Tag: Tulalip Foundation

Tulalip Foundation hosts 6th annual Salmon Bake Fundraiser

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News; photos courtesy of Nicole Sieminski, Stephanie Cultee and Tessa Campbell

A record breaking $70,000 was raised during the Tulalip Foundation’s Annual Salmon Bake Fundraiser benefiting the Hibulb Cultural Center. It was the hot ticket event of the summer and sold out during the week leading up to the gathering. Close to 250 people were dressed to the nines on the evening of August 17, as they convened at the cultural center’s terrace where they were greeted by the welcoming aroma of traditional baked salmon. 

“Our ultimate goal is to support the cultural center and to feature it’s work and all the good work that it’s doing,” expressed Nicole Sieminski, the Tulalip Foundation’s Executive Director. “It is gratifying to see people’s support and that they keep showing up for us. And we’re grateful that we keep getting new supporters as well. My goal is to keep growing, which we did by a lot. We raised $52,000 last year, which was big because it was the first time we broke $50. And this year we raised $70,000!”

Since its establishment, the Hibulb Cultural Center has imparted a vast amount of knowledge about the Tribe’s history and ancestral teachings to the wider community. With historical artifacts, photos, and documents, the center has provided insight and a tribal perspective on issues such as colonialism and assimilation while simultaneously celebrating the ancestral teachings, values, beliefs, and stories of the Tulalip people. 

Many of the cultural center’s gatherings, exhibits, and workshops are possible due in large part to the Tulalip Foundation’s annual salmon bake fundraiser. This is an all-hands-on deck event and is organized not only by the Foundation, but also the team from the cultural center. 

The Tulalip Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports tribal programs and projects based on five support areas – culture and natural resources, education and workforce, law and justice, community and development, and health and social. The Foundation has made a great impact on the tribal community and has become well-known throughout the region. Many local companies and nationwide corporations have donated thousands of dollars for the betterment of both Tulalip’s governmental programs, as well as community-led and focused projects. 

Making their sixth consecutive return to the event, the Taylor Family once again prepared the salmon over fire. What makes this special is that the people get to see this traditional method of cooking in real time. Attendees witnessed an act of passing knowledge to the next generation, as Lance Taylor guided his grandson Jared throughout the entire process. 

Ryan’s Rez-ipes, renowned for their delicious eats, was the official caterer for the event. And there were 22 sponsorships in total this year. Nicole shared that there were a few new sponsors, who have active contracts with the Tribe, that showed their support to the community including Korsmo Construction, KPFF Engineers, and the Wenaha Group.

While the food was being prepared, the guests were invited to tour the cultural center’s exhibits and gift shop. This was also the time to peruse the items that were up for bid at the silent auction. Rows of tables displayed artwork and regalia that was donated by nearly 30 Tulalip artists. Beside each donation there was an informational note, detailing the art piece and the artist, as well as a sheet of paper where the guests could place their bids.

“It’s always nice to see everybody’s work,” shared Nicole. “One that I loved this year was made by Jose Roja, who is a Tribal youth. He made his first traditional wool skirt and matching headband. Since it was his first one, he’s supposed to give it away, so he donated it to us to put in the silent auction. We actually had several Tribal youth who donated items for the silent auction, that was really cool to see our youth participate and show their support.”

Once the silent auction placed a last call for bids, the event began with an opening prayer by Natosha Gobin and the presentation of colors by the Tulalip Honor Guard. Young Tribal member Lizzie Mae Williams shared a traditional story, followed up by opening remarks from the Hibulb Cultural Center’s Museum Manager, Mytyl Hernandez. 

DJ Monie was behind the turntables and helped set the vibe of the soiree throughout the night. As the attendees enjoyed their fresh king salmon dinners, they were treated to a live spoken word and flute performance by Renee Roman Nose and Peter Ali. 

From the comfort of their seats, the guests could scan a QR code, where they could donate to a canoe restoration project via their smartphones. They also had the chance to enter in a drawing to win a canvas painting by Tulalip artist, Ty Juvinel. 

“This is the first year we did a specific fund a project,” said Nicole. “This was a canoe that was donated earlier this year that needs some serious restoration and treatment, it was outside for a very long time. Hopefully it will go on display in the canoe hall. This is a full-sized river canoe, the one in the canoe hall now is actually child sized. This is very similar to what we’d use here along our Snohomish, Stillaguamish, Skagit rivers. And Ty’s donation was great. We decided to use that for our special drawing. We always like to feature something unique for the special drawing. It was a very large print, almost 4ft x 4ft.”

This year’s fundraiser was dedicated in memory of David Spencer Sr., who was an active participant in countless events at the Hibulb Cultural Center for many years, notably at the annual film festival and the salmon bake. And according to Nicole, David also voices the introduction video that plays inside of the cultural center’s longhouse as people tour the museum.

Once everybody collected their winnings, the 2024 Salmon Bake Fundraiser was officially marked as a success in the books.

“I am extremely grateful for everyone’s support from friends, community, tribal partners,” Nicole stated. “Hopefully it means we’re doing our job well and showing them how the cultural center is continuing to serve the community. Every year the funds are going to future exhibitions and programming. Thankfully, the cultural center staff are able to continue to offer events. They just released their September events, and they have a busy schedule. It’s good to see that and hopefully our donors can see that as well.”

For more information, and to stay up to date on the Hibulb Cultural Center’s events, exhibits, and activities, be sure to give their Facebook page a follow. And for addition details about the Tulalip Foundation, please visit www.TulalipFoundation.org.

Roy Robinson Subaru Shares the Love with Tulalip Foundation

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News 

For the past ten holiday seasons, Subaru dealerships across America collectively raised over $140 million dollars during their annual Share the Love campaign. The event is held during the months of November and December in which the company pledges to donate $250 for each new Subaru sold or leased to a charity selected by the dealership. 

Previously, the dealership’s choices were between the National Park Foundation, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Meals on Wheels and the Make-A-Wish Foundation; resulting in the protection of over 100 National Parks, the rescue of over 50,000 animals, the preparation of over 2 million meals for seniors nationwide and over 1,800 wishes granted to youth battling life threating illnesses. In 2013, Subaru added a fifth option, affording their dealerships the opportunity to donate to a local charity or non-profit of their choice. After much consideration, the friendly crew at Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru decided to donate their 2018 Share the Love earnings to the Tulalip Foundation.

The Tulalip Foundation is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to empowering the wellbeing of the Tulalip reservation and its surrounding communities. Since 2007, the Foundation has worked with a number of programs to create a brighter future for the Tribe, programs that are based on three important values to many tribal families: culture, education and justice.

Originally, the Foundation began as a way to raise the last remaining million dollars needed to open the Hibulb Cultural Center. Since the museum’s opening, the non-profit has raised money, accepted donations and applied for a number of grants to provide several programs and departments with the funds for events, incentives and services including the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy Parent Committee, Tulalip Office of Civil Legal Aid (TOCLA), Tulalip TERO Vocational Training Center and the Tulalip Veteran’s Quilt Project. The Foundation also hosts a number of fundraisers throughout the year such as the Hibulb Cultural Center Salmon Bake and their annual Giving Tuesday event.

Last November, Roy Robinson Subaru General Manager Robb McCalmon stated his crew would be hard at work during the holiday season in hopes of delivering a ‘big check’ to the Foundation come springtime. On the morning of April 15, Robb and his team did just that by presenting an oversized check to the Tulalip Foundation Board of Trustees – a grand total of $21, 149. 

The Share the Love event helped improve an already strong relationship between the local Subaru dealership and the Tribe, as well as spread the message about the good work the Tulalip Foundation is doing for the community. Over the next few months, the Foundation will convene and discuss which programs to distribute the donation to, ensuring the efforts made by the Roy Robinson crew are well spent. 

“The Tulalip Foundation was extremely honored to be chosen as Roy Robinson Subaru’s community partner for their 2018 Share the Love event,” expresses Tulalip Foundation Executive Director, Nicole Sieminski. “It was a unique opportunity to share our work with the greater community and their generous donation will do a lot of good work in the Tulalip community.”

For more information, please visit Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru or contact the Tulalip Foundation at (360) 716-5400.

Subaru Shares the Love with the Tulalip Foundation

Robb McCalmon, Roy Robinson Subaru General Sales Manager, with the Tulalip Foundation display.

By Kalvin Valdillez, Tulalip News

You may recall a heartwarming TV commercial from last year’s holiday season where several families and individuals sang a cover of the popular song, Put a Little Love in Your Heart. Towards the end of the commercial it was revealed to be an advertisement for Subaru, with a message of spreading love throughout the local communities of America. The company stated that for every new Subaru sold or leased during the holidays, they would donate $250 to the purchaser’s choice of charity, for a campaign known as the annual Subaru Share the Love event.

Their latest television spotlight showcases that over the past ten years, Subaru donated approximately $140 million through Share the Love, claiming the money raised help protect over one hundred National Parks, rescue over 50,000 animals, deliver over 2 million meals to elders across America and grant 1,800 wishes for youth living with life-threatening illnesses; donating the funds to the National Park Foundation, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Meals on Wheels America and Make-A-Wish Foundation respectively. 

In 2013, Subaru afforded each dealership the opportunity to choose a local charity or non-profit as a fifth option for their customers to choose from each year. Out of six hundred and thirty dealerships nationwide, six hundred and twenty-eight participate in the Share the Love event annually, including the friendly crew at Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru.

“We used to do Make-A-Wish, the Washington and Alaska chapter, but this year wanted to do something more local,” says Robb McCalmon, Roy Robinson Subaru General Sales Manager. “The Subaru Share the Love event is a campaign that Subaru does with their retailers starting each November and running through the new year. They allow us to partner with a hometown charity and it hit us last year that the community does so much for us, we want to return that love and show our appreciation. We reached out to some of the elders of the tribe and we discussed where the donation would best benefit the community, and with their guidance, we selected the Tulalip Foundation.”

The Tulalip Foundation is a non-profit organization that’s been dedicated to empowering the wellbeing of the Tulalip reservation and surrounding communities since 2007. The Foundation works with a number of programs to create a brighter future for the tribe; programs that are based on three important values to many tribal families: education, culture and justice. 

The organization originally began as a way to raise the remaining million dollars needed to open the Hibulb Cultural Center. Since the museum’s opening, the Foundation has raised money, accepted donations and applied for a number of grants to provide several programs and departments with money for events, incentives and services including the Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy Parent Committee, Tulalip Office of Civil Legal Aid, Tulalip TERO Vocational Training Center and the Tulalip Veteran’s Quilt Project. Additionally, the Foundation also hosts a number of fundraisers throughout the year such as the Hibulb Cultural Center Salmon Bake and the Foundation’s annual Giving Tuesday event.  

“It was a huge surprise that we were selected for the Subaru Share the Love Event,” says Tulalip Foundation Executive Director, Nicole Sieminski. “We have to give credit to Gus Taylor. He’s a friend of one of the upper management team members at Roy Robinson. They mentioned to him that they were looking for a local charity for the event this year, Gus shared that information with Marjorie James, one of our trustees, and together they got the ball rolling.”

In recent years, the Share the Love event has generated upwards of $40,000 each year at the Marysville dealership, a number that Robb is hoping to match but Nicole and the Foundation isn’t necessarily anticipating, stating she’s happily thankful for whatever amount is raised. Because the final donation remains to be unknown until the end of the event, the Tulalip Foundation Board of Trustees will determine how the donation is distributed once the total is revealed. Robb ensures that his crew is dedicated to working hard this holiday season, with a goal of delivering a ‘big check’ to the foundation. Roy Robinson also created an information kiosk located inside the dealership so people buying or leasing a new car can learn more about the Tulalip Foundation when determining which of the five charities they can select. 

“Anybody who wants to buy or lease a new Subaru, we’ll give them the opportunity to donate that $250 towards the Tulalip Foundation,” he says. “It’s an awesome event during the holidays and we’re hoping for a successful season like we’ve seen over the past few years.”

The Tulalip Foundation is assisting with the upcoming Betty J. Taylor Early Learning Academy Christmas Concert & Silent Auction and is also raising funds for the Tulalip Veteran’s Quilt Project by selling hand painted stone pendants, created by Tulalip Artist David Spencer Sr., at the Hibulb Cultural Center gift shop.

“We are so thankful to be selected as the hometown charity for Roy Robinson’s Subaru Share the Love event,” expresses Nicole. “We have a pretty broad umbrella and we now have the opportunity to support even more programs and help a lot of people. We’re excited to partner with a company that has such a large presence in the greater Marysville area and hopefully this will help get our name out there too, because right now we’re still pretty small in terms of a non-profit.”

 For more information, please visit Marysville Roy Robinson Subaru or contact the Tulalip Foundation at (360) 716-5400.