LYDIA PLACE | OFFICIAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | APRIL 2021
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Attention Lydia Place Housing Heroes Monthly Contributors
You may update or change your credit card details via our Financial Manager, Judy Wayt at 360.671.7663 ext 2003 or by filling out an online donation form with your new credit card information here.
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Thank you to the following Housing Heroes for committing to the work of Lydia Place by helping us end family homelessness with a monthly gift! |
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Mary and Jeff Anderson, Anonymous, Marissa Arbogast, Butch and Linda Arnold, Calvin R Atkins, Jeanne Baker, Matthew Barrow, David James Beaumier, Judy M. Bell, Wayne Bell, Drew & Michael Betz, Brianna Brumbaugh, Michael and Mary Jane Brunt, Rachel Lucy Cecka, Lisa Cerezo, Lisa N Chovil, Karen & Richard Clark, Jennifer Cool, Mychel LeRae Cortese, Susan Costanzo, Sue Croft, Jayme and David Curley, Deb Currier, Shannon & Peter Day, Ana Luisa Dias, Cayla Dickens, Carey Ditton, Michelle Dohm, Morgan Dykeman, Cherish Eastwood, Danielle Elder, Kacia Emley, Pamela Eileen Englett, Graham Essex, Dixie Farthing, Jaime Alison Friedrich, Rachel Garcia, Kaitlyn Gerard, Sarah Jane Gielow, Deanna Marie Ginter, Jaylin Lee Godwin, Audrey Gravley and Bill McGinnis, Mindy and Alex Gravley, Greer Hastings, Alycia Hawkins, Meredith Hayes, Roxanna Hayes, Lisa Heezen, Katie Herling, Natalie Hernandez, Shelley Higgins, Afsheen Ali Hussain, Stacy James, Karyl Jefferson, Alivia Jelinski, Jennifer M. Johns, Amy Johnson, Hank Kastner, Misty Kemp, Bill Kern & Kay Caylor, Heather Dawn Lange, Tom Laughlin, Sonja Lee, Matt Lesinski, Sarah Lewis, Megan Liede, Kayla C. Litton, Abby Lollar, Nancy A Long, Rebecca Ludwig, Erin Lynch, Lynda Hinton Real Estate Inc, Katherine McDade, Kate McDonald, Megan C McGinty, Kathleen McQuaide, Heather Michel, Patti K Morgan, Marilyn Moullen, Samantha Murry, Sarah Nuanes, Talia R Nuckolls, Tammie O'Dell, Laura Ann Owens, Tierney Owens, Erin Page, Susan & Jeff Palmer, Deborah Parker, Janne Potter, Ginina Pulcinella, Melanie S Pysden, Beth Randall, Natalie Ransom and Ryan Wimberly, Steffany Raynes, Rice Insurance, Laura Rink, Amanda Robins, Anna Rodriguez, Kathy and Marcus Rowe-Guthrie, Lyn Salazar, Suzannah & Tyler Schroeder, Allison Sculthorp, Emily Olena Sharpe, Bethany Smith, Jaretta Smith, Jessica Smith, Kathleen Smith, Jillene Snell, Sue Staley, Sterling Rentals LLC, Lacey Stewart, Patricia McGuire Stigliani, Chara Stuart, Ryan Thramer, Pepper Tipton, Jeffery Tom, Peter Turner, Bruce Underwood, Shawna Unger, Jamie Valenta, Yvonne Vaughn, Carrie Veldman, Trent John Vigor, Ruby Volker, Elizabeth Walukas, Terell Weg, Chelsea Williams, Adrienne Wrightson, Tonya Yode |
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Thank you the following neighbors who gave a one-time gift this month! |
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Anonymous, Chloe Blumenstein, Celedo Fund of the Whatcom Community Foundation, Charities Aid Foundation of America, Chuckanut Health Foundation, Tiffani Dahl, Marian Exall via the Whatcom Community Foundation, GLDN, Inc, Molly Honcoop, Latitude 49 Resort Park, Henry Muska, Vincent Preece, Jana Richter, Laurie Satushek, Ena Nicole Shepard, Helene Sirois, Michael Berres & Ann Stevenson, Thrivent, Hilda Weisberg, Ian Weydert, Michael Whalen, Myron & Paula Wlaznak
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Lydia Place is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by the law. Scroll to the bottom of this email to learn how The CARES Act impacts your 2021 charitable giving. |
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Heart House Construction is Underway!
After much anticipation and delay due to Covid-19, we are thrilled to announce the construction of Heart House at our Gladstone Campus is officially underway! Stay tuned to our monthly newsletter to hear more about this latest project at Lydia Place.
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The Lydia Place team is expanding! |
We are seeking driven individuals to join our mission. We are in recruitment for a variety of positions including Financial Manager, Associate Director, Case Manager, Program Manager, and Maintenance Intern.
In order to continue social distancing practices, we've established new hiring procedures to ensure future applicants and our team stay safe and healthy during the application process.
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This April, we celebrated our Executive Director, Emily O'Connor's 9th anniversary at Lydia Place, and what better time to be recognized as Toast of the Town by our community!
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We Launched a Mini-Series! |
In How the Housing System Works, Executive Director, Emily O'Connor breaks down elements of Whatcom County's complex, and often confusing, housing system.
You can catch up on Episodes 1-3 on our social media channels via YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, or on our website.
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Presentation to City Council |
We, along with community partners the Opportunity Council and the Bellingham and Whatcom Housing Authority, spoke to city council members about the continuum of services for families experiencing homelessness in our community and why we are seeing an unprecedented number of families enter the housing pool at an alarming rate.
Our presentation starts at the 19:00 minute mark.
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Haggen's Roundup for Lydia Place
March 24th - May 18th
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Spring has finally arrived in Whatcom County and as we all work to create space for those precious moments of sunshine and togetherness in our lives, know something as small and simple as your extra change, at your next trip to the grocery store, could brighten the circumstances for a neighbor in need.
Every cent and dollar make a difference, so stop by your local Haggen and choose to round up your purchase for Lydia Place today through May 18th!
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Virtual Art For Housing
Saturday, May 8th | 6-7 PM
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As part of May's Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite you to join us virtually on Saturday, May 8th for our annual Art for Housing art auction and fundraiser benefiting Lydia Place programs and services.
This event kicks off our month-long campaign to help raise awareness about the impact homelessness has on a person's mental health and why advocating for more high-quality, affordable, and low-barrier mental health services is a crucial part of the journey towards long-term housing stability.
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Please contact us at [email protected] for all event-related questions and inquiries.
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Cleaning Supplies Needed! |
We are looking for any and all cleaning supplies listed under the Welcome Home Essentials category on our donation guide. You can find a list of these supplies by downloading our donation guide below or by visiting the support page on our website. |
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We want to thank GLDN for raising awareness about the work we do and strengthening our ability to provide essential services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Through your GLDN's Giving Program, you helped raise nearly $4,500 for Lydia Place programs and services.
Your generosity and kindness continue to radiate throughout our community!
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Thank you,
Lummi Tribal Health Center!
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We want to extend a HUGE thank you to Dr. Justin Iwasaki and the Lummi Tribal Health Center team for their top-notch level of care, compassion, organization, and overall efforts to bring immunity to our community! Thanks to their hard work and coordination, several of our Lydia Place staff members and clients received and/or are scheduled to receive their first and second Covid-19 vaccines sooner than anticipated. We are truly grateful! |
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BUSINESS PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES |
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Help set the table for the families we serve and work with Lydia Place to ensure food security and enhance community connection within our multi-family living spaces with a monthly or quarterly foodservice donation.
Whether your business creates pizza or sandwiches, desserts, or meal boxes, we are looking for your ongoing support in providing various food options for 20 house members to enrich our Campus House gatherings, celebrations, and milestones, providing the invaluable opportunity to sit down together and enjoy a meal.
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Interested in hearing more about this opportunity? Please contact our Community Engagement Coordinator, Rita Thames at [email protected]. |
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DONATION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT |
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Habitat for Humanity
Did you know that Lydia Place has an impactful donation partnership with our local Habitat for Humanity?
When you mention Lydia Place during your donation process at our local Habitat, Lydia receives credit for your items that we provide to the families we serve. This donation partnership program gives families the opportunity to select and purchase the items they need and want to make their new house a home.
A special thank you to our local Habitat, their amazing team for helping us bring essential furniture and home goods to the families we serve.
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April is National Volunteer Month and while volunteer opportunities are limited at Lydia Place, Habitat is currently recruiting new volunteers for their 2021 Whatcom Women Build!
Join a community of Whatcom Women volunteering together to celebrate our strengths, have a blast, and build permanent and affordable homes for dynamic, local families in need. Between now and May 2021 100+ women will join forces to build and to raise over $20,000 – advancing construction on 4 homes currently underway in Whatcom County.
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DONATE NEW/GENTLY USED ITEMS |
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Looking to donate your new or gently used items to Lydia Place? You can read about which items we are currently accepting and where to drop them off on our website at www.lydiaplace.org/support or by downloading our handy donation guide below. |
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Ongoing donation needs are also listed on Amazon!
At Lydia Place, we value our community and that means we shop local whenever possible. Due to our inability to accept most donations in-person, we've had to find alternative ways to continue to provide essential items to our families in need. One of the ways we're doing that is through Amazon Wishlists in order to limit person-to-person contact as much as possible.
These lists can also be used as a reference if you wish to shop locally. We just ask that if you aren't purchasing items from Amazon that they are mailed directly to Lydia Place. If you'd like to discuss on-going donation needs or delivery please contact us at [email protected].
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Don't forget you can support Lydia Place with each purchase you make on Amazon! |
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AmazonSmile in the Shopping App
You can now support your favorite charity through the Amazon app on your iPhone and Android Phones. By turning on the AmazonSmile feature, Amazon will donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to Lydia Place every time you shop- no additional cost to you.
As of November 2020, AmazonSmile shoppers have generated $1,137.24 for Lydia Place programs and services!
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How the CARES Act Impacts Charitable Giving for 2021
New Deduction Available: Non-itemizer taxpayers can write off up to $300 per tax return (up to $600 for married couples filing jointly) in charitable cash contributions for 2021. This is available only to people who take the standard deduction, not for people who can itemize their deductions on Schedule A. It is an “above the line” deduction from income that will reduce a donor’s adjusted gross income (AGI), and thereby reduce taxable income.
This information is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results.
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