Community Outreach

Windermere Foundation helps low-income and homeless families in its own backyard.

BY CORINNE WHITING

WHEN THE COVID-19 CRISIS HIT, THE Windermere Foundation stepped up. In late April, the Foundation launched a companywide “Neighbors in Need” fundraising initiative, an urgent response to how the pandemic tore through safety nets for the vulnerable populations who depend on food programs on a daily basis. Windermere challenged its offices to raise $250,000 and pledged to match every dollar. Seattle Seahawks starting safety Quandre Diggs shared a supportive message to give the initiative a boost.

In the end, Neighbors in Need exceeded its initial goal of $500,000 by nearly $200,000, donating $690,000 to food banks in communities throughout the Western US where Windermere operates.

A number of Windermere offices also did their part at the local level, including the six offices that make up Windermere East, Inc., which pulled together a program to deliver 1,100 meals to first responders at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington. “We bought the meals from local restaurants to help them in their shutdown panic,” Managing Broker Lew Mason says, “and we delivered them daily to the hospital.”

Throughout the decades, a portion of each Windermere agent’s commission has been donated to the Windermere Foundation, which has raised more than $41 million since 1989. According to Mason, the Foundation addresses the root cause of issues like homelessness, and the staff in his office are constantly brainstorming new ways to help low-income and homeless families in their own backyard, partnering with organizations whose goals align with the Foundation’s mission.

Every spring, the Windermere East, Inc., offices donate 20 to 25 scholarships worth $1,500 each to graduating seniors with compelling financial need and the drive to seek further education. This initiative is so important and rewarding, Mason says, “because it helps those worthy individuals who otherwise would not be able to attend college and get the education that helps break the cycle of homelessness or poverty.”

Each fall, Windermere East, Inc., comes together with the other East King County area offices to pool their Foundation donations and select which organizations and causes they want to support. These include organizations that offer services such as transitional housing, hotel vouchers for the physically abused, kids’ lunches, and camps that offers at-risk youth the opportunity for a carefree escape. One program, Ruby Room’s F-Factor, helps young community members dress in formalwear for memorable life moments like prom—a bright spot meant to build confidence. “We think that helps their esteem,” Mason says, and therefore “the whole picture over time.”

Mason believes that supporting the local community via the Windermere Foundation is simply about doing the right thing. “We’ve got to keep our community strong. It has to be everyone doing their part.” Plus, he adds, “We really love doing it.”

Learn more about the Windermere Foundation at windermerefoundation.com.