We’ve been through a profoundly difficult time, but there are glimmers of hope on the horizon. We revisited some of the organizations and people that we spoke with last fall to see what is giving them hope for this year.
Roxana Pardo Garcia
“Alimentando al Pueblo started as an idea and is now its own Community within Burien (and the greater Highline Service area). Our volunteers and Community know each other by name, they share stories, laughter, recipes, and joy. Not only did we provide culturally relevant food to our Community, but we also gifted culturally relevant art, music, books, headphones to our students, and diapers. The greater Community has shown our project an incredible amount of love and support—we are excited to continue in our work of building the world that so many of us deserve.”
Sarah Brusig
“It is always darkest before the dawn and we are no doubt pulling through a very dark time in our city’s history. However, there is hope to be experienced soon with additional doses and an incoming distribution schedule for the vaccine. We look forward to welcoming new businesses to Burien and the re-opening of long-term entities. One step at a time—we will all pull through this moment together and emerge stronger.”
Andrea Reay
Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce
“Since 1988, the Seattle Southside Chamber has been dedicated to creating a vibrant region by advocating, building awareness, and providing support for business. One thing that has remained constant over the years we’ve served our community is that we are stronger together. We’re proud of how our community has come together to support one another. As an organization, our staff and volunteers have delivered over 5,000 Safe Start Kits to help keep employees and customers safe. We have conducted over 1,600 technical assistance appointments to help our small businesses access millions in cash assistance and saved hundreds of local jobs. We continue to advocate for additional support, safe reopening, and provide marketing support through our active promotional campaigns such as Keep Calm and Carry Out and the Southside Promise, and the Southside Strong Fund. There is nothing we can’t do if we work together in collaboration and partnership. Together we are stronger—Southside Strong.”
Steve Daschle
Southwest Youth and Family Services
“Although none of us know exactly what 2021 will hold, we are hopeful for the year ahead and remain committed to continuing our work to serve youth and families with the critical services they need to thrive.
We are extremely thankful to our community of supporters for partnering with us to create meaningful change in our community. Now more than ever, we need to come together as a community to support each other.”
Susan Enfield
“We have seen how resilient and resourceful our staff, students and families are in the face of a global crisis. That gives us great hope, because we know that together, we can tackle any challenge that lies ahead. We have learned not to let the belief that “we can’t possibly do that” stop us from making our school system truly equitable, so that all children can realize the full promise of public education.”
