Finishing touches are being completed by Comcast Sales Representatives while a volunteer tries out the swing during the Comcast Cares Day. Builds Walls for A Homeless Family
In 2004, the Simpson volunteers enclosed the back and front porches of a house along with some painting and repair of a larger house on the same property. The larger house is also a Network Tacoma building, which houses larger homeless families of five to six residents. The property was funded by the Pierce County community Services (Community Development Block Grant). Simpson Craft volunteers also donated beauty bark, soil and plants to beautify the ragged and fallow grounds.
Through the efforts of the Simpson Tacoma Craft Company, the house is serving as a powerful living symbol of the transformation many of Network Tacoma's clients face in their economic and spiritual hardships. The hours of volunteer labor and materials donated by the Simpson company have helped transform the house from a decrepit and cold shadow of the troubled past into a bright and warm home for a formerly homeless family. Simpson's Community Care Group donated the drywall, insulation, bobcat rental fees, soil and beauty barks. Most of the volunteers are part of the Community Care Group and support other non-profits as well. Wyld Thyme Nursery donated plants and D & J Rodies donated rhododendrons for the project. We look forward to seeing the volunteers from the Simpson Tacoma Craft Company during our annual Volunteer Appreciation dinner party on Monday December 19th where they are once again showing their community spirit by handing out gifts to the Children of Network Tacoma's residents. We hope to see them, and other community volunteers again for next year's United Way Day of Caring. 
October 1, 2005. Comcast Care Day
A group of over 20 Comcast employees and some of their children, arrived early Saturday morning October 1st, and volunteered their time and supplies to improve two fourplexes used for Transitional Homeless Housing. Comcast Care Day is a Nationally sponsored community outreach event similar to the United Way Day of Caring. This year, volunteers spent over 8 hours painting and improving the complexes. The children were right beside the adults, working hard; digging and planting greenery. Rhododendrons were again donated by D & J Rodies. Other plants were donated by Wyld Thyme Nursery and then planted in front of the buildings. An insulating and decorative layer of Lava rock was distributed around the freshly planted greenery. A new wooden play set with a slide and a tower was donated by Comcast through the diligence of Comcast Project Coordinator Julie Beth Turner. Turner was determined to replace an old swing set which entertained the children of the complex until it's recent removal. 
A young girl living in the Transitional Housing Complexes expressed her great appreciation for the new toy. She mentioned how much she felt they had needed a new one and that she looked forward to spending time playing on it with the other kids.
Lunch was kindly provided by Comcast. Most volunteers partook of the fried chicken, but for others a little something else was on the menu. One of the volunteers entertained the youngsters (and most of the older volunteers) by consuming live insects, and one of the boys, to the dismay of his parental unit, joined in the search and consumption of these delicacies. After a day long of painting, digging, and planting, volunteers added the finishing touches to the project. One of the residents commented that he would definitely look forward to coming home and taking care of the new residential garden. We at Network Tacoma, as well as those residing in the complexes are very satisfied with the work done and send a heartfelt thank you to all the volunteers involved on October 1st, The Fifth Annual "Comcast Day of Caring!"  My name is Kathy. I am 47 years old. After 23 years in an extremely violent domestic marriage, I came to my breaking point; something snapped in me. My daughters, who were 11 and 14 at the time, and I got some clothes and personal things. I told them I was calling my friend Dee. In less than 30 minutes my friend was there to pick us up. I told her I was done and I wanted out. We went immediately and filed a Domestic Violent Restraining Order and other than retrieving my furniture and pictures and other personal items, I have not been back!! So, day-by-day, we began reconstructing our lives. I had just gotten my drivers license back on July 3, 2003. Up to then I had driven without a valid license or insurance for about 10 years because we could not afford it. That was a great victory! I had finished school at Bates but did not have a job yet and I did not want to jeopardize my friendship with Dee and her family for any reason. On July 14, 2003, I took my daughters to the Tacoma Rescue Mission Family Shelter. That was a real leap of faith for me because we had been homeless two times previous and had been banned from the shelter because of my ex-husband's unwillingness to cooperate while we were there. I took that leap because I believed God was in it. I felt really safe there with a restraining order in place. About mid August, during one of our weekly meetings with the director; we were asked if we would be interested in interviewing with a woman who was a case manager for Network Tacoma. I met with Network's case manager and told her about us and why we were there. She told me about Network Tacoma and their expectations. I was hoping we would be accepted and we were! We moved into the emergency housing unit in Lakewood and on September 19, 2003, we were moved into transitional housing in South Tacoma. Network Tacoma gave me a car. Of course, I got insurance on it and have kept that ever since! I began working for Target on October 3, 2003 and was thankful. My daughters enrolled in school and participated in band, choir, and swimming after school and maintained good grades. I enrolled at TCC last September and I am taking refresher classes to prepare me to go to the University of Washington to obtain my Master's Degree in Social Work. I believe it was ordained by God for my family and me to be accepted into Network's program and to be given a second chance. I am taking every opportunity that comes my way to better myself and my family. I feel like Network Tacoma has been like a sanctuary for us where we are protected and encouraged to become better. I have saved money and been on a budget for the first time in my life. About 3 years ago I was very suicidal. Now I am out of a violent relationship and with the help of Network Tacoma, my daughters and I look forward to the rest of our lives! Network Tacoma is pleased to announce the receipt of a surprise grant from the Comcast Foundation in the amount of $1,110. Over 20 Comcast employees and their families who, together with Network Tacoma, participated in Comcast's Fifth Annual "Comcast Cares Day." Over 30 local Comcast employees and their families volunteered to help Network Tacoma employees painted the outside of all of its transitional housing units in early October. The grant came as quite a surprise to Operations Manager, Bonny Jo Peterson, who was shocked to see a check from Comcast arrive in a parcel recently. "When things like that turn up in the mail, it's going to be a good day." She said. "This grant is a total surprise I had no idea this was coming." There have been many projects in the works that have been difficult to finance and schedule due to increasing need for services this time of year. Network Tacoma is happy to announce that the money from the Comcast Foundation Grant will be going into fixing the currently unusable and unsafe balconies at the transitional housing units. This project will improve the over all safety and aesthetics of the family living spaces. What might seem like a small step in home repair will be a welcome improvement of overall quality of life for the families that rely on the Network Tacoma's services. Network Tacoma is proud to have worked with Comcast in this recent project and looks forward to a continuing their partnership to help the homeless families in the greater Tacoma area. If you would like to participate in next year's Comcast Cares Day as a volunteer please contact Network Tacoma for further details. So far this year, volunteers have put in over 300 hours to support our homeless programs. We have two volunteers who diligently show up on Wednesdays to assist us with donation pick-ups, food deliveries, maintenance and a variety of other tasks. In February, two teenage boys from local high schools donated 20 hours each to landscape and paint a fence at our transitional housing site for homeless families with children. One of the young men also spent a day tearing down a ceiling of a home which will house another homeless family. The other young man came to our offices two days after school to clean flower beds and help our maintenance person Terry Peterson with projects. In March, so far we have had 17 high school students and 4 adults from the Lighthouse Christian Center in Puyallup volunteer for 3 hours at our new 16 unit low-income housing complex. They raked leaves, mowed the lawn and picked up trash. Their efforts stood out due to the fact that they had not eaten in 20+ hours. This group was part of the World Vision 30 hour Famine. Hundreds of churches and thousands of individuals fasted for 30 hours to bring awareness to the 8million people who die of hunger each year.  |
