There are 140 million children orphaned worldwide and due to the high cost of adoption, only one percent of Americans complete the process after starting. The Gift of Adoption Fund has awarded more than $14.1 million in adoption assistance grants and has provided over 4,674 children with a family. Their mission is to help complete the adoptions of vulnerable children and give them permanent families. Find out more here.

This non-profit helps veterans find their purpose after military service. They host Circles of Return, a community that meets weekly online to help with healing. Also the Rite of Return, a wilderness journey that has been proven to drastically reduce symptoms of PTS, compassion fatigue, moral injury, and suicidal thoughts. Veteran Rites embraces all aspects of human nature, identity and experience. To find out more click here.

This non-profit pairs student with an athlete mentor and sponsors all students’ sports related costs. Each student commits to achieving individual daily goals in the classroom. Working with their mentor and family, each student develops an Identity Statement, a mantra that celebrates the students’ unique qualities and culture. Students work on developing a growth mindset to help them reach their full potential.

Rainier Athletes has sponsored and mentored over 100 students across the Bellevue School District. They have raised over $3 million to expand the sports community and deepen impact for participants. For more information click here.

Where: Edmonds Waterfront Center

When: November 5^th, 2022 @ 6pm

What: They will have a plated dinner, speakers, music, a silent auction, paddle raise, desert dash and more!

Purchase your ticket, or simply donate to Hand in Hand today!

Katherine’s and Rita’s Houses are transitional housing programs for homeless, adult women in recovery from substance abuse.

If you’d like to support the houses please head to the Katherine’s House and Rita’s House website where you can get information on volunteering, donations needed, and how to give financial gifts.

Join them on the 7^th of each month during their SHARE, days, to spread the message of hope and connection. Find out more here.

Find tickets at Mariners.com/tickets.

For 25 years, Listen and Talk has supported children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Their program prepares children with the skills they need to form meaningful relationships and listen to the world around them. They work with families and help their children to think independently and communicate without an interpreter. These students become self-advocates and gain confidence to enter their neighborhood kindergarten, learn and compete with hearing peers, and reach their full potential.

Find out more at ListenTalk.org.

You Grow Girl! is a nonprofit that supports girls from under-resourced populations and fights for economic equality. They teach communities to accept these girls for their authentic selves and create supportive relationships. They empower girls in foster care and juvenile systems to tackle their insecurities and reach their potential. By providing them with opportunities, You Grow Girl! creates leaders.

Learn more about You Grow Girl! and the work they do here.

The Black Heritage Society is dedicated to preserving the African American history and culture in Washington State. The first meeting was held in 1977 and in 1990 their memorabilia was transferred to the Museum of History. Along with collecting and archiving, this non-profit presents their exhibits at special events and recognizes African-American pioneers annually. They also partner with NW Roots to make Roots Voices, an audio and visual project that records stories of African Americans who were affected by the Great Migration. Learn more here.

Over seven million veterans are affected by PTSD each year and thirty percent develop mental problems within three months of being home. Mission Outdoors strives to create hope for veterans by engaging them in their communities and giving them a purpose. They immerse veterans with the outdoors and create events for them to attend. Their mission is to remind veterans they are not alone and give them something to look forward to. Their main events include the Washington Tuna Classic, the Lingcod Derby, Tapps Island golf, and a Charity Gala. Find out more at MissionOutdoors.org.

Community Passageways is a local non-profit organization that creates alternatives to incarceration for youth and young adults by rebuilding our communities through committed relationships centered on love, compassion, and consistency.

More about the Youth Achievement Center:

The Youth Achievement Center will be more than just a community center. It will offer more than 45,000 square feet of housing, services, and community space to more than 100 young people—designed for and by youth.

BIPOC Youth in South Seattle currently lack access to on the ground, culturally responsive services that meet their needs. The YAC will provide service spaces on the South End, so Community Passageways, the YAC owner, and Creative Justice, a YAC co-operator, can expand their current service offerings which focus on detention diversion, restorative justice, career training, and youth leadership development.

Learn how you can get involved with or donate to the Youth Achievement Center here.

A meaningful location, visitors are able to see the Duwamish River and the ancient villages of Ha-Ah’-poos (“Where there are Horse Clams”) and Tohl-ahl-too (“Herring House”) to the east. The two story high structure includes a skylight and has archeological materials on display. There are events held to showcase traditional Duwamish cooking and teach about sustainability.

The mission of this project is “to promote the social, cultural, and economic survival of Seattle Washington’s aboriginal Duwamish Tribe”. This welcoming space honors the ancestors and leaders of the Duwamish people and immerse you in their culture.

Learn more about the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center here.

They carefully match each child with a qualified high school athlete, who commits to mentoring a child for one to three years. Once a mentorship is formed, the pair meets two to four their times a month.

Mentor candidates are referred to their program by other AFK Mentors, coaches, teachers, Athletic Directors, and community members. Every applicant must pass a thorough screening and background check before being accepted into their program. Once selected, they are required to attend an intensive training, followed by monthly group meetings where they receive ongoing training and support from their Mentorship Coordinator. The training topics are all based on evidenced based best practices for mentoring.

Learn more about Athletes for Kids here.

Their history: On June 4, 1928, a group of twenty-five mothers residing in Washington, DC, met to make plans to organize a national organization to be known as American Gold Star Mothers, Inc., a nondenominational, non-profitable and nonpolitical organization. On January 5, 1929, the organization was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. The Charter was kept open for ninety days. At the end of this time they had a membership of sixty-five, which included mothers throughout the United States: North, South, East and West. There were many small groups of Gold Star Mothers functioning under local and state charters. When these groups learned of a national organization with representation in nearly every State in the Union they wished to affiliate with the larger group and many did so. This group was composed of women who had lost a son or daughter in World War I.

Who is a Gold Star Mother? Often the question has been asked, “Who is a Gold Star Mother?” During the early days of World War I, a Blue Star was used to represent each person, man or woman in the Military Service of the United States. As the war progressed and men were killed in combat, others wounded and died of their wounds or disease, there came about the accepted usage of the Gold Star.

This Gold Star was substituted and superimposed upon the blue Star in such a manner as to entirely cover it. The idea of the Gold Star was that the honor and glory accorded the person for his supreme sacrifice in offering for his country, the last full measure of devotion and pride of the family in this sacrifice, rather than the sense of personal loss which would be represented by the mourning symbols.

Learn more about the Washington Chapter of Gold Star Mothers Here.

They center and support women, girls (cis and trans) and gender expansive folk, both in the content of their programming and in the identities of the mentors who are a part of their community. Participants in their programs receive instrument instruction from local musicians and write, rehearse and perform original songs with the support of mentors.

And they do it all while ROCKING OUT in a supportive, empowering community!

Learn more about Rain City Rock Camp here!