Seattle Nonprofits and Charities

We have worked with Free2Luv's Express It! materials for a a few years now and want to sincerely thank them for the wonderful books they have shared with us. We continue to use them with our young leaders, and they have truly been a huge hit. The activities spark meaningful conversation, creativity, and connection in ways that align beautifully with the work we do. They are also a great icebreaker for the young leaders who are newer to our programming. Thank you for all that you do!

Avoid this organization at all cost! It's primarily a federal fund grant based organization which makes it unstable to begin with especially if it appears the federal grant funds will decrease. They typically have mass terminations and corporate restructuring every 3 years usually by choice thinking the federal grant funding might decrease. They are such an unstable organization all the Seattle temporary employment agencies know this organization by name as they wait for the next mass terminations or restructuring to occur. There is an army of ex-employees terminated without cause that can tell their own story about this organization. The only way to survive an organization as cruel as this one is to always be looking for another job while working here so you leave them before you get laid off for no reason at all.

I have volunteered and donated for all the years of Avivara's existence, and been thrilled to see the leadership team tackle challenges with sensitivity and courage, most recently the June 2018 volcanic eruption that affected so many maize and coffee farmers on the slopes of Volcan Fuego. Avivara keeps its eyes on the mission: reducing inequity in Guatemala through education. I am glad that bright and motivated students have the chance to continue their studies despite the limitations of poverty because of Avivara.

This is an incredible organization filled with an amazing staff of dedicated individuals.

I have been presenting the CHOICES Workshop since 2003 and have been the Optimist Club Project Manager for the last 4 years. The progarm is fun for the 8th grade students and many have a chance to participate and see the outcome of good and bad choices regarding their decisions about education in high school. Without exception, our Presenters say " I wish someone had told me these things when I was in Middle School". The majority of the students rate the Workshop as 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5. The teachers love the program and have requested that we present it early in the school year so that they can refer to it and build on it during the year.

This organization has changed my life. My journey started with them 10 years ago and I am still involved with them today. My faith has deepened, my leadership skills have grown and I have seen God do amazing things!

NFFTY is an organisation that truly understands, motivates and encourages young artists. Focused on supporting filmmakers and alumni with opportunities and a network that extends beyond the event, this is a unique community of like minded, honest and passionate people. I first attended the festival in 2013 and was amazed by the pure energy and happy spirit. I was introduced to a number of highly talented creatives from all around the world and continue to collaborate with them even today.

I have been a weekly volunteer at Teed Feed since 2018. The selfless and positive staff, incredible guests and lively atmosphere have made me a better person and improved my outlook on life.

I've been volunteering with Page Ahead for several years, and I'm always impressed with how well run and organized it is. Everything is 100% mission focused on getting books to kids and improving early childhood/early elementary literacy. If you are thinking about donating (I'm also a donor) I can enthusiastically verify that they do an incredible job leveraging every dollar and getting the most out of their resources. Volunteers have lots of different kinds of opportunities here as well--something for anyone who is interested in child literacy (including, but not limited to, working directly with kids; time commitment varies.) Love Page Ahead and highly recommend.

This place is notorious for corruption and theft. I and my friends and colleagues who were once their supporters have tried to report it and have its 501c3 status removed repeatedly for years. If there is a rule or definition that can be stretched or a penny to steal Gage will be on it. People who get involved with these villains have attempted suicide, some have even succeeded. They should never be trusted. They should be sued and closed not commended.

This is the first nonprofit board I've had the pleasure to serve on and I could not have been more fortunate. I'm so impressed with how professionally everything is. Given that this is a huge learning experience for me (I come from a technology background), I've been blown away by the board's organization, professionalism, commitment, and dedication. There are a wide variety of members from many different types of professions, all of whom bring an intense amount of passion to their volunteer service every time we meet. <br> <br>And then of course there's the mission of Make-A-Wish overall. The joy brought to the children who receive wishes is so heartwarming. We have a wish inspiration story at the start of every board meeting and it just puts a smile on your face, brings tears to your eyes or both. <br> <br>As to the employees of this chapter, they are professional and long tenured. They love their work and the people they work with. And the annual fundraising gala/auction is a very well done event. Every year I've invited people, they're always so impressed with how fun the event is, the scale, the items to bid on and the stories told throughout the night. <br> <br>I'm one lucky human to have been able to serve on the board.

Bridges to Understanding realizes its mission by enabling youth to craft and share their stories with each other and the world. By leveraging a centuries old medium, storytelling, with 21st century technology, Bridges to Understanding puts the power of the story in the hands of the storyteller and allows these stories to be shared over thousands of miles. At Bridges, youth whose voices are often marginalized, shift into a narrator role that inspires confidence, builds community, and highlights their core values.

I've been volunteering with this nonprofit for more than 8 years. The care given to each event, rental and individual is unusual and inspiring.

For almost 8 years my husband and I have volunteered and given to Westside Baby in whatever way we could. In 2013, our now three year old daughter was born 2 months early and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. We saw families come and go and some babies not be visited at all. My daughter had to be fed special formula and have many special doctors appointments and medications and tests not covered entirely by insurance. <br /><br />My eyes were opened up and I truly saw how hard it must be for those less fortunate to be able to have access to just the basic necessities for their babies and children. This year I decided I wanted to give back in an even bigger way and donate not only more time but even more money to Westside Baby. I have joined their Development Committee and hope to join the Board in the next year. <br /><br />We are trying to teach our daughter to give back even at an early age and she has volunteered to give some of her toys to children that may not have any. #mygivingstory

I was wrongly evicted by the holier than thou. Fought the eviction attempts in court, won 3 times, lost the fourth eviction because I was late for court. Lovely how the Catholic housing oh so fights homelessness, yet has no problem evicting people.<br>According to the ridiculous allegations, I was a couple fries short of a happy meal, yet they never tried hooking me up with the crew program on the second floor.<br>In all seriousness, when was the last time the Catholic Church apologized for anything? Tax wise, contributions to the Catholic Church don't help the ones they brag about helping as much as it goes to their priests, legal fees and schools.

COLAGE is the oldest and largest national organization for people with at least one or more LGBT parents in the country. For over 25 years, COLAGE has delivered highly impactful and quality programming nationwide (including Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Seattle, South Florida, and with a recent expansion in the South!), developed strong networks and a sense of community, and has activated a generation of young people who have become social agents that will change the world. I've known COLAGE for 7 years and have worked with this organization for nearly 5 and I couldn't be prouder of its work as the current Board President.

Wow definitely five stars for this one. I've been working with this non-profit for almost three years, and it has been a life changing experience! Literally my life has been changed. My relationship with my family, my friends, and especially myself has improved dramatically, and I've gained valuable leadership experience. The amount of love and dedication from this program is like no where else. They put on quality service projects overseas in countries of Africa and Asia, as well as antibullying projects in middle schools and high schools! I know there are other non-profits doing great things, but NextGen Academy is a non-profit that I can completely trust to transform and enhance people's lives.

I was twenty years old when I first came across Seattle Education Access. I was homeless and attending my first quarter at Seattle Central Community College. I was taking 18 units. I was struggling to overcome the adversity of homelessness while obtaining my educational goals. Then I was introduced to Polly Trout, the founder of Seattle Education Access. We had lunch and I told her about my goals and aspirations. She didn't try to hold my hand. I like the independence she allowed me to have. I was given many schlarships while I was with Seattle Education Access. They always checked up on us and they truly cared about my progress. I experienced many trials and tribulations. But they were always there when I needed them. I moved to San Diego to get away from drugs in 2005. I managed to get my life together. In 2008, I asked Polly to write me a letter of recommendation for San Diego State University. I transferred there this fall. I'm a junior. After this semester I'll be a senior. It will still take me three semesters to recive my BA degree in English. I don't think I would have made it pass my first quarter of college if it wasn't for Seattle Education Access. I still feel I owe them a lot.

As a volunteer, it starts off as a 3 star experience. It is like the leadership is not accountable to the parents or to the volunteers for any mistakes that they make. It is like that they say that Girl Scouts is about female empowerment, but it is really about giving power to certain women and girls and the rest of us are either following or we are the lower class. I felt like I had to be neutral when I was filling out the surveys. I did try to be silent. I did try to express my concerns about certain issues. It was difficult to fall in love with Girl Scouts because it was constantly changing and everything was so forced and abusive. I felt used. I realized that Girl Scouts was bullying and playing games with me as a volunteer. It was like Girl Scouts was going after my weaknesses. <br>As a parent, I was trying to figure out if Girl Scouts was a good organization for my daughter. I was happy because my daughter enjoyed Girl Scouts. But it got to the point where I was not able to tell my daughter the truth of how I was being treated. I was silent. I wanted my daughter to have an activity where she could belong and learn new skills. I just kept being silent. It is like there is a web of lies. There are stories that some leaders and girls tell other people. It is like there is gaslighting. Again, I kept being silent. It was about betrayal and being uncomfortable. I felt small and belittled. I realized towards the end that I put Girl Scouts on a pedestal. I felt like Girl Scouts would go behind my back with my daughter.

If you're looking to go into Foster Care, I would strongly recommend AGAINST Amara or pretty much any private agency. Your best bet is to go directly with the state. I should've just heeded the advice of the state training instructors but at the time we felt that having a consistent caseworker was better. We got raked over the coals and then dropped because of some strange rule that says we need to reflect on our lives with a therapist. I'm so beyond livid, I don't know where to begin.<br><br>The only reason you should go with Amara is if you cannot advocate for yourself and need someone to go to bat for you... which if you can't advocate for yourself, perhaps Fostering isn't for you anyway.<br><br>We signed up with these guys, went 2/3 thru the process which was about 2 and a half to 3 months. Then before the final steps, the case worker brought us in and stopped the process until we sought "counseling" because of Amara's strange, abstract notion that if we can't describe how our hurdles made us better than we can't be good parents. Let that sink in for minute. To be accepted into Amara, you better have long answers describing each of the hurdles you went thru in your entire life, (you might want to consider crying to help the process along and if you are too stable to cry, fake it). And if your descriptions aren't good enough, you will need to pay for counseling to either get someone to sign a letter stating that you are good enough to be foster parents or get a therapist to help you reflect on your life.<br><br>So in short, I blew a a lot of money modifying my house, I blew tons of PTO from work trying to reflect on my life with a case worker and now we're out in the cold. I genuinely feel like I've been scammed. Ripped off. Robbed. I feel like I went to a casino, bet all my money on Red and lost everything. DO NOT mess with Amara, just stay away.

I have volunteered with SunErgos International when they first started working in Russia. Has been exciting to watch them grow and reach more orphans in Russia.

I worked for this non profit. As a disabled, lgbtq person, I was bullied and discriminated against. When it was brought to the attention of the director of operations, he enabled more bullying and joined in. I addressed it all head on with HR, who proceeded to fire me when I directly named the manager. I also witnessed abuse of mentally disabled workers. If you're looking to donate, please don't give to this establishment. They need to be investigated and the disabled workers need help. They abuse and bully people with smiles on their faces. It's absolutely heartbreaking and they should not be on this list.

I've been working with Parent Trust throughout the pandemic. I joined their Board because they meet a common but unmet need: working to keep families together and prevent abuse and neglect. Childhood trauma is easily transmitted across generations, and it takes experts like Parent Trust to help families facing crisis steer toward a bright future, avoiding repeating old patterns. Their work and commitment to Washington families is so critical! I'm proud to serve on the Board of Directors.

I've had the pleasure of working with Nancy and the crew over at Nature Consortium a number of times over the past few years. I've acted as an entertainer for their restoration projects and their summer festival. All my interaction with Nature C have felt both professional and familial. Their mission is one of the most cohesive and important that I've seen. As a member of the outdoor community the connection of nature and art to the next generations resonates with me deeply. Without a deep connection to the natural spaces of our world, the pool of potential custodians for our planet dwindles.

Overall I am sure this organization strives to meet expectations. Please extend this to meeting Covid protocols in order to keep students, staff and their families safe, There needs to be hand sanitizer visible and used at education centers. Creative methods that include positive reinforcement will help get students to wear their masks most of the school day. Staff should wear gloves during meals and toileting. Is it proper to change diapers on a bathroom floor?<br>