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“Retired” county vans presented to two groups in District 4

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Metropolitan King County
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“Retired” county vans presented to two groups in District 4

Summary

Preschool and adventure program receive vehicles to meet transportation needs

Story

Trips to arts and cultural events and transporting young people to outdoor adventures throughout the region await two of King County’s newest “retirees.” Metropolitan King County Council Chair Larry Phillips presented keys to surplus King County Vanpool vans to two organizations in Council District 4, the Sweet Pea Cottage Pre School and the Cascade Leadership Challenge.

“Putting retired county vans to use in the community helps extend the value of these public assets in many ways,” said Phillips. “Both Sweet Pea Cottage and Cascade Leadership Challenge will benefit greatly through the donation of these vans as they transport youth, program leaders, and educators to activities and programs, enriching the lives of the participating youth. I am pleased to have assisted these organizations in their mission to provide critical educational and development opportunities.”

The focus of Sweet Pea Cottage is to enrich, inspire, challenge, and expand every child’s world through an arts-based education. The school believes the arts are a powerful interdisciplinary tool that can teach learners at all levels. Its mission is to connect educators and youth with artists from a wide range of traditions and disciplines.

Sweet Pea will use their van to transport students and their chaperones to local activities such as trips to museums and theaters along with weekly field trips. The van will also be available to the organizations that Sweet Pea Cottages partners with: Queen Anne Baptist Church, Center for Spiritual Living, Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, which houses three of the school’s locations.

Cascade Leadership Challenge provides personal and leadership development experiences to youth of the Greater Seattle area using a program of challenging outdoor adventure activities, including mountaineering, whitewater rafting, rock climbing and other self-propelled adventure travel. The CLC’s focus is on environmental awareness and providing every member with experience in active risk management.

CLC’s van will be used to transport participants and their chaperones to activities throughout the region.

Since 1995, the County Council has donated vans from Metro’s Vanpool to local cities and nonprofit organizations to provide transportation for low-income, elderly, youth and disabled residents. The vans are part of a fleet of county vehicles that have been ‘retired’ after accruing a certain number of miles.

Governments, agencies and organizations that receive vans must meet specific requirements, including outlining specific plans for using the van, ability to provide quality and trained drivers and assurance that the van will be available to assist persons without regard to affiliation with any particular organization.

Interested organizations can contact the District office at 206-477-1004.
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