We love our community.

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM FENCE SPECIALISTS! HELPING HAND HOUSE

It’s hard to believe the holidays are here again, but all of us at Fence Specialists are ready to celebrate! To kick off the season right, we merrily spread some holiday cheer this year through Helping Hand House (HHH). This wonderful, non-profit organization strives to provide emergency shelter and housing for local families as a response to end homelessness. At Christmas time, our community is given the opportunity to show these families some extra love and support by family adoption and gift donation. Emily, a member of the HHH team, says, when their families receive their gifts, they are always so touched and amazed to see how much the community actually cares about them.

Fence Specialists would like to give a HUGE shout out thank you to Sutter Metals for their generous contribution to this year’s holiday donation. With their help and the generosity of the Fence Specialists’ staff, we adopted four families and donated individual gifts to Helping Hand House’s “gift shop.” At Christmas time, HHH opens a Christmas “gift shop” where parents can pick out presents for their kids.

If you are able to lend a hand this year or make a small contribution to organizations like Helping Hand House, there is no better gift you can give at Christmas than the joy you bring someone else.

Merry Christmas from the Fence Specialists team!

SANTA’S HIDDEN KIDS

A favorite Christmas-time charity of ours, Santa’s Hidden Kids, created and run by John and Karna Jo Free, collects donations every year from construction companies and contractors all over Pierce County. On Christmas Eve, they deliver their sleigh full of goodies to “displaced” children in hospitals and battered shelters as well as to nursing homes and assisted living facilities the weekend before. John and Karna Jo play the roles of Santa and Mrs. Claus on these festive rides and we are delighted to be one of many elves providing trinkets and treasures for them to give. Our present in return from Santa John is a yearly plaque of thanks with a few photos from his deliveries and a wonderful message about the wonder they bring to the boys and girls, both young and old. We are eagerly awaiting this year’s plaque depicting his latest ride, but below are John’s words from last year:

“It isn’t enough to say “thank you”. I need to share with you “some” of what we experience during Santa’s Christmas ride.

It starts with kids forgotten, not all of them, but many of them who now live in an assisted living facility or a loving care facility. Kids whose age labels them as elderly. We find smiles here like none other!! Eyes that have gone vacant come alive with emotion and tears. It’s indescribable what this means to Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Then the young ones. The amazement, wonder and genuine excitement. He is real! Again – the eyes say so much and you just can’t capture it on film. Santa has a conversation with each of them and it never ceases to amaze me what they come up with. What you help us do is priceless. Absolutely priceless. So we say a sincere Thank You for another year of miracles.”

Please check out our Blog for more information about Santa’s Hidden Kids and the magical work they do.

FISH FOOD BANKS

FISH food bank is one of several non-profit organizations working to end hunger by providing meals and groceries to as many people as possible. Over the years, usually around Thanksgiving, Fence Specialists has donated to the group with the hope that more families have a delicious meal to eat during the holidays.

HELPING HANDS

The Helping Hands organization focuses on reaching out and aiding families with children born with “upper limb anomalies.” Cheryl, a staff member at Fence Specialists, has a special place for this group in her heart. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, she adopts two families supported by the organization and other employees at Fence Specialists have been known to join in with her to help her “make these families’ holidays wonderful.

HABITAT FOR HUMANITY and TACOMA HOUSING

Habitat for Humanity works alongside families in need all over the world to build with them affordable houses they can call home. Tacoma Housing Authority also seeks to build for and place families in need in safe neighborhoods and affordable housing. Fence Specialists has partnered with both organizations donating materials to make the families’ new homes feel even more safe and secure.

DOG KENNELS, GATES, AND OTHER MATERIALS

Should an auction for charity pop up on our radar, we’ve donated dog kennels, gates, and other materials for free to the auctions.

Seattle Children’s Hospital

We recently partnered with Seattle Children’s Hospital’s fundraising department to raise funds for uncompensated children’s care! They sent us the following thank you letter:

Dear Herman and Cheryl:

On behalf of the Kent Guild of Seattle Children’s Hospital, I would like to thank you for your Partnership of one of our major annual fundraisers. With your generous donation, the 2018 “It Starts with YES” Fashion Show raised more than $38,000.00 for Children’s uncompensated care. This ensures every child in the Pacific Northwest is cared for regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Seattle Children’s Hospital is defined by three simple words–Hope–Care–Cure. Together these three words define how the hospital provides superior patient care, amazing new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research, and serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical referral center for Washington. Alaska, Montana and Idaho, which is the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country. It’s through support from many wonderful individuals like you that Children’s Hospital is able to fulfill its mission to prevent, treat and eliminate pediatric disease.

Thank you again for your thoughtful donation to the Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Kent Guild.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Adams
Fundraising Chair
Kent Guild
Seattle Children’s Hospital Guild Association