A new service organization with the mission of supporting Island nonprofits is taking root on Vashon and is focusing its first efforts on The DoVE Project, which works to end domestic violence and assist those affected by it.
The organization, called WATER — short for the Women’s Alliance to Enhance the Rock — is open to women and girls 16 and older and is an alliance in which women can use their personal and professional fields of expertise for the benefit of the community, according to organizer Pam Robbins.
In October, WATER will sponsor an origami dove-making event as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and in March members will host a dance marathon as a fundraiser for DoVE.
Robbins, an executive coach and consultant to nonprofits, first had the idea for a women’s service organization when she moved to Vashon part time from Seattle last September. She called the first meeting in February with the intent of forming a group that would help sustain the work of Island organizations. Now, 12 to 15 women attend each monthly meeting, Robbins said, and the group has 10 dues-paying members and is looking to expand to three or four times its current size.
“We really, really want to grow, and truthfully we need to grow to do the work we want to be doing,” Robbins said.
Each year, she said, the group will choose a nonprofit to support, while ideally still offering some assistance to the previous groups it has worked with.
“Every year we’re going to look at the skills of the members and the needs of the community and determine what is the best match,” she said.
Jill Johnson, DoVE’s new director of client services, said the organization is happy to have been selected by WATER.
“It’s very welcome,” she said. “We’re on an ongoing push to get more visibility in the community. Having the support of WATER is instrumental in that.”
Robbins noted there is a lot of interest in this new organization, but that many women’s volunteer hours are already spoken for.
“One of the things I’m discovering is that a lot of people have really big hearts,” she said. “Lots of folks have really full plates and do not have the time.”
Now, she said, she will focus her outreach efforts to newer residents who are looking to benefit their new community and create community of their own. Soon, she added, she will talk with real estate agents and give them WATER’s new brochure to pass on to Island newcomers.
Dues are intended to be affordable, she said; the suggested donation is $30 per year, but no one will be turned away who cannot pay. And all women are welcome — professional women with a distinct field of expertise, those who stay home with their families and those who are retired or cannot work.
“No matter what their kind of skill sets,” she said, “we will get them to be able to serve.”
WATER typically meets the first Monday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at Courthouse Square. Its next meeting is from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, at the fire station on Bank Road. For more information, see www.vmiwater.org.
