THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Now that the turkey is reduced to soup and we've started to untangle the holiday lights, we hope you'll take a moment to consider those less fortunate and once again donate to our Extend-a-Hand charity program.
The need for donations to this community tradition of about three decades is always great, but perhaps never so great as today. Jobs and wages have been cut. Foreclosures continue. And the state can't fund programs that help those in need. Local governments are in no position to help, either.
We're grateful to live in Whatcom County where so many care and reach out their hands to others: the food banks, churches and other charities that feed and clothe the homeless; the Lighthouse Mission that provides shelter to those it can and the YWCA that has transitional housing for women. Seasonally, Toys for Tots is collecting toys at businesses throughout the county to give to kids who otherwise might not get any Christmas gifts. There are many with open hearts collecting for the needy. Every Sunday you can check our Fundraiser Calendar for additional ways to give.
We are grateful to readers who have supported Extend-A-Hand for years. Last year you donated more than $57,000 to support those who were perhaps one unpaid bill away from joining those in need of long-term support.
The Bellingham Herald covers most of the administrative expense so the money raised goes further in helping those in need. We continue to partner with the Opportunity Council on Extend-a-Hand in administering the program.
Donations support an eviction-prevention program that typically provides a month's rent to people having a hard time covering their housing expenses but who, after review by case managers, are judged good bets to keep their housing long-term.
Donations also support a program that helps people with deposits or first-month rent so they can rent a place of their own. That benefits people moving out of shelters or transitional housing, those moving out of a rented house that has been foreclosed, and those moving because of some other emergency.
Extend-a-Hand donations last year helped 68 households through those two programs.
At Interfaith Community Health Center, donations are used for prescriptions when a patient lacks insurance, has insurance that doesn't cover medications, or can't get prescriptions through other programs. Donations helped 113 patients obtain 281 prescriptions from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, the most recent figures available.
Tax-deductible donations can be mailed or taken to: Extend-a-Hand, c/o Opportunity Council, 1111 Cornwall Ave., Suite C, Bellingham, WA 98225. Credit card donations are accepted. For more information about donating, you can contact Sheri Emerson at 360-734-5121, ext. 301.
The Great Recession is still with us, but we're counting on the generosity of Whatcom County residents to again extend their hands and help their neighbors.
