United Way of King County awarded the prestigious Spirit of Caring Awards on March 3 in front of a crowded ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue. Honorees included individuals and corporations who represented the best in giving and volunteering.

Costco Wholesale received the Spirit of Puget Sound Award, recognized as King County’s highest achievement in corporate philanthropy. The award honors outstanding community involvement, sustained campaign excellence, and the promotion of volunteerism.

For the 2009-2010 campaign season, the…

After a successful test run this past summer at two stores in New York City, Costco Wholesale will accept food stamps at least half of its stores by Thanksgiving, including its 23 stores in Washington.

About 420,000 families receive food stamps in Washington, up 30 percent from a year ago.

Before the New York pilots, Costco execs were skeptical that any of their customers would use food stamps. However, the tests showed that they would if given the opportunity.

“The rules are different today,” CEO Jim Sinegal said.…

I was on Costco.com last night and just happened to notice a United Way logo on the home page with the words “Click here to pledge.” I found that as part of its United Way employee giving campaign, Costco is also encouraging Costco members to donate. You can give to United Way Worldwide or plug in your zip code to give to your local United Way. Cool–not only can I buy a casket, six-pound smoked goose and grand piano at Costco.com, but I can give…

As many Americans did this weekend, I celebrated our nation’s birthday by doing what else–grilling with friends and family. At one barbecue I attended, I was surprised and delighted to find United Way-branded Jones Soda in the cooler. The bottles feature Seattle Seahawks head coach Jim Mora and are helping to raise awareness about United Way’s Climb for the Community.

Buy a 24-pack of the limited-edition Jones Soda at Costco and other fine retailers, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit United Way of King…

The headline for this post sounds like the opening of a corny joke, but actually it’s true! NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Jim Mora and United Way of King County CEO Jon Fine will be going on a “Climb for the Community” to the top of Mount Rainier July 5-8.

They will be joined by United Way Board Chair Molly Nordstrom, Costco Senior Vice President John Thelan, Boeing Vice President Fred Kiga and Wells Fargo regional Director Greg Bronstein. The climbers’ guides will be legendary…

It looks like Costco, seller of (sometimes ridiculously large) bulk products, is finally taking steps towards accepting food stamps.

They are testing food stamp acceptance in two New York City stores, which ideally will then carry over to the rest of the chain.

One of the reasons that Costco is making this shift is because other wholesale stores like BJ’s have already begun accepting food stamps at their stores.

Well, that and the fact that tons more people are on food assistance and it just makes good business sense…