FOOD BANK

This is a shout out to the food bank, its staff and volunteers, and to the life-sustaining benefits you all offer to many of us on Vashon.

I am a senior on a fixed income, and the food bank helps me maintain a healthier diet. I am met with respect and courtesy. I also have received other useful information about solutions to keep my self sufficient. Stop on by and feel the friendly accessibility of our Food Bank.

With gratitude,

Irene Otis

VASHON SCHOOLS

Please donate to the Vashon Schools Foundation today (vashonschoolsfoundation.org/donate). VSF will use this money to help fill the funding gap.

As you have heard and read in The Beachcomber, our school district has a significant budget shortfall. There are many factors which contribute to where we are right now: lower enrollment than was projected, inflation which boosts costs for every item and service, lack of adequate state funding, state mandated caps on what we can spend from levy money, and decisions made regarding programs, wages, and priorities.

Where we are right now is upsetting to everyone who cares about our students and the public school system. We can debate why and how we got into this mess, as well as the best plan as to how to get out of it, but for the sake of the schools, I urge you to donate what you can to get us out of this short-term fix.

Our household income is a matter of public record, and is roughly half of the median household income of Vashon Island in 2023. I will be donating one percent of our household’s annual income to the Vashon Scholarship Foundation’s Give Big campaign. For those of you who can afford to do this, please consider doing so. For other folks, please give what you can.

Every little bit helps.

I and my fellow Board members will do our best to avoid being in the same spot next year. Thank you for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Martha Woodard, Vashon Island School District Director