At our Auction in the fall, we raised money for doing some social justice work in the community. At a Collaboration meeting in early February, a group of discussed and came up with opportunities to use the funds to help us do some direct work in our wider community.

First, we talked about what we hoped to achieve with the funds. We wanted to do something local. What were the needs right here? We wanted to build or deepen relationships with organizations that we know are doing good work. Finally we wanted to find ways to be active.  It was important to create opportunities for members and friends of all ages and abilities to take part in making a change.

The people at that meeting came up with three proposals for how to meet all of those hopes with both funds and doing something together.

First, we’d like to find a way to do a project for Thomas Mann Elementary School. There have been opportunities to take part in some elements of the life of the school, but what we’d hope for is a specific project that brings our members together with the students and teachers and adds value to the school overall. We don’t know what that will look like yet. Maybe it could be a fun day at the end of school or some other kind of celebration. Perhaps we could do another book drive to send students home with a book for the summer. We’re only limited by our imagination!

Second, we’d like to partner with Nourish Pierce County to both offer our time and money. The plan would be to invite them to come to us for a session of repackaging bulk items into smaller portions for distribution. They have all we need to put this together, and we would also make a financial donation to support the work they do of feeding the community. All ages can take part in this useful work.

Finally, we will partner with Associated Ministries and work to paint a house this summer with their Paint Tacoma Beautiful project. This is an effort to paint houses for low income home owners. Even with painting there are plenty of opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to take part. You can put paint on the exterior, or do some prep work. Maybe bringing snacks and lunch for the workers is your way to take part. We’ll use funds again to support their efforts while we use our hands to make a difference in someone’s life.

What will make this work is YOU. Come to a meeting on Saturday, March 30 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. to discuss and plan how we can make a difference here in Pierce County. Bring your favorite hot beverage with you and we’ll have some breakfast treats to nosh as we talk.