A Champagne Toast for some BIG NEWS!

A toast was in order at the monthly meeting March 28th, for some big news...

WPIG is delighted to announce that we have been granted 501c3 tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization!  Special thanks goes to Andy Aley of Garvey Schubert Barer Law Firm for donating his legal expertise and helping us immensely in this lengthy process.  Getting this status is a critical piece for furthering our mission and we look forward to starting this new chapter as a group.  Congratulations WPIG! 

WPIG Members Participate in One Night Count!

On January 28th, WPIG members Meghan Malone Farragher, Kym Haley, and Katie Patchin volunteered their time for One Night Count.  But they didn't just volunteer "any" time, they volunteered from 2am to 5am! That is commitment, ladies! 

What is the One Night Count?

King County has one of the nation's best-established point-in-time counts of homeless people. The One Night Count remains the largest community-organized count in the United States.  2010 will mark the 30th year that our community has sent teams out into the night to see how many of our neighbors are homeless and without shelter.  Over 900 volunteers go out with 125 trained team leaders to pre-arranged areas in King County. 

 

Why do we do the Count?

We carry out the One Night Count for two reasons: to document the nature and extent of homelessness in King County, and to build public engagement and action around the issue. It is a solemn and eye-opening opportunity to witness the survival struggles of our neighbors who are homeless. Hundreds of community members come together for this annual count, which acts as a powerful launching off point for participants to speak up and act and write and advocate to end this crisis.

Annual Letter to WPIG's Friends and Supporters

January 2011

Dear Friends and Supporters of WPIG,

Happy New Year!  We wanted to take some time to share with you the progress that the Women's Philanthropic Investment Group of Seattle has made over the past year. 

At the beginning of the year, we welcomed six new members to our group:

Becka Hardy, Julianna Yamamoto, Megan Thomas, Meghan Wagner, Nicole Demmon and Tiffani Lee.  These new members bring intelligence, insight and incredible dedication to our cause of helping women and children move from a place of need to one of self-sufficiency.

In addition to welcoming new members, our marketing committee unveiled a fresh new website in 2010 as well as starting a WPIG blog and Facebook page.  No tweeting yet but this could be our New Years resolution.  Please visit and follow us regularly at www.wpigseattle.org. 

In 2010 we officially kicked off the lengthy application process to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.  The Women’s Philanthropic Investment Group of Seattle’s application has been submitted and is currently being reviewed.  We owe a very gracious thank you to attorney Andy Aley with Garvey Schubert Barer for the generous pro-bono help in administering and submitting the application.  We are all eagerly awaiting 501(c)(3)  status and have our fingers crossed for a BIG announcement in 2011! 

Our 2010 focal charity was Ryther Child Center; a local 125 year-old non-profit focused on treating troubled children through innovative and proven therapeutic techniques.  In June we invested our time with Ryther for a full Saturday of service.  Much to the delight of the Ryther staff, we washed all of their vans and also did some painting.  In October, our philanthropy committee put on a wildly successful fall art festival for the children with five craft stations ranging from spooky stain glass windows to yummy frosted cookies! This partnership with Ryther, allowed WPIG of Seattle to invest time, donate money, and gift art supplies for each cottage.  We are also very honored with the opportunity to celebrate Ryther’s125 years of service at their annual luncheon.

In addition to partnering with Ryther, we have continued to make volunteering and investing our time in the community a commitment.  To that end, in month, we volunteered at Westside Baby donation center in White Center.  This non-profit serves families in need throughout our community by providing food, clothing, supplies, toys and diapers. We thoroughly enjoyed the enriching evening of service.

2010 marked the first annual WPIG of Seattle retreat in the lovely Roslyn, Washington.  The ladies of WPIG enjoyed an evening out of Seattle to bond and re-energize for the coming year. 

This holiday season the little WPIG elves were busy “making” one Seattle family’s holiday a little bit more cheerful with gift sponsorship through the downtown YWCA.  We were happy to see many of your faces at Targy's on Queen Anne where WPIG of Seattle collected $1122 of generous donations from the Mark Fox Christmas Gala. 

WPIG of Seattle is especially proud to have partnered with Ryther as our 2010 charity.  Together with your investment in WPIG of Seattle, we were able to truly make a difference in the lives of local children and families. It has been a genuine pleasure partnering with Ryther this past year, so much so that we have committed to having them as our 2011 charity!

We want to extend our warmest thanks to all of you who have supported us in so many ways this past year.  We could not have accomplished so much without you; our investors! 

With gratitude,

Women's Philanthropic Investment Group of Seattle www.wpigseattle.org

Meet Alisha Eastman!

A few weeks ago, during a WPIG retreat in Roslyn, I was fortunate enough to sit down and learn a little more about Alisha Eastman. Alisha was one of the six founding members of WPIG. She was drawn to the group because she liked the idea of a women’s organization focused on educating its members and giving back to the community. Alisha currently chairs the Marketing Committee, and as chair, she created our fantastic new WPIG website (http://www.wpigseattle.org).



After endless hours of hard work and dedication, Alisha will be graduating in December with her Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Eastern Washington University (Everett Campus). Her education doesn’t stop there though. Next, she will begin her training to become a Doula, and then she will start the three year process of earning her LICSW (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker License). With all of that education, I couldn’t help but wonder, what is her ultimate professional goal? Without hesitation, and with contagious enthusiasm, she tells me that her dream is to eventually open up a comprehensive services clinic where prenatal and postnatal women (and families) will have access to doulas, midwifes, pediatricians, counselors, and more. Although some years out, I have no doubt her dream will be realized, and I cannot wait to witness her future success.



Alisha with her niece & nephew



While her studies and work as a medical biller and elementary school tutor keep her busy, she still manages to find free time, and when that time arises, she enjoys spending it with her niece and nephew. To that end, she gave them each a coupon book filled with activities to do with auntie, and they are working on using each coupon - next up, bowling!

Just when I thought Alisha couldn’t get any more amazing, she divulged this final fun fact: Between 13-18 years old, Alisha arm-wrestled for the Washington State Arm-Wrestling Association. Because there were not many teens, she arm-wrestled in the women’s division; in 1998, she was both the Teenage girls and the Women’s Light Weight Washington State Arm-Wrestling Champion. In 1999, Alisha and her mom held a charity arm-wrestling tournament to raise funds for a teen homeless shelter, Teen Hope (no longer in business). Amazing!

What an incredible young woman, and I am so glad to be a part of WPIG with her!

Volunteering at Ryther Child Center

Every few months, the WPIG philanthropy committee organizes a volunteer opportunity. This month, WPIG planned and facilitated a night of fall and Halloween themed arts and crafts activities for the children living at Ryther Child Center. This is the second time WPIG has volunteered at Ryther. WPIG had a great time washing vans and cleaning up the Ryther campus this past summer. Ryther also happens to be WPIG’s charity of the year.

WPIG chose to support Ryther this year because of the essential work that Ryther does in our community.  Ryther Child Center offers and develops safe places and opportunities for children, youth and families to heal and grow so that they can reach their highest potential. Since opening 125 years ago, Ryther has become a recognized leader in providing and advocating for a comprehensive continuum of care and assistance for children, youth and families experiencing or at risk from neglect, mental illness, or emotional, physical, sexual and/or chemical abuse.  Learn more about Ryther here.