MI mothers and daughters make an impact with National Charity League

Published 11:30 am Tuesday, February 3, 2026

National Charity League (NCL) members put volunteer spirit in the spotlight on a recent Saturday morning.

A host of Mercer Island mothers and daughters gathered together at Coldwell Banker Bain’s Bellevue office to participate in a National Day of Service philanthropy project that featured assembling 144 coloring and activity kits for kids and 300 hygiene kits for the American Red Cross Armed Forces program.

According to NCL’s Lake Washington and Evergreen Mercer Island chapters, the kits will be handed off to kids of veterans visiting parents receiving medical care and to veterans experiencing homelessness. The event also included a presentation from Red Cross’s Lindsay Taylor regarding how individuals can volunteer in the organization’s local relief and preparedness efforts.

NCL, which was established in Los Angeles in 1925, lists its mission as, “Fostering the mother-daughter relationship through an ongoing commitment to philanthropy, culture and leadership.”

Mercer Islanders Harmony Long and her daughter Kaley have been involved with NCL’s Lake Washington chapter for the last two years.

For Kaley, an eighth-grader at Islander Middle School, the importance of her NCL experience is, “To give time out of your day to help other people in need.”

Along with engaging in the Red Cross project, Kaley has enjoyed her community service journey through other projects with NCL partners like Food Lifeline, Seattle Humane Society and copious others.

Volunteering alongside her mom has been a plus, too.

“I feel like we’ve gotten closer and it’s really fun to spend hours with her,” said Kaley, adding that she’s become friends with some of the older girls who have taught her the ways of NCL.

“One of the things that I’ve heard them talking about is to find your passion. This is a really good way to kind of taste lots of different nonprofits and areas you can help people. So if you’re really passionate about animals, there’s an opportunity,” Harmony said. The Longs have three dogs in their home, Kaley said with a smile.

Harmony, who serves on the Lake Washington chapter board, said she finds it incredible to work next to passionate NCL women who care about raising strong, independent and thoughtful leaders.

The Mercer Island NCL website noted that through their involvement in the nonprofit, members have the opportunity to: Experience the joy of helping others, develop empathy and kindness, build confidence and maturity and form meaningful friendships in a safe, supportive and age-appropriate environment.

Lake Washington chapter vice president of philanthropy Kara Lucas said the two Mercer Island chapters will be merging into one come June 1. Presently the two chapters are comprised of 360 total mothers and daughters, who attend grades 7-12 and range in age from 12-18. Each chapter volunteers thousands of hours of service every year.

The wide variety of projects include lending a hand at the Seattle Children’s Hospital holiday toy drive along with volunteerism in nature with animals and in the food insecurity and healthcare realms.

“It’s an amazing opportunity to volunteer somewhere that is brand new to you, but it’s also incredibly special to volunteer where maybe your life’s been touched and you want to participate and support,” Lucas said.

Red Cross volunteer recruiter Taylor chatted with the NCL members about the need to give blood and to help out at blood drives; and becoming involved with the Youth Action Campaign, where they can make an emergency plan at home, make sure the batteries in their family’s smoke detectors are working and more.

“Just encouraging them to participate in the Red Cross mission: helping others, helping our community and getting involved,” Taylor said.

For more information, visit: https://www.nationalcharityleague.org/chapter/evergreen/