The 13th annual Giving from the Heart breakfast brought neighbors together, starting with sipping coffee and ending with signing checks, on Wednesday morning at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center.
Islanders Dean Quigley and Terry Pottmeyer chaired the fundraiser and community event, which raises money for the city’s Youth and Family Services (MIYFS) department.
MIYFS is a “safety net” for all members of the community — children, seniors, people with mental health issues, low-income families and more — and also runs a teen community serviceprogram, operates the Thrift Shop and provides emergency assistance.
Giving from the Heart had raised $150,000 as of Thursday, Feb. 12. Last year’s final tally was $135,000.
“It ensures MIYFS has all of the resources it needs to help our neighbors,” Pottmeyer said. “There are times in our lives when we are the helpers, and times in our lives when we are the ones being helped.”
Pottmeyer launched the first Giving from the Heart breakfast in 2003. It was held in the Presbyterian Church and consisted of Islanders having coffee and passing the hat. Since then, it has grown to involve more than 500 community members.
After a program that involved a summary of what MIYFS does in the community and honored Studio 904 owner Kay Hirai and LDS Bishop Ken Tracy with philanthropy awards, breakfast attendees were asked to make donations.
Each donation of $500 or more was matched by a Maren-Swenson fund and MIFYS Board of Trustees combined gift.
“MIYFS will put your donation to work immediately to provide people with the professional and accessible help they need to thrive,” Pottmeyer said.
Quigley was a member of the original citizen group that in 1973 recommended the establishment of a Youth Services Bureau on Mercer Island. Peg Morgan was hired as the first director of the department.
“I’m really proud of what MIYFS is doing today,” she said after the breakfast. “They’ve kept innovating. There’s a much higher level of creativity and outreach.”
Thirteen local businesses, including Auto Spa, Island Books, Yogabliss and Hennie McPennie, pledged to donate 20 percent of their proceeds on Wednesday to MIYFS.
