With Hunger Action Week and the Food Stamp Challenge in less than two weeks, I’ve been thinking about baking bread on a budget. When I first moved to Seattle about a year ago, I was eager to save money by baking all of my own bread. At the grocery store, I waltzed self-righteously past the bread aisle and made a beeline for the flour and yeast. It was certainly cost-effective to bake all of my own bread.

My love of baking bread began two…

United Ways of Washington’s Lobby Day on February 7 was a resounding success!  United Way of King County took a group of 27 people to Olympia, including 15 volunteers and 12 staff to meet with 24 state legislators representing districts throughout King County.  Volunteers were board members, former board members, impact council members, people from Workplace Giving campaigns and emerging leaders.

The main points emphasized during the day were:

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This was prepared by guest blogger, Megan Gibbard, Homeless Youth and Young Adult Project Manager, King County Department of Community and Human Services

Who are homeless young people and how did they end up on the streets?  According to data from frontline groups, “conflict at home” is the number one cause.  This is a significant contrast to the most common causes of adult homelessness which include chronic illness, job loss, and mental health and/or chemical dependency issues.

Homeless young adults are youth who are…

This was prepared by guest blogger, Megan Gibbard, Homeless Youth and Young Adult Project Manager, King County Department of Community and Human Services

The King County Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) with United Way of King County, the Raikes Foundation, Building Changes, the Campion Foundation and the Medina Foundation is currently launching a community effort to create a more coordinated system for delivery of services to homeless youth and young adults by quickly re-connecting them with family when it is safe and…

This blog was prepared by Courtney Noble, Impact Manager, United Way of King County

On Thursday, January 24, our community will undertake two different counts of people experiencing homelessness. The first, and better known, is the One Night Count, in which volunteers fan out in the early morning hours and count the number of people who clearly don’t have a home for the night.

The other effort, also on January 24, is “Count Us In”. It focuses on homeless youth, and happens much earlier, during…

To ensure that children with developmental delays/disabilities reach their highest potential, United Way of King County supports programs throughout the county that address their needs. We know that a critical piece of success for these children is direct support and engagement from their parents and families. When parents learn their child has delays, they may feel scared, helpless and powerless. But when they are connected to services and information that support and nurture their child’s development, parents feel empowered and supported as a result.
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Yesterday, the United States Department of Agriculture released new data regarding their Current Population (CPS) Food Security Survey from 2011. The USDA defines food security as having access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Sadly, the assessment results of food security showed that this is not only untrue for all people in our country, but that results were similar to past years—or showing further signs of low food security in some instances. This is illustrated by the fact that…

This blog was written by Jon Fine, CEO of United Way of King County

On August 27, I was honored to attend a Forum on Urban Innovation at the White House. I had been a visitor in Washington D.C. when I was the Cheltenham High School Scholar Athlete, and I lived there for a term in college when I interned in the office of Congressman Larry Coughlin. However, this is the first time I had been invited to the White House to participate in deliberations.

The…

AmeriCorps Member Ariana Meyrich-Blomquist brought to her year of service a background rich in writing skills and tutoring.  She felt that she wanted to learn the management side of volunteering, and decided to dedicate a year to United Way’s Volunteer Reader Program as our Program Associate.  She was surprised at how much it takes behind the scenes to run a program.

She set out to recruit community members at events and volunteer fairs.  She made many connections and got the word out about our program.…

United Way of King County is shining a bright light on hunger and we’re asking everyone including teenagers and children to think about their relationship to food.   Who has food, who doesn’t, where does your food come from?

As parents or educators you might be wondering how you can get your children/students involved in Hunger Action Week. Whole families can participate in the Hunger Challenge (eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, spending only $7 a day—the same amount allotted to a single person on food stamps),…