Building Your Business by Building Community

The summer has been packed with lots of community building activities, from NW SolarFest to building housing for the homeless. Businesses that participate are able to make connections with the general public as well as network with other businesses, non-profits and government agencies.

Businesses that sponsor such events benefit from the good public relations with the added bonus of helping to build a healthy community. Central Market, Irons Brothers Construction, BECU, Puget Sound Community Credit Union, CleanScapes, Campbell Nelson Motors and many others could tell you that for every advertising dollar spent on the community there is a double benefit that helps their business and makes their community a better place to live, work and play. 

Businesses interested in promoting their business through volunteer hours; in-kind donations or monetary contributions have a lot of opportunities to do so. Here are a few options to consider: 

International Community Health Services (ICHS)

ICHS provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to improve the health of Asian Pacific Islanders and the broader community. ICHS offers a full range of primary medical and dental care, preventive health education services, as well as Chinese Traditional Medicine. They employ a multilingual staff that is responsive to the cultural expectations of the clients they serve. 

ICHS is building a new clinic in Shoreline. "The full-service clinic will open on one-acre at 16549 Aurora Ave. N., a central location in the North King County city. It will offer medical, dental, behavioral health, language interpretation, financial screening and insurance enrollment help to residents in Shoreline and the Puget Sound region" according to an August 6th press release.

Some credit is due to Representative Cindy Ryu, a long time supporter of ICHS who saw the value of bringing ICHS to Shoreline while on the Shoreline City Council and as Mayor of Shoreline. She served for two years on the ICHS Foundation. Subsequent to Representative Ryu's service in Shoreline on the City Council the City of Shoreline continued to work with ICHS to find a suitable location. Though the land has been purchased, additional funds are needed to build and staff the new clinic. 

According to the press release "In 2010, the city of Shoreline had 53,007 residents. Of that population, 15.5 percent are Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Many of the city's Asian Pacific Islander population live off Aurora Avenue North, which is also known as Highway 99."

ICHS will also be opening a clinic in Bellevue. To learn how to volunteer or support ICHS in other ways go to the ICHS website.

Wonderland Development Center

Wonderland Developmental Center is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to serving children age's birth to six years in north King and south Snohomish counties with developmental delays and disabilities.

Located in Shoreline "Wonderland Developmental Center partners to provide early learning support to families and children with developmental challenges as they live, learn and play." Services include summer camps, play and learn groups, clinic-based speech, occupational, and mental health therapies, family counseling, education and resource referrals.

Explore the possibilities of volunteering or donating by visiting them on the web, calling orvisiting the school.

Vision House - Jacobs Well

John and Susan Camerer of Renton Washington founded vision House in 1990. Since opening their first facility "more than 750 homeless children, women and men have received housing and support services to assist them in achieving self sufficiency."

"Our vision is to eradicate homelessness by being a progressive, Christ-centered model providing quality housing with healing and support services that radically transform lives while inspiring and empowering others to replicate that model worldwide."

Vision House owns and operates four transitional housing facilities in south King County, supporting approximately 120 individuals per year. The residents consist of 23 families in the program for moms and kids, and 9 men in the drug and alcohol recovery program. Children's Village Child Care Center, a Vision House program, serves 120 children which includes both the Vision House families and families from the community.

Vision House is has been building transitional housing for the homeless in Shoreline in a debt free "pay as you go" model with the help of cash and in-kind donations. Supporters include over 50 churches, hundreds of private businesses and non-profits. The goal is to be able to open the 20 housing units to families by Christmas 2012.

To donate, see the progress being made on the Shoreline facility or volunteer go to Vision House. 

Seachar.org

The Seattle BioChar Working Group is a grass roots, 501c3 nonprofit organization. SeaChar.Org's global mission is to develop, promote and share positive tools for carbon negative living. "Our biochar technology re-invents fire in order to create clean energy and build healthy soils."

Annually 2.3 million women and children die from the effects of breathing smoke from cooking fires. This form of cooking and heating kills more people than malaria.

Art Donnelly founded SeaChar.Org as a result of a vacation experience in the Apostle Islands off the south shore of Panama. It was seeing first hand the effects of cooking on an open fire on the individuals that he became acquainted with that motivated Art to take action.

Art's background was in custom metal working. Art started designing a cook stove, which were emissions tested to obtain information on whether the stove actually produced less carbon and particulate emissions. The cook stoves produce 87% less CO2 and 92% less particulate matter than the open cook fire or grill. They also range between 40 – 70% savings on fuel.

Art and his volunteers have done work in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. A recent grant from the National Geographic Society allowed Art to work with a 1200 member cacao cooperative in Bri Bri Costa Rica. Additional support has come from the Farmers Association in Costa Rica, Costa Rica University and the Government of Costa Rica. At risk students from California came one year to help out.

Then for 2010 -2011 the University of Washington also got involved to do a harvest season pilot project. 175,000 migrant workers a year come to Costa Rica to harvest coffee, sugar cane and bananas. A 36 household pilot project was done that would provide the migrant families with the means to cook on the clean stoves.

Biochar is useful in urban areas for use in rain gardens, green roofs green walls and aqua-ponics or to restore ruined soil.

Ways to help:
Be the first in your neighborhood to build and BBQ on the Estufa Finca, the environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient and carbon negative cook stove. It not only burns fuel 4-9 times longer than a traditional fire, but also improves the environment with the charcoal you make and return to your soils.

Now is your chance to register for the August 25th Biochar Stove Building class led by Art Donnelly of Seachar.org.

Where: Shoreline Community College
16101 Greenwood Avenue N
Shoreline, WA 98133
In the parking lot behind the 2900 building

When: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

Bring: Lunch, Gloves, and Water

Cost: $75.00

Preregistration Required by using the donation button on the SeaChar.Org website with an RSVP to Art Donnelly art.donnelly@seachar.org

This will likely be the last class given this year as Art is leaving September 4th for Costa Rica and returning in February.

Other organizations to check out and support: 

Shoreline Lake Forest Park Arts Council

SWELL Time Bank

Your local Chamber of Commerce