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Eastside Interfaith Social Concerns Council Minutes P.O. Box 662, Bellevue, WA 98009-0662April 14, 2009
NEXT MEETING: CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order and conducted by EISCC Co-president Marilyn Rands. OPENING PRAYER: The meeting was opened with prayer offered by Nancy Bent of First Congregational Church of Bellevue. SELF-INTRODUCTIONS: Self-introductions were made by 24 members and guests. MINUTES: Minutes of the March 10, 2009 meeting were approved as circulated. TREASURER'S REPORT:EISCC Treasurer Pat McDermott (pmcdermott@amnis.com) reports that At 3/31/2009 cash balances total $123,822. Accounts receivable total $90,672, reflecting the various billings that occur on a quarterly basis. Pat has expanded the financial package to include operating results for the separate programs. Operating results are as expected. Nothing unusual was noted during the month. CONGREGATIONS FOR THE HOMELESS: THE SOPHIA WAY: Sophia Way Executive Director, Helen Leuzzi (425-653-5893 or pmcdermott@amnis.com) was unable to attend the meeting but sent a written report stating that the program has raised over $21,000 in grant income over the past few weeks. The women's shelter is at capacity and is anticipating a waiting list. HOPELINK - EISCC EMEGENCY SERVICES REPORT: Hopelink's Bellevue Center Manager Jessica Ivey (425-943-7558 or jessicai@hope-link.org) present the 1st Quarter 2009 EISCC Emergency Services Fund Report. From January 1st to March 31st, 2009 donations to the fund totaled $3,611.77. These generous donations from EISCC member congregations enabled Hopelink to provide the following services: Service
PROGRAM: CONGREGATIONS FOR KIDS: PROVIDING SCHOOLS SUPPLIES TO LOCAL CHILDREN. Congregations for Kids Executive Director Nancy Jacobs (425-883-6406 or bnjacobs@verizon.net). The mission of Congregations for Kids is to promote a successful public school experience for children in Bellevue in partnership with the school district and community groups. As participating congregations, we affirm our faith by helping children in need. CFK's annual Good Start Back to School project has been helping needy students within the Bellevue school district with new backpacks and school supplies since 1996. The number of students helped in this current school year (2008-09) is approaching 1200. Identified by their principals, counselors, school nurses, and Family Connection Center staff as students who need backpacks and school supplies the most, they are part of the 2,993 students - 17.7% of the entire Bellevue Public School population - who qualify for the free and reduced price lunch program in Bellevue schools. The majority of the backpacks that CFK prepares are for specific students in specific grade levels and are given to them before school starts. Extra backpacks are prepared for those who enter school later. CFK is the only organization in Bellevue that works directly with the school district to provide backpacks and supplies to all children who need them, throughout the district. Between 23 and 28 Bellevue congregations take part each year. Good Start Back to School has grown tremendously since the first project, held in 1996. Then, as now, it was geared to helping needy children start school on a level playing field, with age-appropriate backpacks filled grade-level appropriate school supplies. Ten congregations conducted drives that year, helping 143 students in 13 schools. Supplies were estimated to value $6,000-$7,000. Contrast those numbers with the numbers from CFK's project this year. CFK helped 1.054 students at the beginning of school. Of those, 826 received new backpacks filled with school supplies, and the remaining 228 requested supplies only. An additional 105 students had received new backpacks and supplies by mid-February, making a total of 1159 helped so far this year. Good Start Back to School 2009: Congregations for Kids will hold its 14th annual Good Start Back to School project this summer, with drives for new school supplies conducted mainly within Bellevue congregations usually starting around July 19 and lasting for 4 weeks. Congregations will bring in the donations that they have collected to the Stevenson Elementary School gym for sorting. Gift card and monetary donations are also welcomed to purchase the many supplies still needed after the donations are sorted. For more information about how your congregation can be a part of this important and inspiring effort, please contact Nancy Jacobs at 425-883-6406 or bnjacobs@verizon.net. Betty Takahashi, the Homeless Liaison for the Bellevue School District and head of their Family Connections Centers, reported that the problem of homelessness within the district has grown about 20% in just the last year. Homeless families move about 4 times a year. It has been shown that each time a student moves, they lose 3 months of school work. To help provide continuity and a stabilizing element in these kids' lives, children can now stay in the school they were enrolled in at the time they became homeless. So, for example, if a Bellevue family loses their home and is forced to move to a shelter in Seattle, the Bellevue School District will provide transportation to and from school for the remainder of the year. In addition, the Bellevue School District operates 5 Family Connection Centers, located in schools that have the largest number of students qualifying for free or reduced-cost school lunches. These centers work in partnership with a variety of nonprofit agencies and service organizations—such as Congregations for Kids—to help provide for needy children and their families. ANNOUNCEMENTS: EISCC members may share announcements pertaining to their congregations/agencies. If you wish these announcements to appear in the minutes, please make them well in advance of any event that you are publicizing and to help insure accuracy please provide them in writing to the recording secretary. Among the announcements at the April 14, 2009 meeting were: KING COUNTY ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN SERVICES - URGENT CALL TO ACTION - HB 2252 is a package of funding that continues some of the special taxes in King County such as the hotel-motel tax, car rental tax, and restaurant tax that are scheduled to expire. Previously used to support projects such as the football stadium, these taxes would be extended to fund arts and heritage programs, regional centers, low-income housing and human services. SB 5433 creates flexibility in local funding options for counties and cities which can be used to fund human services. The Alliance is in support of this bill. WHEN: Right now! - we must get 2252 and 5433 out of committee and onto the floor for a discussion and vote. URGENT AND KEY ACTION: Call or email Senators and Legislators and urge them to move 2252 and 5433 out of committee and vote "yes!"when they get to the floor. This is their opportunity to support King County's human services safety net. NAMI WALK: The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization, is holding a fundraising walk on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at Seattle's Magnuson Park. The 5K walk will start at 10:00am. For more information and to register, please visit www.nami.org/namiwalks. RESPONSE ABILITY BUILDERS: The representative from the Issaquah Sammamish Interfaith Coalition announced that a new non-profit ministry which is part of their coalition has received its 501 (c) 3 status and is ready to move forward. Response Ability Builders is an ecumenical ministry created to empower homeless persons to do disaster response. One of the disasters RAB wants to respond to is the local homelessness / lack of affordable housing disaster. RAB still needs to put the 10.5 acre "Launch Point" site south of Issaquah into the name of the non-profit. Then, Response Ability Builders are poised to begin with the first group of homeless trainees. Peace for the Street by Kids from the Streets, serving homeless youth in the Seattle area, is partnering with RAB on a project called Street to Dream, a six month commitment in which the participants will design and learn how to build small footprint, eco-friendly, transportable dwellings that can be used for disaster housing, auxiliary dwelling units, vacation cottages, etc. Those who complete the program can keep the first dwelling that each constructed and form a group to work as a contractor. RAB will keep its crews busy with local projects, including remodeling work for churches and other non-profits, masonry projects, landscaping, etc. in-between disasters, so keep them in mind to bid on projects. A few contracts in hand would go a long way toward getting the land title transferred! Contact the Rev. Eddy Fowler-Lindner (425 765 2269) or Elizabeth Maupin (425) 313 8937 for further information. THE KINDERING CENTER: SALUTE TO COURAGE: CROP WALK: CROP WALK: The Walk will begin and end at Bellevue First Congregational Church (located at the corner of NE 8th and 108th NE in Bellevue) with registration beginning at 12:30pm and the Walk beginning at 1:00pm. The Bellevue CROP Walk has raised over $100,000 since it began, with between 100 and 300 walkers participating each year. But it's about more than raising money. CROP Walk's motto is "We walk because they walk." Our very short (3.5 mile) walk reminds us of the walking that most people of the world must do every day for food, water, and fuel. The CROP Walk builds community by bringing together individuals within participating congregations and as a way for different faith communities to join together in service. The CROP Walk shows downtown Bellevue that churches and synagogues are here and a main reason they are here is to serve the neediest among us. When 100 or 200 people walk around downtown Bellevue carrying signs and balloons, they get people's attention and draw the focus to a bigger world beyond the upscale downtown. Finally, the CROP Walk is a happy eventyou'll see walkers talking, laughing, and sharing stories during the 3.5 miles, coming to walk with friends they know and friends they have yet to meet Please visit the Bellevue CROP Walk website at www.bellevuecropwalk.org to learn about how you can make a difference in the lives of hungry people both locally and throughout the world.
THE EMERGENCY FEEDING PROGRAM: The Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County announces their "Prevent Summer Hunger" food drive. Now through the end of the school year, EFP is encouraging congregations, schools and businesses to collect donations of:
Holding a food drive is a lot easier than you might think. EFP can provide food donation barrels, flyers, and donation pickup. You provide the heart and hands to ensure success. When the final bell rings out another school year, many kids in our community may be facing more than summer vacation. With the loss of a subsidized school lunch, they may also be facing hunger. To find out how you can help, please contact Brian Anderson at 9206) 329-0300 or brian@emergencyfeeding.org or visit the Emergency Feeding Program on the web at www.emergencyfeeding.org. THE NW CATHOLIC WOMEN'S CONVOCATION IV will take place May 1-2, 2009 at Bellevue's Meydenbauer Center. The dawning of a new story calls us to radical hope, to create life-giving stories for our personal relationships, social structures, faith communities and planet Earth. The Northwest Catholic Women's Convocation gathers women for prayer, ritual, education, empowerment, celebration and transformation. Together we will envision new stories for our church and our world! For information about speakers and workshops or to register, please visit their website at http://www.ipjc.org/. HEARTS AND HAMMERS is an annual two-day blitz to repair and rehabilitate the homes of those physically or financially unable to do so alone. Scheduled for May 2nd and 3rd, 2009 this effort brings together Bellevue's Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, St. Louise Parish, Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, and Temple B'Nai Torah. The repairs will include carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, painting, plastering, heavy cleaning, and trash removal. There is no charge to the homeowners for labor or materials.
END SUMMER HUNGER! Hopelink will launch its annual "End Summer Hunger" fund and food drive in April and invites community groups, schools, businesses and our neighbors throughout the area to do their part to ease hunger and homelessness in our community. Considering the rapidly growing number of families in financial distress due to the economy, this campaign is more important than ever in ensuring Hopelink's ability to feed hungry children. The proceeds from End Summer Hunger will stock Hopelink's six food banks for the high-demand summer months when subsidized meal programs at schools are not available, and also support Hopelink's homelessness prevention programs. In 2008, the End Summer Hunger campaign raised more than $119,000 in monetary and food donations. Who can volunteer? Skills are welcomed, but everyone can be put to work. For more information, please contact Sandy Lewis at 425-562-1228. END SUMMER HUNGER! Hopelink will launch its annual "End Summer Hunger" fund and food drive in April and invites community groups, schools, businesses and our neighbors throughout the area to do their part to ease hunger and homelessness in our community. Considering the rapidly growing number of families in financial distress due to the economy, this campaign is more important than ever in ensuring Hopelink's ability to feed hungry children. The proceeds from End Summer Hunger will stock Hopelink's six food banks for the high-demand summer months when subsidized meal programs at schools are not available, and also support Hopelink's homelessness prevention programs. In 2008, the End Summer Hunger campaign raised more than $119,000 in monetary and food donations. The grassroots End Summer Hunger campaign begins April 1 and ends July 1, and seeks support from schools, individuals, businesses, and organizations. This program is particularly important because donations to Hopelink historically drop during the summer, leaving the agency's food banks with lower than normal supplies. Schools that support the program encourage children in classrooms to collect coins, while businesses, organizations and civic or community clubs hold food drives, fund drives, or both, according to what works best for them. End Summer Hunger
For information on how to get involved in End Summer Hunger, go to www.hope-link.org or Hopelink's website for young philanthropists, http://youthlink.hope-link.org/. CLOSING PRAYER: The meeting was closed in prayer Sandy Lewis of the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection. Brian Anderson, EISCC Secretary
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