Windermere Offices Find Safe Ways to Give Back This Summer

Pictured foreground to background: Zoe Brady, Kim Hyland, Angela Cherbas. – Eugene, OR

Preparing for the Holiday Season – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

On August 29, Windermere’s Coeur d’Alene offices donated $500 to Heart Reach, Inc., the non-profit food bank of the local Heart of the City Church, in support of their 2020 Turkeys and More program. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, this donation will help Heart Reach jumpstart their program year. Heart Reach will work with the United Way to identify and assist 1,700 families facing financial hardship in Kootenai County and provide them with food this holiday season.

Pictured L to R: Evalyn Adams, Heart Reach Inc. coordinator for Turkeys and More, agents Rich Dussell, Karen Hansen and Vicky Houle of Windermere Coeur d’Alene Realty. – Coeur d’Alene, ID

Let the Kids Play! – Seattle, WA

On August 5, the Windermere Sand Point office held their own Community Service Day at Thornton Creek Elementary school, readying the playground for use when school is back in session. Broker Tammy Heldridge led talks with the school district to put the event together, taking proper precautions to follow COVID-19 guidelines. Along with additional help from Heather Curiel, Brixton Ward, and Kate Chamberlin from the Windermere Northgate Office, the brokers, staff, and volunteers worked hard weeding, leveling sand, spreading wood chips and moving planters. Representatives from Seattle Public Schools’ Facilities Department lent a helping hand and by the end of the day, the playground was ready for play.

Above: Pictured L to R: Tammy Heldridge and Kian Pornour
Below: R: Renee Menti Ruhl – Thornton Creek Elementary – Seattle, WA

Gardening For Food Access – Lane County, Oregon

Over the course of three Fridays in August, staff and agents from Windermere Real Estate Lane County worked to transform the gardens of local food bank Food For Lane County, whose mission is to “Reduce Hunger by engaging our community to create access to food.” Working in groups of no more than ten and wearing masks, the teams took to the fields, shoveling dirt and hauling wheelbarrows, breathing new life into gardens that provide food for the community. Even though their original Community Service Day was canceled, “we still wanted to find a way to help the community, especially in a time like this when so many families are having a hard time putting food on the table due to Covid-19,” said Administrative Assistant, Whitney Schmidbauer.

Above: Pictured foreground to background: Zoe Brady, Kim Hyland, Angela Cherbas. Below: Angela Cherbas – Eugene, OR

Feeding Ronald McDonald House Families – Seattle, WA

Through the Windermere Foundation, Windermere Wedgwood donated 50 chicken dinners on August 19 to Ronald McDonald House through local restaurant Wedgwood Broiler. The office was originally scheduled to make dinners for the families at the Ronald McDonald House kitchen earlier this spring. But since the pandemic put a strain on visitors and in-house meal prep, they asked for meals to be packaged and brought in for the families to enjoy. Wedgwood Broiler stepped up with meals of roasted chicken, rice pilaf and fresh veggies.

Pictured L to R: Ann O’Neil, Jay Nemitz, and Michele Flinn picked up the meals and delivered them to Ronald McDonald House – Seattle, WA