As federal shutdown spreads to Bellingham Coast Guard, more residents asking how to help
Whatcom County residents and businesses can help U.S. Coast Guard members who are working without pay because of the partial shutdown of the federal government. Just don’t do it through a GoFundMe page because, as it turns out, members can’t accept donations that way.
“There are ethical limits on what Coast Guard members can and can’t do,” said Lt. Russell Tippets, the public affairs officer for the Coast Guard’s 13th District, which includes Washington state.
Coast Guard members can’t accept gifts, Tippets said Thursday in a phone interview with The Bellingham Herald. Donations could be seen as one person getting preferential treatment, and it’s also a no-no because the agency provides law enforcement.
The Coast Guard isn’t the only agency facing the GoFundMe ban.
It turns out that other federal employees who have turned to GoFundMe online to raise money for their daily expenses as the shutdown drags on may be violating federal ethics law, according to CNN.
An estimated 42,000 active duty Coast Guard members are working without pay. Tuesday was the first time they didn’t get their paychecks because of the ongoing shutdown.
Other federal employees have gone longer without being paid during the shutdown that began Dec. 22.
There are more than 70 active duty/reserve Coast Guard that live and serve in Whatcom County.
Bellingham resident Daryl Wade bumped into that ban after he posted a GoFundMe fundraiser on Wednesday for the Coast Guard members stationed in Bellingham.
It was up only for a little bit when Wade took it down after being informed by the Coast Guard that its members can’t get monetary payments from civilians, he told The Bellingham Herald in an email interview.
Only Wade and one other person had contributed to the page when he took it down.
“As a local aviator and kayaker, I rely on the USCG as a last line of safety if something goes wrong,” Wade said. “I felt a duty to help them as they are on duty but not being paid.”
Rotary Club of Bellingham on Monday collected non-perishable food, toiletries and paper products such as toilet paper, and hundreds of dollars in cash and gift cards for Coast Guard members based at the Bellingham station.
“These are uncharted waters for all of us and we just wanted to do our bit,” Frank “Sandy” McIntire, club president, said on Thursday.
That effort was led by member and attorney Dominique Zervas, who spoke about the generosity of club members who donated the items.
Then Zervas, working with the Coast Guard, had to figure out how to get it to those serving in Bellingham — wading through rules that prevent people from donating money to the government and requiring an inventory of donated items that was sent to lawyers for the Coast Guard.
Zervas still has envelopes with a bunch of Visa cash cards in them. That’s too much like donating money to the government so she’ll use them to buy groceries, she said Thursday.
Meanwhile, USAA, an insurer and financial planner for the military, has offered $15 million in interest-free loans to help Coast Guard members weather the shutdown.
People can help Coast Guard members and their families everywhere in other ways:
▪ Donate through the Chief Petty Officers Foundation fund. Go online to uscgcpoa.org and click on “donate” at the top of the page. That’s what Wade did.
▪ Donate through Coast Guard Mutual Assistance online at cgmahq.com. This organization and the foundation are nonprofits that distribute funds to Coast Guard families in need.
▪ Give gift cards — a maximum of $20 each — from gas stations, grocery stores, merchandise stores and similar businesses. Mail them to USCG Base Seattle, 1519 Alaskan Way S., Seattle, WA 98134, Attn: C4IT, CWO Darren Davenport.
The gift cards will be provided to those who need them.
Prepaid gift cards from Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express and the like can’t be accepted.
Zervas said people also can drop off gift cards for the Coast Guard at her office at 1909 Broadway in Bellingham. Drop them off 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday for the next couple of weeks.
“We are all extremely humbled by the overwhelming amount of support from the community. It is very uplifting to know that we have this kind of support from all facets of our communities, and we are beyond thankful,” said Jason Tessier, the commanding officer for the Coast Guard Station Bellingham.
Whatcom County residents and businesses are helping Coast Guard and other federal employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay in other ways. They include:
▪ Tuesday, Jan. 22 — Ferndale Food Bank will distribute food specifically to unpaid federal employees, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The food bank is at 1671 Main St. Details: 360-384-1506 and on Facebook.
▪ Bellingham Food Bank , 1824 Ellis St., wants furloughed federal workers to know they can turn to it for help. Details: bellinghamfoodbank.org and 360-676-0392.
▪ Love To Move Studioz in Bellingham is offering free classes to federal employees who aren’t being paid during the shutdown. Call Alicia at 360-768-3225.
▪ The Airport Administration Office is offering to coordinate delivery and logistics for people or businesses that want to donate food or meals to federal workers who are working at Bellingham International Airport without pay because of the shutdown. Call 360-671-5674, ext. 7.
▪ A Facebook page called Operation Shutdown Fun has been posting information about businesses that have donated passes for fun things that families affected by the shutdown can do. Whatcom County resident Suzanne Westcott-England, who has been reaching out to businesses, is behind the effort since fun things are usually the first to go for people on furlough, she has said.
Donations have included an hour of free play at Best Buds Gaming Lounge in Bellingham, with a government ID for children and their families; free play at Perch & Play in Bellingham; and free skating during open skate at Bellingham Sportsplex with an RSVP.
Find additional details on Operation Shutdown Fun’s Facebook page.
“I’m very grateful for those that have donated and I know impacted families are grateful as well. Every age group from 9 months through teens has been covered now,” Westcott-England said in an email. “I’m hoping we hear from a few more businesses as the word spreads. Having free fun takes a bit of the stress off the families.”
