Donor Spotlight: Schwab Foundation

In January of this year, the Dwight and Anna Schwab Charitable Foundation generously granted $15,000 to create the Preschool Assistance for Needy Families fund. The fund offers need-based assistance to children experiencing homelessness or living in low income situations so that they may attend the Y’s Care Children’s Program at ywca clark county.

Y’s Care provides quality preschool education to children from homeless, transitioning, or low-income circumstances. Children 2½ to 5 years old are involved in a preschool program that provides a safe environment, nutritious meals and snacks, physical fitness, and need-specific care for up to 20 participants at any given time. For homeless and transitioning families specifically, Y’s care extends beyond basic child education by providing community resources and referrals for parents who are striving to regain self-sufficiency.

To date, 12 children have received Schwab scholarships and the impact has been immeasurable. Children who were once experiencing crisis, chaos, or transition are now experiencing stability in their daily life. They are learning how to regulate emotions, deal with frustration in a positive manner, and build community with other children and adults. With help from the Schwab Foundation, these children are able to continue their early childhood education to become developmentally, socially, and emotionally prepared for kindergarten and life.

“If I did not receive a scholarship, I don’t know if I would be able to afford to enroll my daughter in Y’s Care. I would have to settle on another childcare option – perhaps one where I would worry about the safety of my child each day. But I have been truly blessed; receiving a scholarship to enroll my daughter in Y’s Care has been one of the best things that have happened in a long time.”
- Mother of a child in Y’s Care

“With the help of the scholarships, we have been able to keep consistency in our children’s lives, even through being homeless at one point. With help of the scholarships we were able to keep employment and had the resources to find housing. It gave us piece of mind to know that our kids were somewhere safe.”
- Father of two children in Y’ Care

The Dwight an Anna Schwab Charitable Foundation supports the legacy of Dwight and Anna Schwab – that of improving the economic conditions and quality of life within our community. ywca clark county is honored to receive funding from the foundation and we cannot thank them enough for helping us change lives.

donor spotlight: OnPoint Community Credit Union

This month, we’d like to recognize OnPoint Community Credit Union for their gift of $500 toward our project to replace all 52 mattress covers at the shelter and provide extra replacement covers to be utilized throughout the year as needed.

In the past few years, shelters across the country have seen a dramatic increase in bedbugs. Bedbugs pose a real threat to the health of individuals living in shelters and have even caused some shelters to temporarily close due to infestation. The cost of exterminating bugs after they infiltrate a shelter is extensive; yet, the cost of preventing an outbreak is quite low.

Thank you OnPoint Community Credit Union for helping to fund this cause!

To find out how your organization can subsidize necessary projects like this, contact our Director of Development at 360 906 9123.

donor spotlight: Ducktales

Supporting the ywca can come in a variety of ways: volunteering, cash donations, or in-kind donations. Jane and Steve Waddle, proprietors of DuckTales Kitchen in Vancouver, have been frequent supporters of the ywca. This holiday season they wanted to do something more special and personal.

On November 23rd the staff at DuckTales catered a wonderful holiday dinner enjoyed by 18 residents of the ywca SafeChoice Domestic Violence Shelter. Shelter residents typically cook their own meals and often don’t get the dining out experience. Recognizing that the holidays can be a difficult time of year, DuckTales delivered a full Thanksgiving dinner to the residents with all the trimmings: turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie! The food was delicious and everyone appreciated the kindness from the DuckTales staff who served them.

Thank you DuckTales for kicking off the holiday season by supporting the ywca!

The holiday season is the perfect time to make an in-kind donation to our needy programs. Please see our list of current needs, stop by the community center and pick up a gift tag which has an item specifically requested by one of our program participants, or call 360 906 9157. Thank you for your support!

partner spotlight: Wells Fargo

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon eight volunteers from Wells Fargo arrived with shovels and wheelbarrows in hand to help give the Y’s Care play area a much-needed facelift.

Y’s Care children were thrilled to return to daycare on Monday and find their sandbox filled to the brim with clean sand and the playground enhanced with bright bark chips.

Y’s Care, a ywca program for more than 20 years, serves a vulnerable population of 2 ½ to 5 year olds and focuses on kindergarten readiness and social skills.

While the Y’s Care outdoor playground had some desirable qualities, the goal is to ultimately turn it into a more naturalistic play area, an outdoor classroom that encourages authentic play with a wide variety of natural materials to explore. Studies have shown that connecting children with nature has numerous benefits. This is where Wells Fargo kindly stepped in with a grant and volunteers to make the project a reality.

In just under three hours the volunteer team was able to transport three yards of white beach sand into the sand box and distribute four yards of bark chips around the playground. Wells Fargo’s gift of time, talent, and treasure transformed the Y’s Care Children’s Program’s outdoor play area.

In the spring bamboo fencing will be placed around play area to cover up the chain link fence and complete the naturalistic setting.

Projects like the playground refresh would not be possible without the tremendous support of our community partners and volunteers. Thank you!

For more information on volunteer opportunities please visit ywcaclarkcounty.org or call 360 696 0167.