On June 4th, 2012, the Gates Foundation invited all their family homelessness advocacy grantees into one room. This convening allowed each of us to learn about each other's efforts and to discuss opportunities for even greater collaboration. The discussion that took place is likely the first of many! Firesteel, as a Gates grantee, was at the table, including theYWCA Wenatchee Valley as a Firesteel partner. Sharlene England is our Firesteel contact at theYWCA Wenatchee Valley and here she shares her meeting take-aways. And thanks to Sharlene for making the trek to Seattle to attend!
Featured
Photo Friday: Passage Point Garden Party
YWCA Gen-Risers participate in a garden work party at the YWCA Seattle I King I Snohomish Passage Point
We continue our series, "Not a Prisoner of the Past," with a Photo Friday post highlighting the gardening work party that took place at the YWCA Seattle I King I Snohomish Passage Point last weekend. This series explores the challenges that women face who attempt to rebuild their lives after incarceration and other life-changing circumstances. Passage Point is a supportive residential community for parents discharged from the corrections system who would otherwise be homeless and who seek to reunite with their minor children and families. YWCA Gen-Risers came out to support the program by pulling on gloves and getting dirty!
The Spiral Project: We want to hear your thoughts!
Did you make it out to see the Spiral Project at Lake Union Park? We would love to hear your thoughts! The sculpture will be up through June 17th and if you are interested in keeping the conversation going and wanting to make more connections into the homelessness advocacy community, we welcome you to Firesteel. The Spiral Project uses art created by the community as an opportunity to engage in conversation about family homelessness. Firesteel is all about continuing that conversation, making connections, and advocating for change that will end family homelessness in WA state. An easy first step is by sharing your thoughts on the Spiral Project by commenting on this blog post.
Photo Friday: Bike & Build
Photo credit, Bike and Build.
How cool is this for innovative advocacy with lots of incredible exercise thrown in? Bike and Build organizes cross-country bike trips which benefit affordable housing groups. They have donated more than $3.3million over the last 9 years, biked over 5 million miles, taken riding breaks to contribute over 100,000 building hours towards affordable homes, and engaged over 1500 young adults. All the while raising awareness about the affordable housing crisis in America.
Answer: Very cool.
Making Advocacy Fun: Social Media & Games for Nonprofits
Today’s post was written by Samantha Tripoli, Health Access & Volunteer Services Coordinator for YWCA Seattle | King | Snohomish, who attended the 22nd Annual Conference on Ending Homelessness in Washington State held in Yakima last week. Read on to find out more on ways nonprofits can benefit from using social media and games in their advocacy.