12-7-15

2015 NCW Success Story Exchange Index www.irisncw.org

Reducing Waste

Bob Mark, Leavenworth Grocery Rescue

Eileen Bone, Waterville Recycling Center

Laurel Sylvan, Fire Relief and Recovery Network

Recruiting Volunteers

Jim Oatey, Orondo Fire District

Developing Leaders

Sarah Brooks, Sowing Hope in the Methow Valley

Engaging Youth

Mark Marney, Eastmont High Emergency Shelter

Marcia Ostrom, Free After School Soccer Clinics

Building a Common Vision

Pateros Fire Relief

Kriss Salgado, The Grief Place Fire Recovery Support Group

Cross-Generational Learning

LaVonne Hammelman, Oroville Seed Lending Library

Connecting Lands & Waters

Cheri Farivar, Assessing Leavenworth’s Wetlands

Fostering Business

Margaret Viebrock, Highway 2 Brew

Wellness

Jacie Johnson, Coulee Medical Center Wellness challenge

Engaging Youth

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange Eastmont High Emergency Shelter Contact: Mark Marney, marneym@eastmont206.org

Situation: On a hot, windy Sunday night, June 28, 2015, the Douglas County Sheriff’s office called to ask us to work with the Red Cross to open Eastmont High School as an Emergency Shelter for those affected by the Sleepy Hollow Fire. We learned early on that some of the evacuees were coming from an assisted living, long-term care facility. Our Student Senate Advisor sent out a tweet asking for help and within an hour many student volunteers responded to the call.

Challenge: We strategized that the typical evacuees would be in the Main Gymnasium and the assisted living folks would be in the Auxiliary Gym with handicap access nearby. This area was separate from the main parking area where most of the evacuees were arriving; this was very helpful as many of the residents arrived via ambulance and handicapped accessible LINK buses. It looked a lot more like a MASH unit with all the necessary medical equipment, than a gymnasium. Many family members arrived in support of their parents who resided at the assisted living facility. Although it was night and dark, the temperatures were still in the 90's; we were experiencing extreme heat. Many evacuees were staying outside in the heat with their dogs due to the "no pets" in school rules.

Key Activities: Eastmont provided an effective shelter for the emergency because:

• The facility has several spacious commons and gym areas and is air-conditioned. • The word for help got out quickly and many students, nurses, and others stepped up to

help when they saw they were needed and could contribute. • People worked in teams to set up the facility and care for the evacuees. Students helped

lay a tarp over the Main Gym floor, set up cots, and assist elders as they arrived. They were very comforting to the elders as well as the medical and care-giving staff. It was touching to see students holding an elder's hand and comforting them with the "everything is going to be just fine" attitude teenagers exude.

• Volunteers and evacuees worked together to make a difficult situation better. Students were willing to "dog sit" in the Agriculture Shop so evacuees could take shelter from the heat. The students also appreciated being needed and doing something for the cause.

Successful Outcome: About 80 Eastmont students, 20 staff, and 40 adult volunteers helped people find shelter and comfort during the crisis. The students - great kids with a lot of positive energy – worked together to comfort some very stressed and confused evacuees.

Building a Common Vision, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange Pateros Fire Relief Contact: Kimberly Gormley, gormley@nwi.net

Situation: An active Facebook user, Waterville resident Kimberly Gormley became aware of emergency housing needs when she heard about people sleeping in the Pateros Park following the Carleton Complex Fire on July 18, 2014. Motivated to help, she pooled funds with friends to buy a trailer and then asked others, via Facebook, to help furnish it. Many people responded and within a couple days Kimberly and her friends, Windy Osborne and Kim Katovitch, delivered a fully furnished trailer with title to Marcel McArthur, who Pateros relief workers said needed a new home. This

success spurred others as Kimberly spread the word via Facebook, the newspaper, and word-of-mouth, that donations of goods and cash were needed to help those displaced by the fires. By late-fall Kimberly had received $58,000 from people in and out of state who had responded to her appeal. She purchased seven more trailers, coordinated the donation of eight more and saw that they were all furnished and delivered to those in need. Remaining funds were directed to helping others with short-term housing needs, e.g., utility bills and well permits. She donated the rest of the money to the Carlton Complex Fire Long-term Recovery Fund managed by the Community Foundation of NCW.

Challenge: Kimberly’s biggest challenge was matching the flood of donations, coming in through calls, Facebook, and surface mail, with the true needs. She became a full-time relief coordinator for at least six months as she worked with others in Pateros to steer the donations to those most in need.

Key Activities: Reflecting on this experience, Kimberly describes a few conditions that led to her success in connecting people in need with those who wanted to help.

She kept her focus on how she could help rather than why she shouldn’t. She didn’t overthink it. A long-time resident and business owner in Douglas County, she is a known entity with a deep

understanding of the community and their strong tradition of helping their neighbors. Kimberly serves as a community connector, frequently sharing news of events and needs

frequently though Facebook and other means. People responded with generosity, many of them anonymously.

Successful Outcome: Kimberly and her friends created a new model of giving which has strengthened the community bonds between Waterville, Pateros, and other parts of the country. Forty thousand dollars of the funds she raised provided emergency housing for 16 families. Most of these families have passed the trailers on to others as they have rebuilt their homes. The remaining $18,000 was directed to long-term recovery. To contribute to that fund contact the Community Foundation of North Central Washington, http://www.cfncw.org/fire/

Reducing Waste, Cross-Generational Learning

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange Oroville Seed Lending Library Contact: LaVonne Hammelman, lavomsn@hotmail.com

Situation: The cost of purchasing quality vegetable seeds from seed companies has grown dramatically since the 1980s. That situation, coupled with the desire to identify plant varieties adapted to the very different growing conditions of the Okanogan Valley and the Okanogan Highlands, inspired LaVonne Hammelman and Julie Ashmore to search for local sources of garden seeds. They knew that many of the lifelong home gardeners in the Oroville area saved seed; they figured that learning from

their experiences and growing out the seeds they had saved would increase the bank of seeds adapted to the local area.

Challenge: Initially, the challenge was locating seeds and determining the best way to organize them for distribution. LaVonne and Julie recognized that a seed library, hosted by the North Central Regional Library (NCRL), could provide the vehicle they needed to help reconnect the Oroville area to traditions of food self-sufficiency, promote cultivation of cold-adapted plants along with the practices of seed saving and food preservation. Organizing the program, along with securing seeds and the funding to support the program, was up to them.

Key Activities: LaVonne notes that the success of the Seed Library is linked to the success of several other programs and partners they work with.

The Oroville Librarian Barbara Pollock and library staff have been instrumental in the success. Their partnership with the non-profit Slow Food Okanogan enabled the seed library to secure

a generous donation from Irish Eyes Seeds which they used to organize the first seed catalog. Ready access to the seed library is provided by their partnership with the Oroville Library

which hosts the Farmer’s Market during the growing season. With the help of Spanish translator and library host Rosa Cervantes, all community members

have access to classes, recommended reading, and seeds. The Seed Library initiated a “Grow a Row” program to inspire gardeners to donate produce

to the Oroville Food Bank, a relationship that adds food to the bank while growing public awareness of the Seed Library.

Successful Outcome: Now in its third year, the bilingual Seed Lending Library is a formal, NCRL program hosted by library-approved volunteers, some of whom are also WSU Master Gardeners. The seed library catalog contains over 800 donated vegetable and flower seed packets that are checked out and grown by 60 people each year. Future plans include offering workshops such as a “Lunch ‘N Learn” series on Saturdays.

Photo: Laura Jean Worthington

Recruiting Volunteers, Developing Leaders

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange Orondo Fire District Contact: Jim Oatey, 509-789-2941, joatey@gmail.com

Situation: In the 1940s the community of Orondo was largely made up of families farming fruit on 20 to 30-acre farms. Farms were passed down through families along with the tradition of serving as a volunteer for the local fire district. This pattern began to change in the 1980s as orchards were sold and either consolidated into larger blocks of land or developed for vacation and recreational homes. At the same time, increasing numbers of Latino families began moving to the area to work in the orchards. By 2010 when Jim Oatey became the fire chief, the volunteer base had decreased from what had been a stable and sizeable crew with experience in the landscape and knowledge of the community to one with less than a dozen people. And as the land uses changed and the population increased, the need for

emergency response also grew; the Orondo Fire District responded to 72 calls in 2004, for example, whereas in 2014 that number had increased to 178 calls.

Challenge: Jim’s challenge was to reinvigorate the fire district volunteer force in a community that now included people new to the area – those who came from Mexico and other places to work in the orchards as well as new second-homeowners, retirees and seasonal recreationists.

Key Activities: Jim attributes his success in building the volunteer force to several factors including reaching beyond the traditional sectors of the community when recruiting volunteers, being persistent, building fun and social activities into the program, and providing a variety of ways for people to help.

Recruiting is continual through personal contacts and recommendations, Facebook, newsletters and events. Jim says he often recruits new volunteers through existing volunteers, i.e., “good people attract other good people.”

Persistence is required; don’t be afraid to step up and ask and if someone says no move on to someone else. More people can get more done for the community he says. And in a small community with fewer organizations to help such as service clubs, the need to support the fire district is apparent. Many people are responding to this need.

People enjoy the social aspects of volunteering. Jim and his wife Jennifer reinvigorated the Fire District Auxilliary to provide opportunities for those who want to support but don’t want to be on the fireline. They fundraise, provide meals at fire district meetings, and organize summer picnics and a Christmas party.

Successful Outcome: By 2015 Jim had succeeded in increasing the volunteer force to 36 active volunteers that includes a mix of men, women, young, old, Latino, Anglo-European, and others.

Reducing Waste, Recruiting Volunteers

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange Leavenworth Grocery Rescue Contact: Bob Mark; bob@uvmend.org; 509-548-0408

Situation: The Community Cupboard, a foodbank-thrift store-emergency assistance program of Upper Valley MEND (Meeting Each Need with Dignity), is housed in space donated by the City of Leavenworth. Part of a larger foodbank network, the Community Cupboard is connected to Second Harvest, a statewide food distribution organization based in Spokane. In partnership with various grocery stores including WalMart and Safeway, Second Harvest has initiated a Grocery Recovery program, designed to prevent food waste. The Community Cupboard had been doing grocery recovery through Second Harvest at the

Wenatchee Walmart, every Monday, since it became a Super Walmart in 2013. At the same time, Community Cupboard volunteers were picking up bread donations from Safeway in Leavenworth. When the Leavenworth Safeway store began participating in the broader Grocery Recovery program, Second Harvest invited the Community Cupboard to pick up from the other departments as well, which includes items such as bagged salads, deli sandwiches, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables. Challenge: The biggest challenge with being able to take advantage of the food provided by the Grocery Recovery program is providing enough volunteers to pick up the Safeway donations six days a week. For the most part, the volunteers that had previously been picking up bread donations continued, adding the additional groceries on their pick-up day. A few new volunteers, able to lift heavy crates of food items, were recruited to fill in the gaps. Another challenge has been creating adequate refrigeration and freezer space for the additional food in the Community Cupboard foodbank. Fortunately, food moves so quickly through the doors that this hasn’t been too much of a problem.

Key Activities: Some of the circumstances that Bob says helped foster this success include:

• UVMEND collaborating with Second Harvest and Safeway to launch the Grocery Recovery program. • UVMEND’s ability to recruit new volunteers to help with the daily pick-ups. • Because the Community Cupboard is open six days a week it makes a reliable location and partner for

the Grocery Recovery program. Most food banks are only open a day or two a week, which makes it hard for them to pick up and distribute all the food from the grocery rescue efforts.

Successful Outcome: Each day the Community Cupboard receives hundreds of pounds of food from the Leavenworth Safeway store that would have otherwise been thrown away. With fresh items making up most of this food, their clients and customers have many additional healthy food options to choose from. Safeway staff are also extremely happy because they no longer have to continue throwing away so much food!

Connecting Lands & Waters, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Assessing Leavenworth’s Wetlands Contact: Cheri Farivar, mayor@cityofleavenworth.com

Situation: A large part of urban growth area (UGA) of Leavenworth was designated as wetlands on a map the City adopted in the late 1990s. This map had not been verified through true wetlands studies and had been accepted without the cooperation of the affected landowners. In 2010 when one of the landowners in the UGA attempted to sell their parcel, the City told the developer that it could not be developed because it was a wetland. That landowner had her own official study done which illustrated that only 20% of her 37-acre parcel was wetland instead of 100%, as the wetlands map indicated.

At this point the City realized their wetlands boundaries north of town were faulty. Other property owners also had studies done and found the designation to be inaccurate on their parcels as well. Because the UGA is the primary path of growth for the City, it was prompted to take action to establish accurate wetlands boundaries in the area. Challenge: While Mayor Cheri Farivar and others in the City knew it would be an expensive process, securing a funding source was not the biggest challenge they faced. Because there was historical resistance from the affected property owners, the real challenge was creating trust with these owners in order to conduct the study. Because on-site testing was necessary, all property owners had to agree to allow full access to their properties. Key Activities: Cheri said their success has hinged on developing relationships with landowners before applying for any funding.

The City invited all City Council members, landowners in the UGA and members of the public to an initial forum in 2012 to explain the situation, seek input, and build support for the process. Because they were brought into the process early, 100% of the landowners pledged to cooperate with the study.

The City organized a wetlands symposium for the community in 2013 with wetlands biologists to gain knowledge about the current methods for assessing wetlands.

With this community support the City applied for a grant from the WA Department of Commerce in 2014 and received 80% of the cost of the study.

In 2015 the City completed the study showing wetlands locations within the UGA.

Successful Outcome: The landowners and the public were a part of the overall process and had a

voice in the City’s goals and how they would benefit both the landowners and the City in the long run.

This strong community support helped the City secure the funding needed to pursue the needed

assessments.

Reducing Waste, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Waterville Recycling Center Contact: Eileen Bone, 509-745-8540, jimehb@nwi.net

Situation: As early as 1971 the community of Waterville wanted to recycle. The local women’s club travelled to Omak to observe their recycling program. In 1991, a representative of the Town of Waterville met with the Chelan-Douglas Solid Waste Committee to discuss options for recycling. In 1993, Douglas County formed the Countywide Solid Waste Committee. With grants from the Department of Ecology, a building was erected in 1995 to house the Waterville Community Recycling Center. The original group that was to collect the recyclables and run the Center was unable to meet their obligations and the Waterville Town Council appealed to the community for volunteers to take over. George ‘Doc’ and Alice Hill stepped up and in February 1996 assumed the responsibility of organizing and running the Waterville Community Recycling Center (CRC).

Challenge: Doc and Alice walked into a 3-sided open building during a record setting winter with over 100” of snow and temperatures at or below zero during February. They found apple bins full of frost and snow covered cardboard and bins of mixed recyclables. There was a baler for the corrugated cardboard. They had their work cut out for them.

Key Activities:

Clean up the mess. Bale the cardboard. Sort the recyclables.

Set up bins for each category of recyclable.

Set regular hours and have help available to unload and sort customer recycle.

Encourage community involvement in recycling. Successful Outcome: Fast forward 20 years. The Waterville CRC is the place to be on Tuesday and Saturday afternoons. Socializing as well as recycle drop off has become a popular pass time for many regular customers from Waterville and the surrounding communities. Newcomers to Waterville quickly learn the Recycle Center will take cardboard packing boxes off their hands as well as offer books for every age level, answers to any question they might have and suggestions for people to contact for services or information. In addition to mixed paper, plastics, tin cans, aluminum cans and cardboard, the Recycle Center takes styrofoam peanuts, plastic bags, metal and appliances, residential sharps, fluorescent light bulbs and batteries. Staffed completely by volunteers, the Waterville Community Recycle Center leads Douglas County in pounds collected/population and continues to grow and expand to meet the needs of the COMMUNITY IT SERVES.

Reducing Waste, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Fire Relief and Recovery Network Contact: Laurel Sylvan, 509-322-6254 ohfrm@gmail.com

Situation: The firestorms of August 2015 activated and strengthened existing community networks in northern Okanogan Valley. The North Valley Hospital quickly opened a shelter at the Tonasket High School and the Comancheros opened the Rodeo Grounds for evacuated animals. But as the fires spread, the shelter closed, and the town was evacuated; leaving many in need of a place to sleep, eat, and rest. People who had lost their homes needed clothing and other basics,

including help caring for their livestock and pets, many still at the Rodeo Grounds. Others wanted to help or had resources to share. Challenge: The challenge was to quickly connect those with resources with those who needed them. A

distribution center was set up in the Tonasket Visitor Center parking lot to manage the volunteer labor and

donations of food, clothing, and other supplies. Okanogan Highlands Firewatch, a Facebook page, became

the preeminent online avenue for sharing fire observations. Simultaneously, volunteers formed the North

Okanogan Fire Support Exchange on Facebook and using the Corkboards tool, an on-line bulletin board to

match people’s needs with resources. Finally, a new evacuation center was established at the Community

Cultural Center (CCC) where about 100 fire-affected people were served three home-cooked meals per day,

and provided with other relief supplies.

Key Activities: Project volunteers Laurel Sylvan and Julie Ashmore cite the following success factors:

The North Okanogan community has a high degree of self-reliance; it’s a value and practice that

runs deep. Many people care about their neighbors; there are traditions of sharing and helping.

The CCC is an established meeting place operated with minimal staff and many volunteers

accustomed to working in teams to prepare meals, offer programs, and maintain the facility. The

CCC regularly brings people from across all sectors of the community together.

A growing part of the community is comfortable communicating online, including those who post

their needs and wants on the Natural Foods Cooperative online bulletin board. This became the

model for the Fire Support Exchange, as they built on a system already in place.

People assume leadership positions when they see a clear need they can help meet, such as the

volunteers who brought an RV to the Visitor Center and operated it as a distribution center.

Successful Outcome: More than 200 people per day received support during the height of the fires; at least

that many volunteered their time and skills to help others. What started as an emergency shelter has now

grown into the non-profit relief Fire Relief and Recovery Network (FRRN) led by Laurel Sylvan, a licensed

social worker. The FRRN brings together a variety of resources to develop opportunities for community

members to recover from the staggering impact of this year's wildfires including long-term building

assistance. Visit www.communityculturalcenter.org to donate to the Fire Relief & Recovery Fund.

CCC Photo: Deb Vester

Connecting Lands & Waters, Developing Leaders

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Sowing Hope in the Methow Contact: Sarah Brookes, sarah@methowconservancy.org

Situation: The 2014 Carlton Complex Fire burned more than

275,000 acres in Okanogan County. In the course of

firefighting, many more acres were necessarily affected in

the process of creating firelines and restoring powerlines.

The Methow Conservancy understood that many of the

lands that burned would recover on their own as part of a

natural cycle. Other areas, however, would need a helping

hand to avoid further invasion by non-native weeds. In the

fall of 2014, the Conservancy recognized that acres of land

in need of re-seeding could be matched with many people

who were eager to help. Creating opportunities to restore disturbed lands could make a difference on

the ground while also helping people process their anxieties and experiences of the fires.

Challenge: The challenge was to identify priority sites for reseeding and then organize volunteer teams

to sow some hope. Conservancy staff provided free site visits for any private landowner to assess the

damage, serving as something of a “land social worker” role. They identified sites that had either been

very weed-infested before the fires or disturbed by fire management actions. Then they teamed up with

local disaster case managers to provide free native seed to private landowners who needed assistance,

and, local and state agencies to organize the “Seed Mob,” a 100+ volunteer effort to broadcast native

seeds into disturbed areas.

Key Activities: Success was a combination of having the right resources and partnerships.

Methow Native Seeds owner Rob Crandall had a good supply of native seeds suitable for the

restoration sites.

The Conservancy had staff comfortable working with people and trained to do land assessments.

Room One and disaster case managers worked to refer landowners with financial need to the

Conservancy, who in turn gave restoration advice and seed as needed.

For the Seed Mob, the Conservancy worked with the Okanogan County Electric Co-Op and WA

Department of Fish & Wildlife to identify high priority lands and find safe ways for volunteers to

access them.

Successful Outcome: 100+ volunteers had a chance to learn about the importance of using native seeds

and why some areas might need re-seeding and others may not. Volunteers had fun and built

relationships among the seed mob groups and landowners who understood that they were a part of a

larger community that cared about them. The Seed Mob was repeated in 2015.

Fostering Business, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Highway 2 Brew Contact: Margaret & Sid Viebrock - smviebrock@nwi.net

Situation: The vision for Highway 2 Brew began in 2002 when Margaret facilitated a series of focus groups for the local Chamber of Commerce to brainstorm solutions to a declining business atmosphere in Waterville. Focus group participants said they needed a place to buy good coffee. It was through this process that the Viebrock’s decided to pursue a drive-through coffee business. Unknown to most people, they started their business research with collecting DOT traffic counts driving by a potential location, visiting other independently owned coffee owners, and learning about the business from coffee roasters and equipment suppliers. The local bank manager saw the entrepreneurial potential in their plan and provided a start-up business loan. Within a year they purchased a run-down corner lot on Highway 2, met the building requirements, trained 12 employees and opened their business.

Challenges: Designing Highway 2 Brew to attract local customers and travelers is unique to this rural area. It was necessary to have a drive-through area that would accommodate not only cars, but campers, horse trailers and wheat trucks. Motor cycle groups needed a place to park and walk-up customers needed an area to sit and enjoy their purchases. The property now showcases a large grassy area with an attractive pergola and seasonal decorations. Other challenges were to learn how to make a quality product, train employees to understand the importance of consistency and manage a new business while engaged in other personal and professional employment. Thirteen years ago we listened to the skepticism from other business owners and the public. Today, these people are some of our best customers!

Key Activities: Many factors contribute to the success of Highway 2 Brew. The local community supports our business and in turn, we contribute to the community with support for many activities. We buy local and do our legal, accounting and banking business in Waterville. Most recently, Highway 2 Brew installed an electric car charging unit. This project, in collaboration with Plug-In North Central Washington, is part of a larger effort to support tourism and recreation with electric vehicles. A demonstration and “open house” is planned for this spring. Key activities for our success include: Hire friendly employees; implement an extensive training program and have employee expectations. Maintain consistent hours, whether it’s nice weather, snowing or cold outside. We are open 364 days

a year and our customers can depend on us to be there. Continue to add new menu items and update the property. Become part of the larger community by supporting and participating in events and organizations.

Successful Outcome: Success for Highway 2 Brew is measured in several ways. This small business was built

on a recognized community need and has survived several shifts in the economy. It adds a unique business to

Waterville and cleaned up a major highway corner. It provides employment for 10-12 people. It offers jobs to

youth who have limited employment options, need job experiences and want to develop their confidence

when working with the public.

Sid & Margaret Viebrock Owners - Highway 2 Brew

Cross Generational Learning, Wellness

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Coulee Medical Center Wellness Challenge Contact: Jacie Johnson; johnsonj@cmccares.org

Situation: Coulee Medical Center recognized a need for a program to help and support the health, safety, and well- being of our community. We began an 8-week employee wellness program that encouraged participants to lose weight in a healthy way -- through adequate exercise and proper diet -- and to incorporate healthier behaviors into their everyday lives. Each of the 8 weeks, participants were given a challenge or tips focused on various aspects of improving their health and habits, such as nutrition, weight loss and physical conditioning. Because of our success with

the employee program, we facilitated a second wellness challenge two months later, that included community members.

Challenge: Initially, the challenge was creating an easy-to-follow program that would encourage people to make healthy changes, and commit to them. We also wanted it to be educational and appropriate for all types of individuals. Thereafter it was spreading the word about the wellness challenge, and encouraging people to join.

Key Activities: • Offering healthier options in the cafeteria, and labeling appropriate foods that coincided with

each weekly challenge. • Each week would build upon the last, and by the end of the eight weeks participants were

able to encompass all aspects of a healthy lifestyle. • There was an option to participate individually or as a team. Teams were asked to create a

team name, and choose a team leader who was in charge of facilitating team events, gathering weekly weights and points, and motivating team members.

• Weekly events involving group education or meet-ups: smart snacking, how to start a new exercise program, group walks, intro to yoga class, etc.

• Team progress was posted weekly in the local newspaper and employee bulletin board.

Successful Outcome: By the end of the 8 weeks, participants were able to encompass all aspects of a healthy lifestyle encouraged during the program. Our first wellness challenge included 66 employees, who lost a total of 407 pounds. Our second challenge, which included community members, had a total of 60 participants, and lost 321 pounds combined. We see several people continue to follow these healthy habits after the challenge, and we are excited to bring more wellness events to the community to make an even greater impact.

Building a Common Vision, Strengthening Community

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

The Grief Place Fire Recovery Support Group Contact: Kriss Salgado k.salgado@griefplace.org

Situation: The wildfire that swept through Wenatchee on June 28, 2015, had all the elements of a perfect fire storm. It surprised both emergency management and residents as high heat and sudden wind blew what started as a small roadside human-caused fire into a devastating disaster that destroyed 30 homes and many other buildings. There were many heroic actions taken by both fire fighters, risking their lives to control the flames and protect structures, and by residents who warned neighbors running door to door and stood guard dousing rooftops with garden hoses. In the end, the fire had too much fuel and ignited a neighborhood,

spewing plate sized flaming ash to the sky, bring down an industrial zone far down wind to the East. Had it not been for the early morning rain, the city may have faced losses far greater. As residents sifted through the ash, everyone was asking how could this happen and what now?

Challenge: The Grief Place has been serving the Wenatchee valley for more than 18 years by providing

a wide array of loss support groups full of compassion and hope for children and families in the area.

Considering the devastating and unexpected loss these families faced, The Grief Place started a support

group open to all those from the affected area, both those who lost property and those who didn’t, all

of whom faced continuing worry about potential threats from future fires. This was a new type of

support group for the organization, and it was quickly discovered that this group could benefit from its

collective power in mutual support, advocacy, information sharing and recovery planning.

Key Activities: The adults started meeting weekly with a separate children’s and teen’s groups set up

for an alternative night. Through the process, the group has accomplished these things:

Grief processing and emotional support for one another, and extending their compassion to

other communities suffering similar losses, has been a powerful tool for healing and moving

forward, even while at different phases of grief and decision making for the future.

Through discussion, topics of concern and priority have been identified and guest speakers

were brought in for the first 30 minutes of each group session to provide recovery information,

including insurance agents, attorneys, tax specialists, trauma counsellors, Firewise experts, city

and county authorities from the Land Trust, Conservation District, and emergency management

The group created a collective timeline of their memories and observations of the disaster and

organized their most pressing questions for authorities, which have been the basis for gaining a

better understanding of what happened, and discussing and advocating for change.

Successful Outcome: A new model for enabling a healthy post-disaster recovery process for an

affected community has been established, which fills a unique niche in disaster related services.

Engaging Youth, Bridging Cultures

2015 NCW Community Success Summit Story Exchange

Free After-School Soccer Clinic Contact: Aaron Simon or Marcy Ostrom, uppervalleyleavenworthsoccerclub.org, aaronsimonemail@gmail.com, mrostrom@nwi.net

Situation: We were hoping to build more diverse participation in our youth soccer club. We viewed soccer as a cross-cultural, universal sport that should have broad appeal across our community if we could get more information out and address barriers to participation in organized activities.

Challenge: We wanted to make sure that our youth soccer programs were equally available to everyone in our community. In particular, we were concerned that participation by Latino youth in organized

soccer did not reflect their numbers in our school district. In addition, we wanted to encourage K-8th grade youth to become more physically active.

Key Activities:

• Offered a free, after-school soccer clinic in Peshastin, close to where many Latino families live, as well as one at Osborn Elementary school.

• Held the programs after school on the school grounds so that children would not need transportation.

• Prepared coaches with fun soccer activities for young children of all ability levels. • Encouraged elementary school teachers and administrators to help promote the free

after school clinics. • Involved high school soccer players in working with youth. • Encouraged young girls to participate and recruited female coaches. • Had registration forms for the full season in Spanish and English ready beside the field

when parents came to pick up their children. • Raised funds from business sponsors to allow unlimited scholarships during the regular

season.

Successful Outcome: 100+ youth participated in free soccer clinics resulting in 30 on-site registrations for the upcoming regular season.