Inadequate

low-income

housing on Orcas

I am writing this letter to express my concern for many extremely low-income families here on Orcas who do not have adequate housing.

As the Family Support Specialist for Orcas Family Connections, I have had the privilege of getting to know people from every economic level in our community. Most of the people I work with do not own their homes and do not qualify for ownership through either of the programs offered here. As part of my work, I frequently visit people in their homes where the living conditions are sub-standard.

A great majority of the homes are not properly cleaned before a tenant moves in – they have dirty carpet, walls, bathrooms and more. I have visited many homes that are infested with pests, mold and mildew, some without working appliances, others without proper insulation or sufficient heat. There is a great need on Orcas for quality affordable rental housing for our community’s lowest income families.

The disease of poverty thrives throughout the world and our island is no exception. Each and every person deserves to live with respect and dignity in a home that meets their needs. If you own a home, condo or apartment complex and rent it out, I ask that you please assess the conditions that your tenants are living in and consider improvements. It is your legal and ethical responsibility to provide a safe, clean home for the families you rent to.

Erin O’Dell

Eastsound

Only on Orcas

As I opened the back door of my car at Island Market, a gentleman asked if he could help. I was delighted, thanked him, and he returned the cart to the store.

I realized I was without my trusty silver-handled cane while I was having my hair cut.

A telephone call informed me that the cane was found and delivered to my home!

I am thankful for the deed well done.

Rosemary Kimball

Eastsound

Thanks for support of Orcas youth

What do Orcas kids do in the summer, if they are too young to be home alone, and all adults in the household go to work? Or maybe they just need some outdoor enrichment and positive role models (who doesn’t?) to add value to their lives.

Many children on Orcas participate in summer day camp and overnight camp at YMCA Camp Orkila. Their days are filled with games, singing, creating, learning new social skills, and trying new things. Some of these kids’ families can afford the cost of camp. Others cannot. Solution: the annual Partners with Youth campaign, an effort specifically targeted to raise scholarship money for those kids who need help with youth camp tuition. These funds can be tapped by local kids for day camp, resident camp, and even teen trips.

We would like to recognize and thank all of the hearty, enthusiastic volunteers who have spent the past month asking the Orcas community to give to this worthy cause. The 2009 campaign chairpersons are Audrey and Dean Stupke. They have led teams captained by Lynn Richards, David Johnson, Denise Wilk, and Dorothy Osborn. These captains have, in turn, inspired their team members: Jim Biddick, John Mazzarella, Bill Hagen, Jan Zehner, Phil Branch, Bill and Monique Gincig, Laurie Michael, Aimee Johnson, Kay Miller, Linda Tretheway, Judy Whiting, April Pollock, Rita Bailey, Kim Wareham, Bridget Wright, Sophie Lappas, Monica Erickson, and Lorena Stankevich. Many thanks also to volunteer Charly Robinson for providing childcare at campaign events, and to the Sunflower Café, for hosting our mid-campaign check-in.

Many thanks to the Orcas community for giving so generously when asked for your support. The children need you more now than ever. Thank you for being part of the solution.

Dimitri Stankevich, Lynda Sanders, Beth Wangen, and Kaitlyn Richards

Orkila Staff

Thank you to United Way

The Orcas Montessori School would like to offer a huge thank you to the United Way. Your tireless work in the community has once again resulted in a grant that will help us to continue offering our tuition assistance program. While the benefits of a quality childcare program are many, the costs associated with offering such an experience to the children of Orcas Island continue to grow. Without the support of the United Way and the caring community members who make giving to the United Way a yearly act of generosity, programs like ours would be unable to meet the needs of many of our island families. By supporting the island’s preschools and daycare programs, we support the growth of our future community. By investing in the most formative years of our children’s lives, we ensure the strength of our island’s community. Please continue to help the United Way.

ORCAS MONTESSORI SCHOOL COMMUNITY

Support Orcas Center

I’d like to put Orcas Center’s current fiscal challenges in both a local and national perspective. The arts are essential to the health and vitality of our communities. Nonprofit arts organizations such as Orcas Center are proud members of the business community – employing people locally, purchasing goods and services within the community, attracting visitors and locals to our local dining, lodging and retail establishments. Further, we are actively involved in promoting our community regionally and nationally.

In fact, nationally there are more full-time jobs supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety officers, lawyers and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers. According to Americans for the Arts, a $50 million investment to the National Endowment for the Arts by Congress will provide critical funding to save 14,422 jobs from being lost in the U.S. economy. This is based on the ability of the NEA to leverage $7 in additional support through local, state and private donations, for every $1 in NEA support.

There are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10 percent of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 – a loss of 260,000 jobs.

As we all deal with the belt-tightening that the current recession brings, we should understand the economic, as well as the cultural, benefits that the arts bring to Orcas Island.

Barbara Courtney

Executive/Artistic Director, Orcas Center