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Seattle Times readers responded to widespread calls for support, contributing more than $2.9 million to the latest Fund for Those in Need campaign.
The annual holiday season effort, which raises money to support 13 nonprofit organizations in the Puget Sound region, received more than 4,400 donations ranging from $3 to $160,000. These donations will support government agencies because providing services is costly and the need for assistance is greater than ever.
Nancy Harney, 71, of Maltby, is one of the donors inspired by a Times article about the agency and its work. The former Environmental Protection Agency employee said stories that highlight what people’s donations go to have kept her contributing to the fund “for a long time.”
Across Puget Sound, these agencies help local residents overcome homelessness, address mental health crises, and escape domestic violence. They connect adults with second chances and youth with mentors. They provide care to caregivers who provide services to their loved ones.
“That’s why I came back,” Hurney said.
Seattle Times President Alan Fisco said the $2,981,865.92 raised exceeded this season’s goal of $2.5 million and brought the total raised since the campaign began in 1979 to more than $39 million.
“We are truly grateful for the trust our readers have placed in us and our agency,” said Fisco.
For stories about Sound Generations, Washington’s largest nonprofit serving seniors, and the Salvation Army, which provides food, shelter, rehabilitation and emergency services to more than 100,000 people annually in King County, Shoreline’s Patty・Inspired Adamic (68 years old). To donate.
Adamich, a former accountant, has been donating to the fund for five years.
“I think there are a lot of seniors in particular. in These are people who are on a fixed income, who could use financial help, and who are often forgotten these days with all the competing needs,” Adamich said.
The 45th Fund for Those in Need campaign comes as the high cost of providing services in the Seattle area continues to exceed federal pandemic relief programs.
Molly Adolphson, 70, a retired environmental consultant who lives in Lake Forest Park, said she started donating this year because the need has increased “with inflation and rising home prices.”
Diana White, president of the Edmonds-based Teachers of Color Foundation, said she and her husband, who have donated to the foundation for more than 25 years, were especially grateful that the Times would cover all administrative costs. He said he is doing so.
“Even if someone donates a few dollars, every penny counts,” said White, 59.
“I donate every year in memory of my father,” she said. “I call it my father’s Christmas present.”
White said she also sees this as a way to bring together nonprofits that serve people in need.
Roxanne Kerani of Brier has been donating to the fund for more than 10 years. She said she knows that people can get into trouble over things that are out of their control, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I was younger, I worked in homeless shelters. My husband is a public school teacher who works with families in crisis and children who need special services and don’t get them. I understand the needs,” she said.
Kehlani, 56, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, especially loves Treehouse’s efforts to support youth in foster care. “But I really give for all organizations. It’s important to support these organizations that do so much in our local community.”
Amy Carlson of the White Center has been donating to the fund for nearly 10 years, inspired by each group’s stories.
“Helping children makes this world a better place,” said Carson, 52, who spent 18 years raising money for nonprofits as an event producer.
“I’ve spent my whole life looking for ways to pay it forward,” she said.
The story of overcoming hardship and receiving help also made Dwight Miller, 62, determined to donate this year.
Miller, a consulting engineer who lives in Fall City, made his first donation to the fund on New Year’s Eve.
He said he knew about some of the organizations before the campaign, but that he was learning about many for the first time. The stories elevated each organization’s mission and showed him how his donations could help other organizations, and he “wanted to support them all.”
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