What Non-profit(s) Do You Support?

By Shannon Kelley

The Free Clinic of Southwest Washington is a wonderful local non-profit that is always in need of donations and volunteers.

If you’ve ever been without health insurance you know how worrisome it is. The mission of the Free Clinic is to provide and facilitate access to free, compassionate, quality health care for children and adults who are otherwise unable to access such services.

Here are a couple ideas you can implement at your company to help the Free Clinic:

Mini Silent Auctions…During the last nine months we have held 12 mini silent auctions. So far our silent auction donations have totaled $1,426.50 to the Free Clinic! Employees bring new and gently used items to the office. The items are displayed on several tables and bid sheets are placed next to each item. We send out a few e-mail reminders including a final call thirty minutes prior to closing. 50% to 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Free Clinic. If you are interested in implementing silent auctions in your office, contact me at skelley@cuphealth.com or call (360) 449-8868. I’ll forward our e-mail templates so you can easily implement silent auctions in your office.

CUP’s Mini Market…Several of our CUP employees make regular trips to Costco or take advantage of local sales on their own time. Purchases include popular items like chips, candy bars, popcorn, vitamin water, instant oatmeal, gum, mints, etc. Almost everything is priced at $1.00. We have a large container and count on the honor system for payment. A volunteer employee is responsible for collecting, counting and tracking the funds. We started the Mini Market on October 1^st 2008 and in six months the profits (donations) added up to $491.00!

 Dessert Auction…On December 10, 2008 we held a Dessert Auction during lunch. Several CUP employees baked up a storm, a few others purchased desserts. A lot of us enjoyed out-bidding each other and we raised $1,139.00 for the Free Clinic! Naomi’s Vermont Spice Cake with maple frosting and toasted pecans went for the highest bid, A few volunteers organized the whole event by making posters, sending out an e-mail, displaying the items and collecting the funds.

Every $1.00 to the Free Clinic makes a difference. If you want to find out about the great work the Free Clinic is doing go to their website at www.freeclinics.org

Community Events

• March 20, 2010
  Vancouver Farmers Market: 2010 Season opens
  
  
• April 17, 2010 from 10:00am – 2:00pm
  Earth Day Celebration – Marshall Community Center
  
  
• April 23, 2010 to April 25, 2010 2:00pm – 12:00am
  International Discovery Walk Festival – Vancouver Hilton Hotel
  
  
• May 1, 2010 Registration begins at 7:30am
  Walk/Run for the Animals – Esther Short Park
  
  
• May 15th and 16th 2010 from 11:00am to 4:00pm
  Dozer Day – Cemex/Fisher Quarry at 192nd and Brady Road Intersection in Vancouver
  
  
• Friday June 4, 2010 Registration begins at 11:30am
  6th Annual Free Clinic Classic Golf Tournament – Royal Oaks Country Club
  
  
• June 26, 2010
  17th Annual Brews Blues & BBQs – Stevenson, WA
  
  
• July 4, 2010 from 12:00pm to 10:30pm
  Independence Day at Fort Vancouver
  
  
• August 14, 2010 from 11:00am to 9:00pm
  13th Annual Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival – Esther Short Park
  
  
• September 19th, 2010
  Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure – Portland, OR
  
  
• October 9, 2010
  American Diabetes Association Step Out/Walk - Clark College