Archive for the ‘Get Involved!’ Category
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Apr
20
Posted by Matt Thomson
The weatherman said it would snow, but it’s mid-April in Gig Harbor so I figured we were safe. It snowed. Yesterday at Tacoma’s Pt Defiance Park, the March of Dimes held their major event, the March for Babies.
When our daughter was born nearly 6 weeks early, I became aware for the first time just how hard premature births can be. March of Dimes is doing a lot to try and help ease the burden. I was amazed at the turnout for the March for Babies. The snow stopped by the time the walk began, but it was still 36 degrees and lightly raining (the rain stopped pretty early on). We bundled Reese up and joined hundreds of other walkers. Thanks to family, friends, and other Keller Williams agents, we raised $640 to support March of Dimes! Thanks a ton!
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Apr
04
Posted by Matt Thomson
I wrote a post a few weeks back on GHPD officer Chet Dennis’ new K-9 Foster Dog program. Don’t forget that there’s an informational meeting for all who are interested on Tuesday, April 8th at 6pm at the GH Civic Center!
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Apr
02
Posted by Matt Thomson
This past September, my wife and I welcomed our first child into the world…nearly 6 weeks early. Our daughter was born weighing only 4lbs, 3oz, and she would later drop to 3lbs, 11oz. Although we were quite worried, the staff at Tacoma General Hospital’s NICU thought that she was strong and healthy. Compared to some of the other children there, several weighing fewer than 2lbs, our daughter was healthy.
After 15 days in the NICU, we got to bring our little girl home. Now, more than 6 months later, she’s a thriving, healthy baby. The March of Dimes is hosting a March for Babies on April 19th at Tacoma’s Point Defiance Park. This is a special place for us, as Pt. Defiance is where I proposed to my wife in August of 2001.
We have a goal of raising at least $1000 to support March of Dimes as they continue to fight to save babies from premature birth. Many people don’t realize that premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death, and the rate of premature births is escalating.
We’d love to have you help us as we support this great cause. There are two ways you can help:
- Donate funds
- Join us in the walk on April 19th
For information on how to donate, to donate online, or to register to join our team, please visit our March of Dimes team website.
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Mar
27
Posted by Matt Thomson
Gig Harbor High School senior Kate Stuart has organized a 5k run/walk to provide medical and humanitarian support to those displaced by war in Burma. The event will begin at the Chapel Hill Church parking lot in Gig Harbor, WA. Race begins at 9am on Saturday, March 29th, with day of race registration running from 8-8:45am.
Kate (who will be running track and cross country at my Alma mater Westmont College next year!) is putting on this event as part of her senior project at Gig Harbor High. In addition to the 5k running race or walk for the adults, there will be a kids’ dash for kids age 5 and under.
This is a great chance to participate in the Gig Harbor community, support a local high school student, and reach out and provide some charitable relief to those in need. Whether you’re a recreational jogger who plods along the Gig Harbor waterfront, or a competitive runner who tears up the McCormick Park trails, or just a Gig Harbor resident or visiting Gig Harbor and just want to go for a walk, this will be a great event for you.
Entry fee ranges from $5-$18 depending on your age and t-shirt availability. Visit Chapel Hill’s website to register, or show up at the Chapel Hill parking lot Saturday morning to register day of race.
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Mar
17
Posted by Matt Thomson
The 2008 Whiskers Wine and Dine was held this past Friday night and was another fun success. Whiskers Wine and Dine is the annual auction and dinner fund raiser for the Peninsula Spay and Neuter Project, which is now known as Coalition: HUMAnE. This is a pretty amazing group that is dedicated to helping Gig Harbor and the surrounding area control our pet population. Make sure you check out their website to see all of the cool things that they are doing.
Here are a few photos from the evening, as well as a portion of the slide show that was shown highlighting the opening of their new spay and neuter clinic.
One of the many cool pieces of art that was donated for the live auction. This lazy susan was one of the most popular items of the night.
My favorite table of the night!
Laura Michalek is an energetic and fun professional fundraising auctioneer. If you have any fundraising auctions in the Gig Harbor, Seattle, or Puget Sound region, you may want to look her up.
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Mar
16
Posted by Matt Thomson
Officer Dennis of the Gig Harbor Police Department is unveiling a new K-9 program that is beneficial for multiple people. The Gig Harbor community is going to have the opportunity to help Officer Dennis raise police service K-9’s!
It doesn’t take much time being around Officer Dennis before you understand his passion for dogs. He dreamt and developed this program and is taking it to Gig Harbor, looking for your help. His goal is to strengthen the community participation in understanding and raising police service dogs. This program will benefit the Jaycox Gig Harbor Police Benevolent Fund which supports youth and families in Gig Harbor during their times of need.
Officer Dennis is donating 3 puppies from his dog Tabor’s litter to begin this program. He is looking for volunteers from the Gig Harbor community to raise these German Shepherd puppies from 8 weeks until they are 14-16 months old. Volunteers will work closely with Officer Dennis in providing these pups with a loving environment in which they’ll grow and learn and become socialized.
Through various donations and his own provisions, Officer Dennis will provide the volunteer families with everything they’ll need to raise these pups. Multiple crates, a kennel with covering, toys, leashes, food bowls will all be provided to the families. Diet is a raw, natural diet that will be provided by a local company at no cost to the foster families. All veterinary care will be provided by the Purdy Animal Hospital. This is truly a community project! Those who are selected to raise the pups will join Officer Dennis frequently for training and socialization exercises.
Volunteers don’t necessarily need a great deal of experience raising dogs. Officer Dennis will work with you closely to ensure that you have everything that you need. He is remarkably flexible and wants to work with families to make sure that the dog and the family is as comfortable as possible. This program is about the dogs and about the Jaycox Fund, so Officer Dennis will do anything possible to make sure that this is a success.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent for a police service dog, you are encouraged to attend an informational meeting on April 8th at 6pm at Gig Harbor’s Civic Center. You can also view the Jaycox Fund Foster Program’s website for more information. Downloadable brochures and applications are available on that site, as well as Officer Dennis’ contact information.
This first year two puppies will be raised by foster families, one by Officer Dennis. He hopes that this will become an annual program, benefiting the Gig Harbor community, other police departments in need of K-9 dogs, and The Jaycox Fund. If (my wife says “when”) Sebastian passes away, this is a program I’d love to participate in.
The pups’ mom, Tabor, sniffing the grounds.
How could you not want to foster one of these guys?
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Feb
02
Posted by Matt Thomson
Later this month, a group of folks from Believer’s Fellowship church here in Gig Harbor will be setting out to renovate a barn at Love, INC’s headquarters in Puyallup, WA. Love, INC’s mission is to “mobilize the Church to transform lives and communities In the Name of Christ.”
One thing that Love, INC does is provide families who have lost everything to a flood or a fire, or someone who abandoned all they had to flee an abusive relationship, with new furniture for their home. The furniture is not really new, but to someone who has literally nothing, gently used furniture can be an amazing gift.
Currently, Love, INC doesn’t have the space to store the donated furniture that they distribute to folks in need. That’s where we come in, and where we can use your help. On Saturday the 16th, we will begin by clearing junk out of a barn currently on Love, INC’s property. Then on the 17th, we’ll pressure wash the inside of the barn and begin painting the lumber. The following Saturday (the 23rd), we will begin building the structures that will transform the old barn into an adequate storehouse for furniture. Then, on Saturday March 1, will will need to fill the re-habbed barn with furniture. IF YOU HAVE ANY FURNITURE THAT YOU’RE WILLING TO DONATE, please bring it to Believer’s Fellowship on March 1st.
If you have the desire to serve the community, we would love your help at any of these stages. You don’t have to be a member of our church (well, I guess there are no members of our church as we don’t have membership…if you join us you’re as much a member as anyone!) to help out. This is just a group of Pierce County residents, most of whom happen to go to church here in Gig Harbor, who have decided to help out a great organization in need.
If you’d like to help with any of the construction phases or by donating furniture, please contact me so we can plan for any necessary transportation and tools. Caring about our communities is what makes us a community.
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Jan
18
Posted by Matt Thomson
I hesitated on whether or not to include this post. I don’t want this in any way to come across as self promotion or promoting my office. I decided that this is a community blog, and Joshua was a part of our community, and his story shows the greatness of our community. So with permission from Dina Vodopich, I’ll simply cut and paste her version of Joshua Oberhansli’s story:
Hello All Fellow Agents, Friends & Family,
Wanted to pass along how wonderful our community is and how strong we all are together! Yesterday I had the privilege of attending Joshua Francis Oberhansli’s funeral at Chapel Hill Church. There wasn’t much for dry eyes during the slide show of his life and family. It was wonderful to be there in support of all the family and friends who attended.
The reason for my email is also to share the power of people sharing and caring when they get together. On Tuesday January 15th I had to take a document up to Haven of Rest so that a large chunk of the funeral home costs were taken care of. While I was there I met a few of the hospital ladies and their husbands who think that we, Keller Williams are such a great firm to do all that we have done together to help out the family. Kim Osterman asked me specifically what the family would have to pay after the plot contribution. I spoke with George Nelson from Haven of Rest and he said that the balance would be $800.31, I recalled the special Urn they wanted in their home for Joshua and George said that was paid in full by an anonymous person. The “anonymous” donations has been very strong from so many of you, and I just want to THANK YOU for all that you have done! We were able to pay $500 that evening towards the funeral costs, which left a balance of $300.31. Between the three couples there the balance was paid in full and they did it with such Joy. It was truly a moving experience. Then the question was asked of me “What do the Oberhansli’s owe for the service at Chapel Hill?” I got into my secret squirrel mode and called around to get that answer, $2,800 or so. I shared that answer with the ladies that evening. Bringing you to the end of this story is that between 23 +/- Tacoma General, friends and family from that group collected in one day $2,800 to pay the fee in full! After the service I was asked to speak with Kim and her group about a fund raiser they are holding at Joeseppi’s this coming Wednesday for the Oberhansli family to help with all the other mounding bills they have. This is when they told me about the gift for the funeral service. If you still would like to donate to the Oberhansli fund, I am making more than happy to do so for you at Columbia Bank. I will be making a run today for our agents who have written checks to Columbia Bank with Oberhansli in the memo of the check.
I Thank You all for everything you have contributed to this family in a time of need. We are an awesome company and I have heard this time and time again from the nurses, family members and friends who I have spoken with in these past few days.
Joshua Francis Oberhansli Joshua Francis Oberhansli died peacefully at his home on Fox Island on January 9, 2008 surrounded by family and friends. Joshua celebrated his 2nd birthday just three days prior; he was born January 6, 2006 in Tacoma, WA. Joshua battled a rare childhood cancer for 17 months leading up to his passing. He was a vivacious boy who was always found smiling despite cancer treatments and side effects. Joshua defined love and togetherness; his spirit will forever bring people together in the face of love. His nurse at Children’s was quoted as saying, “let us base Josh(y)’s life not on how old he was, but by how much he was loved and how much he loved life. To me, that makes him a very old man.” Beloved son of Ron and Dawn Oberhansli, Jr and cherished little brother of Zachary and Lauren, Joshua adored playing with his family and having fun. He especially delighted in dancing, vacuuming, and playing on the beach. To forever cherish his memory, he also leaves grandparents Ron and Autumn Oberhansli, Jan Barker, Darrel and Arlynn Gunderson; great grandmothers Virginia Purkey, and Linda Armour. He is further survived by many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
www.caringbridge.org/visit/joshuao .
Thank You,
Dina Vodopich
