My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been a 10+ year donor to West Valley Community Services (WVCS) and an occasional volunteer for special events. The reason I choose to support WVCS is their respect for their clients, the variety and quality of the services they offer, and the strong leadership team and board.

One example of how they respect their clients is the onsite food pantry, where clients get to shop and select the fresh produce, protein and other staples they prefer to eat. They also have a mobile food pantry using an RV that goes closer to their clients. Not everyone can come to the regular pantry and carry their groceries back home via public transit. They have great partnerships with local grocery stores and farmers markets so the pantry offers a wide variety of healthy, quality fruits and vegetables.

In addition to housing assistance and financial counseling, WVCS has an annual Back To School program that allows the school age children shop for items for back to school. This is another example of their respect for their clients, giving them choice and allowing them to feel as "normal" as possible. They also have a holiday gift program that helps provide needed household items and other useful items, plus fun items for children, so the family can have a nice holiday like other families.

The annual Chefs of Compassion fundraiser is creative. Three chefs create the three course meal from items found in the food pantry. Each chef draws a course and then shops in the food pantry for ingredients. Their course is then copied by the caterer and served to the attendees. It is a great way to demonstrate that quality meals can be made from the items offered to the clients on a regular basis.

It is for these reasons, and many more, that I am a proud donor to West Valley Community Services!