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Katherine Ross

Thousands of volunteers turn out for Spokane Gives Week

Katherine Ross, Constituent Services Coordinator, Mayor’s Office, No Phone Number Available

Monday, June 1, 2015 at 5:28 p.m.

Updated June 03, 2015

The second annual Spokane Gives Week, which kicked off on April 25, 2015, was a resounding success, with 10,218 volunteers who gave 49,721 hours of service. Using the federal government standard equivalent of $22 per volunteer hour, that equals $1.09 million of economic impact that Spokane citizens gave back to their community.

Through the City's partnership with the Spokane County United Way, volunteers were matched with projects such as the iconic Cleaning from the Core, helping at Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, cleaning up city streets, and much more.

A big thank you goes out to all of those who volunteered their time this year, as well as to the organizations who participated and community partners. Along with individual volunteers, many families served together, as well as corporate and neighborhood teams.

Each year, the City recognizes outstanding volunteerism during Spokane Gives Week in four categories: Corporate, Community, Neighborhood, and Individual.

  • The Corporate Compassion Award went to Hotstart, where employees volunteered for three days in a row, giving an average of five-and-a-half hours each at the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery.
  • The Community Compassion Award went to the Gonzaga Student Body Association, the first winner of the Spokane Gives University Challenge. Together, Gonzaga University, WSU Spokane, Whitworth University, and Eastern Washington University logged 14,594 hours of service.
  • The Neighborhood Compassion Award went to the Five Mile Neighborhood, which undertook beautifying the north and south entrances to Sky Prairie Park.
  • The Individual Compassion Award went to Rhea Turner, an AmeriCorp VISTA for Spokane, for her work helping to organize and coordinate Spokane Gives week.

Spokane Gives Week is all about giving back to our community and encouraging service. It also presents an opportunity for citizens to find their philanthropic passion, whether it's cleaning up neighborhoods, being a Big Brother or Sister, or planting trees.

Now that Spokane Gives Week has passed, let's all take a moment to remember that service should not be limited to one week; there are organizations and projects in need of volunteers all year round. Spokane Gives Week is meant to be used as a springboard into passionate community service, and we encourage all of Spokane's citizens to continue looking for ways to make our home a better place for all.

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