News - September 2014 |
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ECHHO NEWSLETTER
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And the 2014 Good Neighbor Awards go to Congratulations ECHHO Volunteers! In recognition of outstanding volunteer accomplishments in support of our neighbors in need, United Good Neighbors of Jefferson County presented one of it's 2014 "Good Neighbor Awards" to ECHHO. This award is normally only presented to individuals, but this year UGN decided to recognize ECHHO's volunteer pool as a whole because of the accomplishments and dedication of each and every one of our active volunteers. This award is a wonderful acknowledgement of ECHHO's value to the community and will serve to increase public awareness of our services. Nominated by Ken Dane, our Executive Director, the decision to award ECHHO was based on our amazing performance history. For example, in 2013, 71 different volunteers helped ECHHO serve more than 1,000 people, volunteered nearly 4,000 hours doing direct service and drove more than 53,000 miles on behalf of County residents. Collectively, this compassionate group quietly serves the many needs of our senior and disabled population. Here's a perfect example of the commitment of our volunteers: ECHHO volunteers helped one area family through a rough spot supporting hospital visits, errands and regular trips for a recurring medical procedure. Between January and August, 35 volunteers made more the 135 trips to help this family, giving over 250 hours and driving 5,000 miles. |
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We would also like to offer our congratulations Marla Overman: (Nominated by Amy Smith, Executive Director at The Boiler Room). Marla has been a volunteer with Boiler Room since 2010. She served as an intern, General Manager and Board Secretary. A tireless and compassionate neighbor, Marla has performed volunteer service for the Board of the Jefferson County Community Network, UGN, Habitat for Humanity, the Port Townsend Main Street Association, Dove House and Alzheimer's Awareness Week. Cindy Lesh: (Nominated by Alta Crawford of the Jefferson County Literacy Council). A "Champion of Literacy", Cindy has worked to increase literacy in Jefferson County. She developed the volunteer-maintained "Basket of Books" program, providing 77 literacy baskets which also include information on childhood dental hygiene for children and parents. These baskets can be found in restaurants, medical offices, social service agencies, clinics and commercial establishments. Cindy develops community partnerships with early childhood organizations and serves on the Jefferson County Library Board, Friends of the Library and the Literacy Council.
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We would like to Thank Wells Fargo |
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ECHHO Welcomes New Staff Member We wish to extend a warm welcome to our new staff member Josh Forgues. Josh was introduced to us by the Olympic Area Agency on Aging which provides job placement assistance to job seekers over age 55 through the Title V Senior Community Service Employment Program. As our new part-time intern, Josh has proven to be a real "eager beaver," welcoming new learning challenges in our office and enthusiastically assisting our clients with equipment loans and coordinating volunteer services for our care receivers. When we first met Josh, he said that he is "all about helping people," and this has proven to be true. On a number of occasions, he has helped care receivers who called us with last minute requests for help, most recently helping a disabled lady who lives alone and was having trouble with her clothes dryer. No other volunteers were available to take a look at her dryer so Josh went out to her home, diagnosed the problem and fixed it on the spot! Josh, a former commercial fisherman from Alaska who fished the waters of the Bering Sea, is a welcome addition to our crew with his sense of humor, quick wit and willingness to help as much as he can. Welcome aboard, mate!
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| PEOPLE SERVED |
VOLUNTEER HOURS | MEDICAL EQUIPMENT LOANED |
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| TOTAL |
Rides to Medical Appointments | Other Volunteer Services | Volunteers Participating | Miles Driven |
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| 144 | 318.5 | 248.5 | 70 | 37 | 4,897 | 145 |
To make a monetary donation, mail your check to
ECHHO, 1110 Jefferson Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368.
If you would like to donate medical equipment or volunteer, please call us
at (360) 379-3246
or email us: info@echhojc.org.
Meet us on facebook.
Previous newsletters can be viewed here.
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© Ecumenical Christian Helping Hands Organization 2011
On September 12th, volunteers gathered at Mountain View Commons Gymnasium to celebrate the 4th Annual UGN Day of Caring! Pledging 3 hours of volunteer work, they then headed out to various local nonprofits to offer their support by performing projects ranging from landscaping, deep cleaning, facilities maintenance and painting. Several volunteers helped ECHHO by sprucing up our kitchen/equipment check out room with a fresh coat of paint and tidying up the surrounding grounds by doing yard work. Thank you all so much for your support of this wonderful community that we call home!