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Written by Jared Erlandson on 23 Aug 2011 | One Comment | Basic Needs , Featured
On building philanthropy into a new company’s business plan…

When United Way of King County board member and CEO of the new tech company Pirq asked Bill Gates how cash strapped startups could create a culture of giving back to the community, Gates told him to build a way to give back into the actual business model of the company.   That’s exactly what Sun did with the ‘Deals for Meals’ program.

Pirq is a new smartphone app that  connects users to great deals at restaurants and cafe’s in real time, where…

Rewards outweigh frustrations of connecting people to public benefits

 

This post was written by guest blogger, Erin Milliren, an AmeriCorps volunteer with the Bridge to Basics program, a partnership between United Way of King County, Within Reach, the City of Seattle and Americorps 

Hi, my name is Erin Milliren. I am one of the four AmeriCorps service members who staff the Bridge to Basics outreach team. Based out of WithinReach in North Seattle, we travel all throughout King County. We visit food banks, public libraries, WorkSource offices and public service centers.…

Written by Jared Erlandson on 6 Apr 2011 | No Comments | Hunger Action Week

Growing up, I think Meals on Wheels was the first non-profit I had ever heard of. I was certainly the most memorable for me, and I can’t recall why. Perhaps it they had commercials on Saturday mornings as I watched cartoons at my grandparents house in Spokane WA, or perhaps it was just the catchy name. (I liked, and still do pretty much anything that has wheels.)

Then and now, Meals on Wheels just makes sense to me. Here in King County, they use…

Written by Jared Erlandson on 5 Apr 2011 | No Comments | Hunger Action Week

Every year on Capitol Hill, more than 1,400 volunteers give their time to make hot meals for people who are homeless. The program, called Community Lunch served more than 30,000 meals last year.

A “Why the Fork” grant from United Way of King County will allow Community Lunch to hire a volunteer manager to recruit and organize the volunteers, install a new commercial refrigerator, and begin serving dinner three nights per week. Over the course of a year, this will mean 10,000 more meals…

As a 10 year employee of United Way of King County, I’ve been lucky to visit many of the agencies that do incredible work in our community. I’ve had the chance to meet and visit with the people who work very hard every day to help as many people as they can. When I think about the food banks I’ve visited, I recall lines of grateful people, thoughtful volunteers bustling about and stacks and stacks of food.

It takes a lot of work to run…

Written by Madeline Moy on 1 Apr 2011 | No Comments | Basic Needs
Why the fork? Because Farms for Life wants to provide healthy meals for all!

 

Claire Thomas will never forget the first Farms for Life delivery she made to YouthCare, a nonprofit that helps homeless youth.

“We unloaded the van and all of a sudden these kids started coming outside,” she recalled. “They were so excited…all over fresh produce.”

Claire founded Farms for Life in 2010. It’s a volunteer group that buys fresh produce at a discount from local farms and then delivers it to nonprofits serving vulnerable people throughout Seattle and King County. Last year, Farms for…

Written by Madeline Moy on 31 Mar 2011 | No Comments | Basic Needs
Why the fork? Because the Downtown Food Bank needs help to serve more people!

Emigdio Ramos is a walking miracle.

He survived life-threatening injuries during the Vietnam War and has a home today in the Pike Place Market’s low-income housing.

“I’m 70 years old, and I’ve never been old before,” Emigdio said with a laugh. “This is a first for me. There are a lot of things I used to do that I can’t do anymore.”

Emigdio is one of the 1,000 people who are served by the Downtown Food Bank every week.

“I get a lot of…

Written by Madeline Moy on 30 Mar 2011 | No Comments | Basic Needs
Why the fork? Because Food Lifeline needs to get more produce to people in need!

 

Diana is a single mom with three kids. She was laid off from her job and had a hard time making ends meet.

“There have been times when our cupboards have been pretty darn empty,” she said.

Fortunately, she was able to get assistance at her neighborhood food bank.

“It’s given us plenty of dinners,” Diana said. “This really has been a godsend for our family.”

Food Lifeline, the largest hunger relief organization in Washington state, helps thousands of people like Diana every day.…

Written by Madeline Moy on 29 Mar 2011 | One Comment | Basic Needs
Why the fork? Because Chicken Soup Brigade needs a new van!

 

Chicken Soup Brigade was formed in the early 1980’s by a group of volunteers who were determined to regularly bring good food and a friendly face to people struggling with HIV and AIDS. Nearly 30 years later, the program — now run by Lifelong AIDS Alliance — remains committed to helping meet the nutritional and social needs of people fighting illness and isolation.  

In 2005, Chicken Soup Brigade expanded its meal and nutrition counseling services to include people living with other disabling…

Written by Madeline Moy on 27 Mar 2011 | No Comments | Basic Needs
Why the fork?

For the past two weeks, giant forks have invaded the Seattle area–showing up at landmarks, restaurants, public parks, IKEA and even a Sounders soccer match.

Teams of enthusiastic people stood on overpasses waving the oversized forks and holding signs that simply read, “whythefork.org.”

And a @whythefork account on Twitter started posting tweets on everything from the history to cutlery to videos of fork lift stunts gone wrong.

What was this all about?

As KOMO News revealed, the answer to “Why the fork?” is:…