Tulalip Boys and Girls Club and other Marysville-area projects need volunteers

Registration for United Way Days of Caring ends Sept. 3

 

Source: United Way of Snohomish County

(Everett, WA) – Registration for the 21st annual United Way Days of Caring is closing Wed,, Sept. 3. As in past years, there are opportunities to volunteer throughout the county on both Friday, Sept. 12 and Saturday, Sept. 13. Days of Caring is the largest volunteer event in Snohomish County.

 
Although several hundred volunteers have already signed up, volunteers are still needed at more than two dozen projects throughout the county in Mukilteo, Tulalip, Everett, Marysville, Bothell, Stanwood, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.
 
Registration information and project details can be found on United Way’s website www.uwsc.org/docvolunteers.php.
 
The Tulalip Boys and Girls Club needs help repainting the teen center and with spreading bark outside.  This Boys and Girls Club provides before and after school programs for youth 5 to 18 years of age, and full day programs during school breaks and summer (Saturday shifts available).
 
Pinewood Elementary School in Marysville needs volunteers to help with school beautification projects. There will also be some opportunities to read to children. Pinewood is an older school with a limited maintenance budget (Friday shifts available.)
 
Habitat for Humanity in Marysville needs help with a home building project, fence painting, and a dry wall project.
 
Projects in other parts of the county that need volunteers include the Mukilteo Community Garden, Volunteers of America Western Washington Food Bank in Everett, Helping Hands Ministries and the Northshore Senior Center in Bothell, Child Strive, Friends of Youth, YMCA of Snohomish County (Everett location), Smithwright Services in Lynnwood, Low Income Housing Institute in Mountlake Terrace, Full Life Care and Housing Hope still need volunteers as well.
 
Catholic Community Services needs volunteers to help several elderly couples with yard work and basic house cleaning in Stanwood and Everett.
 
In 2013, 1,019 volunteers participated in Days of Caring, offering over 5,600 hours at 47 nonprofit project sites throughout the county.
 
For more information, visit www.uwsc.org/daysofcaring.php or call 425.374.5549
 
The hashtag for this year’s event is #UWSCDoC.

United Way announces $7.9 million in targeted community grants

North County Outlook

United Way of Snohomish County will be investing $7.9 million over three years toward 107 programs in Snohomish County addressing a set of priorities identified by three panels of volunteers. These targeted investments represent an increase of more than $300,000 over the last three-year cycle.

Six north Snohomish County programs will receive $370,000 over the next three years.

Two of the programs are local to Marysville. One provides early childhood education and intervention to children living on the Tulalip Indian Reservation and is managed by Little Red School House. The other program supports the expansion of English language learner classes organized by YMCA of Snohomish County. The programs will receive $30,000 and $90,000 respectively from United Way over the next three years.

Four of the programs are based in Arlington. Village Community Services will receive almost $160,000 over three years for three different programs: a career planning and placement services program, a residential services program to help people with developmental disabilities live with dignity and respect in their own homes and a community access program to provide adults with significant disabilities learn essential life and job skills. The Stillaguamish Senior Center will receive $90,000 over three years for their Comprehensive Senior Social Services program.

Volunteers who serve on United Way’s Kids Matter, Families Matter and Community Matters Vision Councils spent more than 2,500 hours over the past year in a three-step process that included reviewing community conditions, establishing priority investment areas and evaluating grant applications.

“This was the first time I’d participated in the grants review process,” said Karen Madsen, former president of the Everett School Board. “As a donor, I saw firsthand how much time and effort goes into these decisions. Every program, whether or not they were funded last year, was reviewed very closely.”

Madsen and the 52 other volunteers who reviewed proposals work for a range of Snohomish County-based companies, educational institutions, nonprofits and local government agencies. They represent a broad cross-section of our community.

The 107 programs will serve people living in 23 communities throughout Snohomish County from Stanwood and Darrington in the north, Sultan and Gold Bar in the east and the larger cities along Interstate 5. Volunteers gave careful consideration to vulnerable populations, geographic diversity and programs that address critical service gaps in our community.

A complete list of funded programs is available on United Way’s website, uwsc.org.