Richard J Anderson

Campers Enjoying the Group Fire pit at the 2006 CTYL Memorial Day Camping trip.

CTYL Camping is coming up quick.  Just had our second committee meeting today and have a handle on the shirt artwork as well as some games and prizes for campers.  Things are looking up.  Next task for me is to update the website with the camping details and start getting people to register!  I can’t wait for camping this year.

This will be the 10th Year for the camping trip and we expect over 40 campers again.

Well, the Charity Fundraiser Party was a total success.  The food was great, the Wii Sports competition was tough and auction bids were generous.  In the end we reached our goal of $2000 net profit from the evening.  The money will help CTYL expand our giving programs for the year 2008.

Thank you to all who attended and especially all those who helped us make this a successful event!

Charity Through Youthful Living Holiday Formal Fundraiser
Saturday, January 19th, 8 – 11pm
Winters House
2102 Bellevue Way SE, Bellevue, Washington
Celebration * Silent Auction
Auction featuring a Nintendo Wii* console system

Well, due to the Snow on the 1st, we had to reschedule our Charity Fundraiser.  So we’ll now be holding it on January 19th, 2008 at the same time, in the same place.  We’ll be expanding our auction in the meantime and inviting even more people to attend.  We’ll see you all there!

For more information, visit the CTYL Fundraiser page..

Photo Taken in Sun Peaks, BC, Nov 21st, 2005 by Devon Thurtle

Well, it started snowing about an hour ago.  And it’s coming down pretty good.  In the meantime we’re planning on having our Charity Fundraiser Party and Auction in Bellevue tonight….

EDIT:  We had to cancel the Fundraiser due to the snow.  It snowed from 1pm through 6pm and then again later in the evening continuing until Sunday morning.  It seemed prudent to keep people off the roads.  So we will reschedule the Fundraiser for January most likely.  This will also give us time to increase our marketing and get even more people to attend.

I bought a new suit that I planned to wear to the Fundraiser.  It’s the first suit I’ve ever owned.  For those thinking about buying a suit for whatever reason, I recommend The Mens Wearhouse.  The staff was great and their prices are pretty good.  I still blew about a grand, but I got the suit along with 7 shirts, 5 ties, shoes and a belt.  Plus a little tailoring on the suit.

Our presentation check from Wal-Mart. Yeah, I know they didn’t have the name quite right. Can’t ask for everything I suppose.

This morning I finally got to do something that felt Presidential.  And that’s a good thing because as I continue the coming year as President of CTYL I find it hard to feel that way most of the time.  We don’t have a lot of money coming in, and we struggle to put together events sometimes.  But today was rewarding.

The CTYL Secretary (Adrienne) and I drove up to the Lynnwood, WA Wal-Mart store to meet the store manager.  She presented a check to us for CTYL on behalf of Wal-Mart stores and we gave a little speech about ourselves to the store employees who were getting ready to start work.  It was a nice way to start off the day and definitely made my current feelings about operating a charity lift a bit.  I actually got to talk about CTYL in front of a group of people for the first time really.  That was also pretty cool.

Yeah, $500 isn’t a ton of money, but it’s money we didn’t have before, and it’s from an established well known company.  Thank you Wal-Mart!

CTYL Holiday Formal Fundraiser December 1, 2007
REDMOND, WA — CTYL will host its First Annual CTYL Holiday Formal Fundraiser on December 1, 2007. Proceeds from the Formal will go towards CTYL’s 2007 Holiday Shopping program, providing holiday gifts for local children and families in need. Tickets go on sale November 1, 2007, and will be exclusively available via the website. Discounts for CTYL members.
Third Annual CTYL Holiday Shopping To Help Over 50 In Need With Gifts Worth Over $5,000!

I want make sure that everyone I know was invited to our first Annual Holiday Formal Charity Fundraiser.  You may know that I am President of a local charitable organization that I founded in 2004 along with several others.  Our goal is to provide underprivileged kids in the area with the things they need.  We cater specifically to kids 17 and younger who are homeless, poor, or have severe health problems.  In the last two years we’ve raised increasingly more funds through annual camping trips, yard sales, holiday parties, picnics, and other events.  Because of these events we’ve been able to provide over  $5000 worth of Holiday gifts for homeless teens in the area.  This year we’ve made it our goal to provide at least $5000 in gifts for over 50 homeless teens and underprivileged families with children.  Along with the previous events we’ve had through 2007, the Holiday Formal will be a major contributor to this years giving goals.  We’ve sent out mailed invitations to those we had home addresses for but many of our contacts did not contain mailing addresses prompting me to send this email.  Please go to the website and sign up for the Holiday Formal Fundraiser.  We are holding this event in Bellevue on Saturday December 1st, 2007.  There will be appetizers, beer, wine and a silent auction which will feature a Nintendo Wii among other items.  If you can attend I personally would love to see you there.

This years beneficiaries are Cocoon House and PSKS (Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets).