Many hands make light work: building the Garden of Hope

Amazing things happen when seven Windermere offices come together to accomplish a large project. On June 18^th, 2010 Spokane offices: Valley, Liberty Lake, City Group, Manito, Palouse, North-Spokane and Cornerstone all came together to create an outdoor space for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane.  More than 200 agents and additional volunteers worked together to revitalize the outdoor empty lot adjacent to the Ronald McDonald house, building the “Garden of Hope” for residence to enjoy.

The outdoor renovation was done in less than eight hours, though the project itself took many months of planning by committee. Community members and local vendors donated more than $100,000 to this project, Washington State University Students developed the landscape plan and local businesses donated the sprinkler system and earth-moving equipment and services. The garden will be a place for families to relax and regenerate at the end of a long day, but it also will serve as a reminder of how the community comes together- even in tough financial times to improve the lives of families in need.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Spokane provides housing for families with children in the nearby hospital. Donations ensure the facility is there to provide a home-away-from-home for all families- no family is turned away based on ability to pay. The house itself has 21 rooms for residents, cooking facilities and now a great outdoor space for kids to play, families to reflect and shared spaces for gathering. Ronald McDonald House Charities was founded in 1974 and the Spokane Children’s Family Center opened in 1987.

A special thank you to all the volunteers and community partners!

In 2010 the Windermere Foundation sponsored a video contest, asking for video submissions showcasing the amazing organizations Windermere Foundation and Offices have the privilege to work with. We received 24 video submissions and selected five ‘winning’ videos in late September 2010. The Offices who submitted these videos have received a $2,000 donation to benefit their Foundation charity of choice. All the videos are too good to keep to ourselves, so over the next two months we will be sharing the videos created by Windermere Offices and highlight the great organizations they chose to work with.