Cascade People’s Center Manager Stephanie Green with volunteers Lloyd Douglas and Ashley Palar.
|
Volunteer involvement is key to the success of many LCS programs. Nowhere has this involvement been more critical in the past year than at Cascade People’s Center, one of six LCS family support centers serving residents of Washington’s King and Snohomish Counties.A year ago, the Center faced closure due to funding cuts, impacting thousands of residents who count on this community resource in the Cascade neighborhood just south of Seattle’s Lake Union. Today, the Center is going strong, thanks largely to the efforts of community volunteers.
“Volunteers are the backbone of our Center,” stresses manager Stephanie Green. “From advocacy to fund-raising to daily operations, it’s volunteers who make our programs possible.” In 2008, 414 volunteers contributed more than 8,000 hours of service to keep the Center’s doors open and programs strong – volunteers like Patrick James, Lloyd Douglas and Ashley Palar.
Patrick James’ volunteer work in maintenance and operations has been essential in keeping the Center a safe and welcoming place for participants. His approach to volunteering comes from a belief in contributing to this community resource that has benefited him as well as his neighbors. “Volunteering makes me feel like I’m doing something to contribute and give back,” he notes. “The staff is great, too. They’re like family.”
“Volunteering and advocating for the Center helps remind me that all the policy ‘wonkery’ really does affect real people and their problems, goals and aspirations.” - Lloyd Douglas
|
A volunteer for the past four years, Lloyd Douglas has played a key role in working with City of Seattle officials to advocate for the Center. He organized neighbors to call, write letters and attend City Council meeting to support continued funding for Cascade. Lloyd notes that “volunteering and advocating for the Center helps remind me that all the policy ‘wonkery’ really does affect real people and their problems, goals and aspirations.”
VISTA volunteer Ashley Palar moved to Seattle from Des Moines, Iowa, to work at Cascade. Founded by a VISTA volunteer in 1998, the Center has a long history of support by both VISTA and AmeriCorps volunteers. “I’ve worked with amazing staff, volunteers and participants whose incredible skills I have been honored to learn from,” she emphasizes. “Sharing a laugh or a meal, and building relationships with people from so many different backgrounds, has taught me so much.”
“Sharing a laugh or a meal, and building relationships with people from so many different backgrounds has taught me so much.”
Ashley Palar |
The key role of volunteers was especially apparent in the success of last spring’s fund-raising dinner and auction, which raised more than $21,000 to support Center programs. The event at the South Lake Union Naval Reserve Building was the result of the efforts of 62 volunteers, and table captains from Vulcan Inc., Low Income Housing Institute, BOLD Mountain School, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Faced with a still-struggling economy and on-going funding challenges, Cascade People’s Center has been blessed with amazing, committed and talented volunteers who have invested themselves in a place they love. |
