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www.SoundFoundationsNW.org soundfoundationsnw@gmail.com
And the Winner Is . . .
AND THE WINNERS ARE…
Here are the results of the First Annual Sound Foundations NW Awards or “The Soundies”. In true “every soccer kid gets an award” fashion, every nominee is a winner!
THE MACGYVER AWARD: Given to the person with the most creative “fix”, jig, or idea.
- Tom and David mean constant improvements.
- Eric, for the jig for the structural triangle.
- Bob, the Gizmo Guy.
THE YODA AWARD: Given to the person who has learned the most from their mistakes. (That’s a good thing!)
- Pete, who not only admits his mistakes, he signs his name on the home where he makes them!
- Dan, whose distinctive laugh alerts us when a quick fix is needed.
THE TRIM TRIMANY, TRIM TRIMANY AWARD:
- Terry and either of his trusty sidekicks, Skip or Fernando.
- Aimee.
THE “CLOTHING AS ART” AWARD: Think Paint Department.
- Christine with the cool wool hat.
- Beatrice.
- All the volunteers from Horizon House and Covenant Shores.
THE BIONIC MAN/WOMAN AWARD: Given to the person who received the most “replacement parts” this year.
- Chuck on the roof (who should be back in January!)
- Pete.
- Mark.
- Andrew.
THE FASTEST (NAIL) GUN IN THE WEST AWARD: Steady and sure footed, this person does everything right and FAST!
- Steve the Brit: clear and to the point.
- Timothy and Tom, especially on the roof.
- Ian the Intern.
- Jeff, aka “is that floor finished already?”
THE MOUSE THAT ROARED AWARD: Given to the person with the most improved “Mississippi” or the person who really came into their own at The Hope Factory.
- Daphne, whose Australian accent is reason enough to volunteer.
- The Bellevue Big Picture School interns.
- Hank.
- Kim. Small in stature. Big in heart.
- Deb, Reiko and Atar, our wonderful Sunday Team Leaders.
- Bill and David, who also have earned the “we’ll do whatever you need” award.
- Joann and Steve, who ALWAYS want to paint.
- Tracy and Mark.
- Tavish and Sinead: best smiles and Irish accents
- Carol, who went from spending 20 minutes learning her first power tool to becoming a part of the “Wonder Women”.
- Jim and Ames.
- Craig, “I’ve been here a year. When can I be a Team Leader?”
- Eric, who quietly earns the respect of everyone around him.
- Mike, Randall, Mary and Curran.
- All our high school guys who get their service hours at The Hope Factory.
- Dave (which one? I know), Amy, Duncan and John.
- Adam, Nate and Ben.
- Hugh, aka “the other Brit” and all the friends he brings.
- Jane, Maureen, Jeannie, David, and John.
- Lynn, with the best hugs at The Hope Factory.
BEST NAME OF A HOME(S) AWARD: Given to that home or homes that make you smile every time you see their name.
- Jerry (Rigged). Also wins for “the home with the most challenges”:
- Forrest and Gump.
- Elvis.
- Creamsicle.
- In a Gadda Da Vida (baby!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McJZqnzy6Vs (All 17 minutes. Rock out!)
- Glenn.
THE CHOCOLATE CAULK AWARD: You figure it out 😉
- The one and only Beatrice, for not only teaching others how to make caulk effective and good looking, but also for bringing us back chocolate from the Motherland.
THE MOST ENTHUSIASTIC GROUP AWARD: Given to that group of happy-go-lucky, laugh-till-you-cry makers of merriment.
- All 46 sixth graders on tour from Open Window School.
- The Women of Amazon, aka the “Queen Bees”
- Mercer Island United Methodist Church and Pastor Jon.
- The Thursday group, including the regulars, the interns, Team Leaders and Carol, Adria and Dawn, “The Wonder Women.”
- (Every group from) AWS.
- The Hill Team.
- Sally and her (many!) friends.
- Isso Seva.
- Brighton Jones.
- Stanley and their thermoses (thermosi?)
- Slalom and Sophie’s Birthday Party.
- The Firefighters on Seattle’s One Day of Service.
- Fred’s Retirement Party.
- Weyerhaeuser (for signing up at 12:01 am on the first day they can sign up for a group build.)
- Bonnie’s Bunch and (honorarily) The Curtain Brigade.
- All Our Eagle Scouts and their projects.
- T-Mobile.
- Sammamish Rowing Club.
- Tzu Chi Seattle.
- Lake WA Sai Center, who has been with us since the Big Tent days.
- Schumachers’ Family Holiday Party.
THE PERSISTENCE AWARD
Hands down to Tzu Chi Seattle for “You don’t have a Group Build date available anytime soon? No problem, we’ll just all sign up on Saturday.” And “Can we please bring in our Young Professionals from all over the country to build with us?” And “If we volunteer for 175 hours (the time it takes to build one home) our District will sponsor a home.” FOUR TIMES THIS YEAR!!
THE WIZARD OF OZ AWARD: Given to that person who pulls a lot of strings behind the curtain to get things done.
- Bruce, who can fix or make anything.
- David, who keeps our zip file always up to date.
- Tom, who pulls strings and loads of plywood with equal ease.
- Dave the Painter and Dave the Mover. Two great guys. One great name.
- Timothy, who regularly speaks truth to power, and in many ways is the conscience of SFNW.
- Dave, who helps us in Seattle and is setting up Tucson.
- Andrew, who in many respects has become the voice of SFNW.
- Sally, who shares the biggest Rolodex in Seattle with us along with all her wisdom.
- And Barb.
THE COWARDLY LION AWARD: Given to the person with the biggest heart to walk through our door.
Drum roll please….this year’s award is presented to EVERYONE WHO VOLUNTEERS, GIVES MONEY, TALKS ABOUT, AND ADVOCATES FOR SOUND FOUNDATIONS NW! We truly are winners because of all the effort that you put into our organization. What a great community we have! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
According to Sharon Lee of LIHI, in 2023 we got nearly 2700 of our homeless neighbors off the streets and into a space that is warm, safe, and dry. That is almost 700 more than last year! How cool is that! Plus, two more villages will be opening in January. WOW!
By Andrew Buchanan
As we roll to the end of 2023 and head into the new year, we are so grateful for your support of the tiny home solution to ending homelessness in our region. One tiny home at a time, we’re almost 150 homes further along to housing every homeless man, woman, and child in Seattle than we were at the start of the year. Sometime this coming spring we’ll be building and tilting up home #500 since we began and that’s simply amazing! Thank you so much for your support of SFNW this entire season, starting with GivingTuesday in late November and rolling through this week. Whether it’s by building, donating, or simply reading this newsletter and helping spread the word, every one of you is truly making a difference.
We still have more to do in 2024. The US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development just released numbers from the Jan. ’23 Point in Time Count showing a record high rate of homelessness both nationwide, and in WA state as pandemic-era financial support and eviction moratoriums expire. (Editor’s note: KCRHA opted not to do a Point in Time count in 2023, but will do one in 2024. Results will be available in March 2024.)
We made a promise to our homeless neighbors that as long as there’s a need, we’ll keep building tiny homes. We have high hopes for serious progress in 2024. But that also means we need to continue raising money to help meet the roughly $18k we spend on materials each week at our current build rate. If you’re able, please consider a tax-deductible donation by the end of the year to help buy building materials and keep those tiny homes rolling out the door.
Finally from the bottom of our hearts, we wish you and your families peace, health, and happiness in 2024! Thank you for all you do.
Here is the press coverage from the opening of Salmon Bay Village
The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/seattle-rv-safe-lot-finally-opens-after-a-year-of-delays/
KING: https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/safe-parking-spaces-rvs-opens-interbay/281-410020b5-a77e-43f9-a3aa-7962e77b3001
And from our friends at Tzu Chi Seattle:
Here is short video clip of the Morning News broadcasted in Mandarin on Tzu Chi DaAi TV Station regarding the Tzu Chi volunteers Group Build with 4th tiny home dedication and banner event on 11/19. We always appreciate you and your voice share the key message in building Tiny Homes. Together with helping hands and big hearts, we build and save lives, and everyone can do it!
How cool is this?!?
- January 7th: Barb speaks at St. Therese Parish.
- January 11th, 12:45-2:10 pm. Exhibits at Bellevue Big Picture School for our interns. The Hope Factory will close at noon so we all can go over to the school and enjoy their exhibits.
- January 12th: Barb speaks at Epiphany Church.
- January 15th: Barb speaks at Covenant Shores
- January 31st: Sixth graders from Open Window School will be touring The Hope Factory again. On the same day, the Women of Amazon/Queen Bees will be building with us. Expect a wild time!
TO VOLUNTEER
Come build with us this week! Here’s the link:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0C4EACAF2AA0F4C52-46978423-volunteers#/
Please remember to wear painting clothes even if you do not anticipate painting. Minimum age is 16 years. Please, no exceptions.
Clarification: If the SignUpGenius says (The name of a Group Build) AND Open Build, this means that you can volunteer even if you are not a part of the group.
TEAM LEADERS IN TRAINING: If you wish to become a Team Leader in Training, DO NOT SIGN UP for the day you wish to do this. Email SoundFoundationsNW@gmail.com and we will put you on the list.
We hope to be building with you soon!
Your Leadership Team: Beatrice, Tom, Bruce, David, Timothy and Barb
It Takes a Village to FUND a Village!
YOU are a big part of why stacks and stacks of lumber fill The Hope Factory. There are several ways to give throughout the year. Questions? Please email devel.sfnw@gmail.com. All gifts qualify as tax deductible but please consult your tax professional for your own situation.
To give by check, credit/ debit card, a Donor Advised Fund, or a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA, start on our Donate page, or:
Remember, if you sponsor a home (currently $4500), you get to name the home! Tiny home sponsors have their names (or “anonymous”) and the name of their home added to our Tiny Home Sponsor wall and join our growing list of supporters who’ve reached a little deeper to become part of the solution to ending homelessness. Email devel.sfnw@gmail.com for details.
A Few Reminders
- We do tours every day but Friday. Come visit if you haven’t been yet.
- We have a “Welcome to Sound Foundations NW” PowerPoint presentation that is also in .pdf form. If people ask you what we are all about, these are a simple thing to attach to an email to explain who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Email SoundFoundationsNW@gmail.com for this .pdf or PowerPoint.
- We fund our homes through a combination of private and public donations. For more information, please go to our website – Helping Finance the Homes.
Protocols, Address, Directions
- Volunteer at your own risk for Covid or any other illness. If you are experiencing any symptoms, please stay home.
- Masks are optional when volunteering at The Hope Factory. There is no shame in wearing a mask.
- The minimum age is 16 years. Please, no exceptions.
- When you are at The Hope Factory, please social distance whenever possible.
- Covid booster shots are not required but highly encouraged.
- We are usually there by 9 am or 2 pm on most Sundays. Make sure you double check the times in the Sign Up Genius. You can come and go as your schedule permits. Just let us know so we can plan ahead.
- Please bring your own gloves.
- Please leave your own tools at home.
- Please bring your own lunch.
- No matter what you do, please come prepared to paint.
- Warehouses can be difficult to heat and cool. Please dress appropriately.
- We currently have no indoor restrooms, Honey Bucket only.
- We understand that sometimes life gets in the way of good intentions. If you must cancel at the last minute, please contact us as soon as you know. Others may want to volunteer in your place.
- No experience necessary. We train willing hearts.
OUR ADDRESS is 5 S. Nevada St., Seattle 98109 in SODO.
Visit our Website: