Sophia A. Mecham - Writing Sample

Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.
org
Ken Briggs Spokane Valley Partners Chief Executive Officer 10814 E. Broadway P.O. Box 141360 Spokane Valley, WA 99214-1360 (509) 927-1153 ceo@svpart.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 20, 2010 Sophie Mecham 1319 N. Superior St. Spokane, WA 99202 (206) 261-4920 smecham@gonzaga.edu SPOKANE VALLEY PARTNERS HOSTS ANNUAL LADIES NITE OUT Ladies Nite Out Auction to Benefit Spokane Valley Partners. SPOKANE VALLEY, WA 20 SEPTEMBER 2010 Spokane Valley Partners, located in the Spokane Valley, will host the annual Ladies Nite Out. Guests will enjoy wine and appetizers while attending both a live auction and silent auction on Thursday, November 4, 2010. The event will be held at the Mirabeau Park Hotel, located in the Spokane Valley at North 1100 Sullivan Road, and will begin with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. and conclude with a live auction at 7 p.m. Appetizers and wine will be served at 5 p.m. and continuously throughout the event. Tickets will cost $50, with attendance limited to 300. -moreWe are excited to be putting on the Ladies Nite Out event again, as it has benefited our
Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.org
organization hugely in past years, Ken Briggs, CEO of Spokane Valley Partners, said. This years theme is Fire & Ice and features wine, appetizers, table favors, and plenty of exciting items to bid on. Hundreds of items will be featured in the live and silent auctions. Local businesses and Spokane Valley Partners volunteers and supporters donated many items to help aid the organization. Spokane Valley Partners event committee has worked hard to ensure that this years Ladies Nite Out is an evening to be remembered. The committee hopes that attendees will start their holiday shopping early this season and take advantage of great finds all while supporting the many programs offered by Spokane Valley Partners. Formerly known as Spokane Valley Community Center & Food Bank, the organization was founded in 1989 by a group of community members and churches that expressed concern about their community and sought to aid prosperity in the region. Spokane Valley Partners has experienced much growth throughout the years, and currently offers critical social services to over 70,000 individuals. For more information regarding the Ladies Nite Out: An Evening of Fire & Ice auction event, please contact Ken Briggs at ceo@svpart.org or (509) 927-1153.
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Spokane Valley Partners Fact Sheet Founded Founder Headquarters Locations Board of Directors 2006 Spokane Valley Community Center and The Valley Food Bank Spokane Valley, WA Spokane Valley, WA Ms. Gail Kogle, Ms. Patty Avery, Mr. Bob Jayne, Mr. John Decquisto, Mr. Ed Budinsky, Ms. Tatyana Bistrevsky, Ms. Diana Broh, Ms. Anne Martin, Ms. Ann Miller, Ms. Margaret Patterson, Mr. Allen Peterson, and Ms. Peggy Rudolf Created in 2006 from a merger between Spokane Valley Community Center and The Valley Food Bank, Spokane Valley Partners comes from a deep history of over 40 years of service. Spokane Valley Partners is the only comprehensive source of social sources between the Spokane area and the Idaho border. Spokane Valley Partners offers a number of services to help the greater Spokane area. Every Wednesday we distribute food from our Food Bank from 11am to 1pm. We also offer many classes to promote self-reliance. We hold cooking classes and emergency assistance which helps to provide funding and money management as well as rent issues. Spokane Valley Partners also has a clothing bank that is open Monday through Thursday from 10am to 3pm. During holidays, we host special themed services like Season of Sharing, wherein we give toys to children around the area during Christmas time, and Coats 4 Kids, for the cold winter months. In February we host our annual Be Mine event when we collect Valentines Day cards for homeless people. more
Organizational History
Services
Volunteers
Volunteers are an integral part of Spokane Valley Partners. Volunteers work in all departments of the building including the food bank, Baby O Baby department, clothing bank, and cooking classes. New volunteers are always welcome, and returning volunteers are encouraged to branch out and help in as many departments as possible. Volunteers are also responsible for working the front desk and greeting customers. Uniting the community by serving individuals and families through: Providing basic life necessities Teaching life skills that promote self reliance, addressing emotional and psychological needs, collaborating with other charitable and government agencies and enriching the quality of community life. Spokane Valley Partners collaborates with many local non-profits to help coordinate programs and events. Some key partnerships are Women Helping Women, Valleyfest, Avista, and The United Way. Sponsors are important for raising money and awareness about Spokane Valley Partners. Sponsors include Numerica Credit Union, House of Hose, Marjoni Marketing, and STCU Spokane Teachers Credit Union. Ken Briggs Spokane Valley Partners Chief Executive Officer 10814 East Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 Phone: (509) 927-1153 Fax: (509) 928-8463 ceo@svpart.org
Mission Statement
Local Partnerships
Contact Information
Sophie Mecham Gonzaga University 502 E. Boone Ave. Spokane, WA 99258 (206) 261-4920 smecham@zagmail.gonzaga.edu ###
Backgrounder
History Spokane Valley Partners is a relatively new organization that has come to be as a result of a merger. The organization began in 2006 when Spokane Valley Community Center merged with the Valley Food Bank. Before the merger, the two organizations moved to Spokane Valley Partners current location on East Broadway Avenue in 2001. This was a big milestone for the two organizations because it provided much more space for expansion. The move and initial renovations to the property cost them 2.5 million dollars. It was this move that made the merger of Spokane Valley Community Center and the Valley Food Bank both possible and effective. Spokane Valley Partners has made a lot of progress in the past couple years. 2009 marked the completion of the $640,000 food bank expansion. There was a huge need for the expansion of the food bank facilities. Before the renovation there was not enough room for the amount of food that came through the food bank. As a result, Spokane Valley Partners had to store food in other locations. Also, Operation of the food bank was less than ideal when large deliveries came in, since it lacked the proper accommodations for such occurrences. Before this renovation, delivery trucks were dangerously close to the entrance of the food bank, which endangered customers well being. This expansion made the food bank safer by separating things like deliveries and other operations from customers. All in all, this
expansion made the food bank safer, bigger, and more efficient.
Current Status Spokane Valley Partners is enjoying its all time high in community aid. The organizations impact has steadily risen since its formation in 2006 to what it is today. In 2009 alone, 1,163,631 pounds of food were distributed through the Spokane Valley Partners food bank. The organizations clothing bank saw 118,826 pounds of clothing come through the doors throughout the year. Spokane Valley Partners mission statement is committed to uniting the community by serving individuals and families through: Providing basic life necessities Teaching life skills that promote self reliance, addressing emotional and psychological needs, collaborating with other charitable and government agencies, and enriching the quality of community life. Spokane Valley Partners is host to a variety of programs; all of which serve the greater good of its mission statement. The food bank for example, provides an invaluable service to the community. Not only did the food bank work with over one million pounds of food, but it also served over 11,000 households and over 950 families per month in 2009. The food bank at Spokane Valley Partners is entirely volunteer based, meaning it is run by volunteers and relies on volunteer donations. Clients can visit two times per month and are served amounts based on their needs. Spokane Valley Partners has many events and fundraisers that raise money in order to sustain its various programs and services. Ladies Nite Out is an event that is going on its fourth year as an annual fundraising event. It is fun night filled with auctions, prizes, a guest MC, and great food and drink. Prizes range from gift baskets all the way up to free cruises valued at over $1600. Donations from Ladies Nite Out help Spokane Valley Partners make all of their services possible year after year. Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.org
Future Ken Briggs, CEO of Spokane Valley Partners has a vision of a bright future for the organization. The first vision Briggs has is one of growth for Spokane Valley Partners. Growth is something that the organization aims to achieve each and every year. Not only does SVP want to help more people, but also to expand in size in order to effectively do so. Events like Ladies Nite Out and the Annual Golf Tournament are things the organization wants to develop further as well. The expansion of these events will lead to greater attendance, which will then lead to increased number of donations. The growth of these events will lead to greater awareness of Spokane Valley Partners in the community as well, which will lead to more volunteers and more donations year-round. There are some aspects of the organization itself that Spokane Valley Partners aims to improve in the coming years. Since moving into its new location in 2001, SVP has been continually renovating and improving the existing facility. The food banks expansion is complete, which is one of many needed additions to the organizations headquarters. Something else that Spokane Valley Partners looks to improve is the groups governing body. This includes a solid foundation of board members and trustees as well as the addition of a younger cross-section of members. A process of ongoing recruitment will also characterize this stronger governing body. Spokane Valley Partners strives to do the best it can to serve its mission statement. One aspect of the mission that it hopes to improve upon is to promote self-reliance. Spokane Valley Partners does a great job of helping those in need, but leaves something to be desired in terms of creating and promoting selfreliance in its clients. In order to do this, Spokane Valley Partners needs to become better educated on why its clients are in the position of need they are in. More classes and programs that teach individuals how to Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.org
care for themselves will be implemented in the coming years.
Feature Story Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.org
Donate a Dollar, Save a Family

By: S. Mecham The Spokane chapter of The Women Helping Women Fund was established in 1992, by six Spokane women who decided to do something for local women and children in need. They recognized two unmet goals in their communities; to raise awareness of the plight of women and children in need in Spokane, and to raise money to be used to help programs that make a positive difference for women and children. Through financial contributions, these affluent women believed they could make a difference in the greater Spokane area. Through the vision of these women, the annual Women Helping Womens Fund benefit luncheon was started in 1993. The first luncheon attracted 760 attendees, and raised a total of over $80,000, which was then distributed to seven programs. While the results of the first luncheon were impressive, the event went on to experience much greater success, far surpassing the expectations of the founders. Subsequent luncheons have raised over $4 million, and have benefited over 300 programs throughout the Spokane region.
While the directors of the Women Helping Women Fund are aware of the overwhelming needs of many non-profit organizations, a strict application process is followed. Applications are carefully screened
and rated by the Allocations Committee, evaluated by financial reviewers, and read by the entire board of directors. This thorough application process ensures that the Women Helping Women Funds resources will be used in accordance with their organizational goals. In October 2006, Spokane Valley Partners applied for a grant from the Women Helping Women Fund. The program in mind was designed to provide expectant and single mothers with the basic supplies necessary to care for an infant or young child. With the help of the Women Helping Women Fund, Spokane Valley Partners received a $10,000 grant to start the Layette Program. In this program, mothers receive an assortment of necessities, including baby blankets, clothing, toys, a baby bag, and a variety of other products. To a middle class family, such items may be considered items of necessity, however, to mothers in need this is not the case. According to Spokane Valley Partners CEO Ken Briggs, From a low income perspective, many of these things are considered luxuries. After the success of the first program in accordance with the Women Helping Women Fund, Spokane Valley Partners developed an ongoing relationship with the Women Helping Women Fund. The Layette Program inspired Spokane Valley Partners to look deeper into the issues facing singles mothers. Other programs were developed with the help of the Women Helping Women Fund to address the unmet needs of these single mothers. On a basic level, Spokane Valley Partners identified two major areas of need: female hygiene supplies, and baby food and diapers.
With these needs in mind, Spokane Valley Partners created two additional programs to supply single mothers with these critical items. After witnessing the success of these two programs, the Women Helping Women Fund agreed to approve grants for less-traditional services to help women in need. A grant for Emergency Energy Assistance provided money to cover the utility bills of single mothers who are unable to afford these necessities. This year, the Women Helping Women Fund has approved a grant for a Home Safety and Green Cleaning Kit Program. According to Rose DeMico, a long-time volunteer at Spokane Valley Partners, Not only do these kits supply key items for a safe and sanitary home environment, they also include information on how to properly use these items in the ways they were intended. The goal of these programs is to promote self-reliance through education. We aim to identify the disadvantaging situation that underlies the need for our help; our goal is to fix the problem instead of putting a band-aid over it, said Briggs. The Women Helping Women Fund has continued to exceed expectations through philanthropic events in the greater Spokane area. Most notably, the 2010 Women Helping Women Benefit Luncheon attracted a total attendance of 1,675 people at the Spokane Convention Center. Those who attended donated a total of $242,000, which was $15,000 more than last years luncheon. The proceeds of this years event will benefit 24 local programs which address the needs of local women and children in need, including Spokane Valley Partners. The directors of the luncheon attribute the success of this years event to speaker Liz Murray, who titled her speech Homeless to Harvard. Ive lost track of how many people told me that this was one of the best, if not the best, speaker Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.org
weve ever had, said Sima Thorpe, Women Helping Women Fund board president. The Women Helping Women Fund has served Spokane for the past 18 years with a desire to help women and children who need it most. In the case of Spokane Valley Partners, the Fund has surely succeeded in fulfilling its mission. Through the generosity of the Women Helping Women Fund, Spokane Valley Partners has established five successful and beneficial programs that address critical needs of local women and children, specifically the Layette Program and the Home Safety and Cleaning Kits Program. With the help of the Women Helping Women Fund, Spokane Valley Partners can continue to help local women and children for many years to come.

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Promoting self reliance, enhancing quality of life 10814 E. Broadway Ave. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 927-1153www.svpart.

care for themselves will be implemented in the coming years.

Donate a Dollar, Save a Family

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