Employee Connections

King County Animal Care and Control Donation Fund

King County Employee volunteers at Animal Shelter – excerpted/paraphrased from a BLOG see full article here http://kingcountynews.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/kitten-season/ and pictures here http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingcounty/sets/72157624164938075/

Rita Foster, a transit employee, volunteers as a pet foster parent in her spare time for the Regional Animal Services of King County (fka King County Animal Care and Control) She filmed a PSA with Executive Constantine and two adorable kitten brothers Earl Grey and Oolong. King County has over 400 foster parents who work during the warm summer months to care for the large influx of fragile kittens and puppies that come into our shelter each year.

Check out the full information about the PSA and pictures above.

S.A.F.E.

After 30 years of not having a horse in my life I decided that I wanted to start looking. I thought it would be great to combine this pursuit with that of another of my passions…getting involved in Horse Rescue, Save a Forgotten Equine (S.A.F.E.).

I went to an event put on by a local rescue and stumbled across another and fell in love with a mare, Hope, that had recently been saved from a very abusive and neglectful situation. Unknown at the time of rescue, the mare was almost ready to give birth. A horse gestates at 11 months and so having her so close to giving birth and not being able to tell, should give you some idea how painfully thin she was.

In May she had a beautiful and, more importantly, healthy baby boy, Biscotti. I met the two of them in July 2008, after they had both had a chance to start…again.

I began volunteering once a month at the farm, in Monroe, to help these horses. I shovel manure, help build shelters and assist wherever needed – including handling the horses to get them ready for adoption. I have been horrified by some of the circumstances that I’ve seen these horses having to go through. They are so trusting and so dependent on humans who can be extraordinarily cruel and it amazes me how they can forgive so easily.

S.A.F.E. has brought some horses back from the brink of death to being adopted as fully recovered and fabulous companions. Some of the stories you can read on their site www.safehorses.org.

A little over 2 years later and many horses and piles of manure under my belt, both Hope and Biscotti have been adopted and are doing beautifully. Don’t you think?!

~Lynn Mazer, Department of Judicial Administration

Lupus Foundation

Growing up in a large family with 7 brothers and 6 sisters you could say I had my share of sibling rivalries, however, at the end of the day, we all came together. I’m the youngest of them all and somehow managed to stay sane - at least some would say.

When I lost my first sister to Lupus, Lupus was very new and very hard to diagnose. She went for years not knowing what she had and why she was so sick. By the time doctors discovered it, she was in the advanced stages. When she passed away, I began to donate whenever I could and walk for the cause to cure Lupus. I would soon lose two more sisters to this debilitating disease. I also have two nieces currently living with it.

For those of you who do not know what Lupus is: Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease that usually damages bodies, skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body. Lupus is not contagious. It is not like or related to cancer. Lupus is a disease of flares, (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill), and remissions, (the symptoms improve and you feel better); it strikes mostly women of childbearing age ( 15 – 44), however men, children and teenagers develop Lupus as well. More than 16,000 new cases are reported annually across the country. You can read more about the Lupus Foundation and their research on their website www.lupus.org. You can also participate in the many walks they have around the Puget Sound area to help raise awareness.

Every year is dedicated to the memory of my sisters and to those still fighting the battle.

~Willie Mathews, Department of Judicial Administration

Northwest Harvest Cherry Street Food Bank Baby Day

Several years ago, PAO Paralegal and King County Employee Giving Committee member Sherri Hosieni started looking for ways to make life meaningful for others. All seemed to be going wrong. Her father was fighting cancer that ultimately claimed his life and several other family members and close friends passed away within the same time period. Tragedy seemed to strike so frequently that there was no time to heal before the next loss occurred.

Sherri discovered Baby Day at Northwest Harvest. She learned that there are times in life when one cannot “fix” an immediate problem, but in reaching out to others a circle of caring and compassion is formed that gives equally to everyone involved. “I could not cure my father’s cancer, but I could help feed and comfort babies in need. I could offer smiles and encouragement to parents having a rough time. I could share the inspiring stories of the food bank guests with my dad and lift his spirit, when his world was crumbling around him.”

Every Thursday, Sherri climbed Cherry Street on her lunch break, walked through the door of the church basement that houses the food bank, and handed out diapers, formula, baby food, and other items. She also sliced bread, bagged rice, sorted fruit and scrubbed down tables. It fast became a place of refuge in a raging storm. Sherri witnessed heartbreak, but also lives healed and dignity restored.

Throughout the last decade, Sherri has continued her treks up the hill, with a few breaks in service do to an out-of-state move and the ebb and flow of work load, but her heart is never far from Baby Day. She explains, “The healing power of helping others brought comfort to my heart greater than I ever imagined. It created a direct link of hope and connection with my family and the honored guests of Baby Day. Northwest Harvest and the tremendous work they do is a beacon that shines very brightly for me.”

In 1986, Northwest Harvest introduced Baby Day in response to the desperation of a mother feeding her infant coffee creamer from restaurant condiment packages to keep the child from starving. According to a recent press release from Northwest Harvest:

“The first years are a critical period in a child’s life,” says executive director Shelley Rotondo. “Infants and toddlers from low-income families are already at developmental risk due to poverty. They’re put at additional risk for cognitive or behavioral problems by food insecurity. Northwest Harvest’s Baby Day program at the Cherry Street Food Bank demonstrates our commitment to helping our most vulnerable clients get a better start in life.”

Over the past 25 years Baby Day has evolved, always with an eye toward discovering innovative ways of serving the needs of parents and children. Beginning the week of July 12, 2010, the Cherry Street Food Bank began offering a menu exclusively for children age 5 and under and their families, every Thursday. The food bank will be closed to all other clients on that day, but will offer extended services on Fridays to meet the needs of others.

~Sherri Hosieni, Prosecuting Attorney's Office

Leukemia and Lyphoma Society

In April 2007 I went to a walk-in clinic because of flu like symtoms. After a chest x-ray revealed, in the doctor's words "I have never seen anything like this before" I was admitted to the emergency room.  There they confirmed that I had a mass sitting on my heart and my lung and I was transported to the University of Washington Medical Center.  Weeks later, at the age of 29, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma. A cancer diagnosis is not what you expect to hear at this age, regardless of who you are and the age group of 18 - 45 is the group with least visiblility and therefore with the fewest services.  We also have very unique needs: we are the most likely to be underinsured, too old to be on our parents, not necessarily old enough to have a good job with benefits; preparing for the rest of your adult life and reproductive health; and making sure our finances and affairs are in order.  Things that we wouldn't necessarily have to worry about.  But there was one organization that helped me through that from the moment I was diagnosed.  The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society offered a young adult cancer group, not just about getting the services you need while going through treatment but about SURVIVORSHIP, education for life-planning, connections to support services, and then learning how to pay-it-forward and help out the next generation.  On December 17 I will be in remission 3 years and I still rely on them to guide me through.

~Anonymous