LYDIA PLACE | OFFICIAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER | JUNE 2021
CONTRIBUTOR CIRCLE
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.
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!
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, Debbie Burgess, Rachel Lucy Cecka, Lisa Cerezo, Lisa N Chovil, Karen & Richard Clark, Jennifer Cool, 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, Stephanie C Hadley, Greer W. Hastings, Alycia Hawkins, Meredith Hayes, Roxanna Hayes, Lisa Heezen, Katie Herling, Natalie Hernandez, Shelley Higgins, Afsheen Ali, Stacy James, Karyl Jefferson, Alivia Jelinski, Jennifer M. Johns, Amy Johnson, Hank Kastner, Misty Kemp, Bill Kern & Kay Caylor, Heather Dawn Lange, Tom Laughlin, Dru Lee, 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, Melanie S Pysden, 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, Susie Simerl, Bethany Smith, Gail A Smith, Jaretta Smith, Jessica Smith, Kathleen Smith, Jillene Snell, Kelly Spencer, Sue Staley, Delores Starcher, Sterling Rentals LLC, Lacey Stewart, Patricia McGuire Stigliani, Chara Stuart, Trisha Symonds, Ryan Thramer, Pepper Tipton, Wylder Tipton, Jeffery Tom, Bruce Underwood, Shawna Unger, Jamie Valenta, Yvonne Vaughn, Trent John Vigor, Ruby Volker, Elizabeth Walukas, Terell Weg, Adrienne Wrightson, Tonya Yoder
Thank you the following neighbors who gave a one-time gift this month!
Abundant Life Church, Robert & Jane Gordon- Ball, Christ the King Church, Mary Haberman, Haggen Foundation, Milena Laurence, MTE Fund, D & B Plog, Byron Scott Roberts, Kathleen Roehner, Elizabeth Snyder, Robert D Weston, Myron & Paula Wlaznak, Brenda Zirkelbach
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.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

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.
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 a Housing Case Manager, a Facilities and Maintenance Assistant, and a 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.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Handbags for Housing
Thursday, September 16th | 5-8 PM (PST)
Barkley Village Square, 2900 Woburn Street, Bellingham, WA 98226

Calling all fashionistas, dust your tail feathers off, and get ready to fla-mingle and fundraise because Lydia Place's annual not-to-miss fashion and philanthropy shopping extravaganza, Handbags for Housing, is back!

Now that we can safely gather together, we, along with our Presenting Sponsor, San Juan Cable, are ready to dive back in and bring some much-needed fun and r&r to our community with a tropical paradise experience.
 
This year, you can find us and our special guest emcee, Shannon Day, under the big white cabana, where you and your friends can breeze through our sea of ready-to-bid handbags thoughtfully curated to fit every style and budget. Oh, and we can't forget to mention the return of our epic handbag bazaar filled with hundreds of bags with prices starting at $5 and up!
 
Grab your ticket to join us for a fun-filled evening of fashion and fun benefiting Lydia Place programs. Covid-19 precautions and restrictions mean tickets are limited this year, so don't delay!

Covid-19 Restrictions: All guests must be fully vaccinated by Sept 16th to attend. 

IMMEDIATE NEEDS

Cleaning Supplies Needed!
We are looking for any and all cleaning supplies to help support our ongoing need of Welcome Home Essentials we give to our families when they move into their new homes.

You can find a full list of supplies needed by downloading our donation guide below or in the Welcome Home Essentials section of our support page on our website.

New or Gently Used Handbags!
To support our Handbags for Housing event, we seek donations of new or gently used handbags to feature in our Handbag Bazaar, Silent Auction, and Live Auction.

 With over 500+ attendees all looking for their next great bag or bargain, we require hundreds of handbags in all shapes, sizes, and price levels to accommodate!
BUSINESS PARTNER GRATITUDE

Thank you, Haggen!
Sometimes, taking part in the, often seemingly, small acts of kindness can REALLY add up!

Thanks to you, our followers, and our local Haggen owners, staff, and customers, the Cultivating Community Together Round-Up Campaign was able to raise $14,500 for Lydia Place’s programs and services over the last few months! 

Through such a difficult time, our community’s resilience and compassion continue to offer promise to our agency and the families we serve and we are so grateful for each dollar and cent you were able to contribute. Together, you made a difference to us and the families we serve.
You are amazing Haggen!! We cannot thank you enough for continuously stepping up to partner with us and further our mission to disrupt the cycle of homelessness in our community.
Interested in being a Community Advocate and hosting a Round-Up at your business? We would love to hear from you. Contact Partnership Coordinator, Rita Thames at ritat@lydiaplace.org.
COMMUNITY CHAMPION GRATITUDE

Thank you,
A Child's Life Learning Center!
For choosing to support Lydia Place with your work and generous donation! The care you provide for families in our community and the collaborative effort you made in raising these funds through your estate sale makes all the difference to us.  


Thank you,
Superfeet!
Being a 100% employee-owned company, Superfeet Worldwide is 100% committed to making a positive difference in people's lives and they are doing this work in OUR community! Recently, some of their local employee-owners designated Lydia Place for their annual contributions totaling $2,000 and we just wanted to appreciate them here with all of you!
 
Know we are grateful for your support Superfeet friends, these funds will undoubtedly make a positive impact on the programs and services we are able to offer the community! 



Thank you,
CTK!
 A HUGE thank you to our friends at Christ the King Church for selflessly offering their time over the last few weekends to assist our staff in building a new fence for one of our housing campuses, as well as making an additional donation to fund the project itself! 

Your willingness to show up and complete this crucial improvement for our property is an amazing gift to our agency and the families we strive to serve!  


Are you part of a group or business willing to offer your support for a Lydia Place group volunteer project? Contact info@lydiaplace.org to hear more! 
DONATION PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
Y's Buys Thrift Boutique

As many of you know, our beloved Wise Buys Thrift Store program is back in the hands of our local partner, the YWCA Bellingham, reinvigorating the 'Y' in Y's Buys once again. Fueled by donations of new and gently-used women’s items from people like you and supported by volunteers, all proceeds from your donations, work, and purchases benefit the YWCA's local housing programs.

Further, as a Lydia Place donation partner location, Y's Buys provides access to the women in the families we serve with gift card vouchers to shop for the essential clothing items they need. Thank you for being an invaluable resource to our community YWCA & Y's Buys! We appreciate your strength and dedication as we work together to address the unmet needs of the women and mothers in our community. 

Y's Buys Thrift Boutique
1224 N State Street, Bellingham, WA 98225
Tuesday-Thursday 12:00-5:00 pm  
Friday-Saturday 11:00-6:00 pm 
 
You can find all Lydia Place Donation Partner Locations on the support page of our website https://lydiaplace.org/support/.

DONATE NEW/GENTLY USED ITEMS
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.

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 Wish Lists 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 ongoing donation needs or delivery please contact us at info@lydiaplace.org.

Don't forget you can support Lydia Place with each purchase you make on Amazon!
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!
ADVOCACY AND AWARENESS
United Way Agency Spotlight: Lydia Place

Imagine living without a place to call home. Now imagine doing it while also taking care of a child. Women and children can sometimes be the forgotten faces of homelessness. Unfortunately, they are often the most vulnerable populations in our...

Read more
www.unitedwaywhatcom.org
Bellingham for Everyone: The Housing Continuum
What is the housing continuum? In this virtual event, we discuss the complex housing spectrum - also known as the housing continuum - which includes housing types and services ranging from emergency shelters, transitional and subsidized housing, to homeownership...

https://vimeo.com/user140584246
Puget Sound Energy's Equity Advisory Group Steers Our...

FacebookTweet Washington State enacted the Clean Energy Transformation Act in 2019, calling for our electrical system to be free of greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. It also called for programs that ensure utilities are responsive...

Read more
www.whatcomtalk.com

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.