One voice: New community group unites to help Snoqualmie Valley families in need

The Snoqualmie Valley’s first-ever Resource Fair, aiming to showcase a constellation of services for families in need, has been set for Saturday, June 4, by a new coalition called One VOICE.

The Resource Fair will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cascade Covenant Church, 13225 436th Avenue S.E., in North Bend. More than 30 organizations are expected to participate, and there will be no admission charge.

“The idea of the Resource Fair is to gather together all of the organizations that serve families in need in the Snoqualmie Valley and provide them a one-stop opportunity to discover the resources that are available to them,” says Stacey Cepeda, Community Activities manager at Encompass, which hosted the initial meetings that resulted in One VOICE.

(VOICE stands for Valley Organizations in Collective Effort. See the list of participating organizations at left.)

Items offered at the Resource Fair will be geared towards the warm-weather months and will be available on a first-come/first-served basis.

Donated items will include summer-care packages for two age groups. The packages will include sun block, lip balm, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, coloring pages and a small toy. Families also will find summer clothing for all ages, flip-flops, free haircuts, developmental screenings provided by Encompass, toiletries, Frisbees, water bottles and dental products.

The following organizations will be present at the Resource Fair to distribute information: Affordable Access, Encompass, Habitat for Humanity, Hopelink, King County Public Health, Mount Si Helping Hands Food Bank, Saint Vincent de Paul, Snoqualmie Valley Alliance’s mobile clinic, Solid Ground, the Washington Department of Social and Health Services and Worksource.

The general public is invited to participate in the fair by collecting any of the following items for donation: flip-flops, diapers, toilet paper, laundry soap and new or gently used summer clothing for all ages.

Eastside Self Storage has generously donated storage space so that donations can be dropped off at Encompass during business hours starting Friday, April 1.

If the June 4 Resource Fair is successful, Cepeda says, One VOICE plans to hold the event annually.

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