Winter 2010

Joining United Way of Yakima County and United Way of Kittitas County has a long list of benefits!  Not the least of these is the expanded reach of the United Way Foundation.  By increasing the scope of agencies that may be aided by the Foundation, there also is the opporunity to enhance the enthusiasm and grow the donor base that will lead to a stronger, more sustainable future for United Way of Central Washington.

The Foundation Trustees recognized this advantage very quickly when an anonymous donor stepped forward to establish a fund that would be earmarked strictly for needs in Kittitas County.  The trustees voted to immediately disperse $10,000 of the donor's contribution to highlight the existence of the Foundation in Kittitas County.  Foundation funds are available for requests that cannot be fulfilled by funds from the annual campaign -- such as capital or start-up costs. 

With the guidance of the Kittitas County Advisory Committee, five proposals were reviewed and in the end, three of the five were offered funding.

1. Youth Services of Kittitas County received $1,080 to cover the pool rental cost for its monthly "Free Swim" program for one year. Free Swim makes it possible for a family with little income to use the swim as a family activity. 

2.  Hospice Friends received$2,680 to purchase new durable equipment such as wheelchairs, transport chairs and rolling walkers, replacing older models that had become unsafe due to wear and tear from years of use.

3.  American Red Cross Kittitas County Chapter received $6,240 to reactivate a program that teaches First Aid, CPR and use of an AED to students at Ellensburg High School.  When young people learn these skills, they are empowered to step in when a life-threatening situtation occurs.

Liz Whittaker of Community Health of Central Washington, a volunteer on the Kittitas County Advisory Committee, said, "It is perfect timing for the Foundation to provide these funds to Kittitas County agencies.  We need to continue to impress upon this community that the United Way funds stay in this county.  THe Foundation is an exciting additional source for community support and long-term philanthropy."

Unite Way Board Chair Alan Cottle presented checks to representtives f the three agencies at the December meetin gof the Kittitas Advisory Committee.

The Foundation also is considering a request to assist in rebuilding the much-love and much-used Upper Kittitas County Senior Center which tragically burned to the ground last summer.

United Way Foundation Remembers Helen Jewett

December 8, 2008

The United Way Foundation mourns the loss of a woman who did so much to improve the quality of life here in Yakima, Helen Jewett, who passed away in October. Helen was a very positive force in the community, and wanted to see her efforts sustained. To that end she included very generous bequests to twenty-one locally run agencies that she cared a great deal about. Eight were the recipients each of one million dollars, and the United Way Foundation was included in those eight. Helen specified that the principal from this endowment be used towards Capitol projects, and be allocated at the discretion of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. It is just this type opportunity to create a perpetual legacy that the Foundation was established to create.