in Pierce County, a cause particularly relevant in today’s economic environment,” said Milgard President, Gary Gessel. “The organization is the embodiment of the kind of community-based organization Milgard and its parent company, Masco, support through the Masco Corporation Foundation and our own community action team activities.”“We’re very grateful for this grant from Milgard,” said Nola Renz, executive director of Helping Hand House. “We’ve seen the need for our utility assistance, and transitional, emergency and permanent supportive housing assistance programs quadruple in the last 18 months. Milgard’s gift is a tremendous help as foreclosures on homes and even multi-family apartment buildings in Pierce County have risen to record levels.”
Recipients of the grants were identified in a survey of company employees to determine which non-profit organizations were most responsive to the hunger and homelessness needs in their own communities. The gift continues a long tradition of community support by Milgard family members, Milgard Windows & Doors and the Masco Foundation.
In addition to such corporate gifts, Milgard Matching Gift Community Action Team volunteers participate in community events, fundraising and community improvement activities through volunteerism and monetary donations. More than 80% of Milgard’s Tacoma area employees live in Pierce County, Washington. In 2008, Milgard employees gave more than $86,000 in donations and over 8,000 hours in community service to organizations in the county.
Milgard matches employee donations and provides additional incentive for employee volunteerism by doubling the size of the matching donation when the employee has donated 50 or more hours of time to the same organization in the past 12 months.
Thanksgiving – much to be thankful for…
So much to be thankful for! In these waning days of the great and terrible 2009, there is so much to be grateful for – most of all, that we are known and loved by God. Anyone remember that this was the origin of the holiday in the first place? In the midst of financial crisis, family instability, it’s this perspective that gets us through. No one loves us like he does, and he’s done some great things in our lives.
As an organization, we’re so grateful to be here to walk with hundreds of families every year, experiencing the pain of loss and the triumph of overcoming again. The gift of seeing kids eyes light up as load after load of Christmas presents pour through the doorway (provided by incredible volunteers in the community!). We couldn’t be happier to be serving those we serve, loving families and sharing the ups and downs of normalcy after a the crisis mentality fades away… Ending family homelessness. Let this be the year for it! But in the meantime, we’re sharing life with some wonderful people, and that’s something we’re grateful for. Thank you!
Cozy or cold…
Fall is officially here – and with it, the crisp air, the damp leaves and hard rains. If you have a home, the fall is a cozy time – coffee and a good book on the couch. But if you are living in your car, the fall is beginning of a long, cold season of perpetual coughs, constant tiredness after a night of difficult sleep, and sad memories. We just wanted to add some perspective, and invite you to take a look at the ways you can serve people this holiday season – at Helping Hand House or another organization that is caring for people in need. Maybe it’s a soup kitchen, or helping out sorting clothes at St. Francis House. There are a lot of ways to serve – bring your kids and make it a family event! As always, we’d love to have you involved here (we can always use the help!) but the most important thing is that families are safe, healthy, and warm this holiday season.
This is a time when we need to band together – and we are so grateful for your friendship through it! Thanks so much.
Tent city just 1 mile from Microsoft
Fascinating video of a tent city in Redmond, Wash., that filling up with the newly homeless who are forming a makeshift community. Anyone here may as well be one of the families that we serve here in Pierce County – but it is shockingly close to Microsoft (1 mile away). This contrast – and the paradigm shattering realization that homelessness is uncomfortably close to home – caught national attention and was featured in the New York Times in a short documentary piece. Well worth watching – and imagine your neighbors and family in this situation. We need services to help folks in this situation…
Click here to see the video.
2008 Annual Report Ready!
We are very excited about this year’s Annual Report – we encourage you to take a look and get a picture of the work that we’ve been up to in the last year!
Please click here to download the 2008 Annual Report as a pdf…
