Sequim Sunrise Rotary dinner, live and silent auction

When: 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28

Where: Guy Cole Events Center, 202 N. Blake Ave.

Tickets: $55 per person

More info/RSVP: Julia McKenna-Blessing, SequimKahu1@aol.com or 360-912-3399; Pat McCauley, 360-670-9444

A civic group with deep roots in the Sequim community is throwing a big fundraising party later this month — one in tune with the theme: “Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Future.”

The Sequim Sunrise Rotary hosts a live and silent auction and dinner beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at the City of Sequim’s newly-renovated Guy Cole Events Center at Carrie Blake Community Park.

Tickets are $55 per person, a portion of which is tax-deductible. Funds raised go to the myriad projects the Sequim Sunrise Rotary supports, from clean water efforts to international youth exchanges, the Sequim Little League and Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County, Habitat for Humanity to Student of the Month awards, and others.

“We look to and need our community’s support so as to continue to provide needed services,” Julia McKenna-Blessing, co-Chair of this year’s event, said. “And we are looking forward to an evening of fun, and sharing on behalf of and for this special place we call home where people demonstrate they care about one another.”

McKenna-Blessing said Rotary officials chose the location to show support and bring attention to the facility, and also highlight a kind of youth movement at this year’s dinner/auction. The Rotary group will be raising funds during the “Raise the Paddle” portion of the auction for the newly-formed Joe Rantz Youth Fund. This fund aims to help identify and provide assistance to students who find themselves in homeless situations. Funds will be distributed through the Boys & Girls Club, the McKinney Vento program via the Sequim School District, and the Rotary group.

Rotary officials say there are an estimated 130 students that have been identified as homeless in the Sequim School District this school year.

The fund is named after the late Joe Rantz, a former Sequim resident who overcame challenging childhood situations to succeed in life and earned acclaim as one of the 1936 Olympic Games U.S. eight-man crew gold medalists and primary subject of “The Boys in the Boat” best-seller. Judy Willman, Rantz’s daughter, will be on hand at the April 28 event and is slated to speak briefly about some of her father’s experiences.

In addition, Rotary members are partnering with Sequim High school’s culinary arts and agro-science programs. Under the tutelage of culinary arts teacher Dana Minard, SHS students will work alongside a professional banquet and catering staff from The Cedars at Dungeness.

“Richard White, head chef, says he is excited to be involved in such a worthy effort and that it gives him a chance to both help train as well as perhaps identify possible future employees,” McKenna-Blessing said. “Heather Croot, The Cedars at Dungeness’ banquet and catering manager, is very enthused and supportive of the students working alongside her staff as well.”

Students in agriculture science teacher Steve Mahitka’s classes have been in competition to be the team selected to design and create the evening’s center pieces, McKenna-Blessing said.

There will be a number of silent and live auction items to bid on, Rotary officials said. Among the numerous live auction items are: a fall getaway (early October) in The Pines at Sunriver, Ore.; a wine tasting and hors d’orevers for 12; a balloon ride over the Sequim-Dungeness Valley; a gourmet wine dinner for six; a game day party for eight at the Oasis; a barbecue dinner for eight on 3 Crabs Beach; a saltwater fishing trip for two; two tickets to a regular-season Seattle Seahawks game, and a whale-watching tour for two.

Dinner includes an entree of baron of beef, salmon of vegetables.

“Our community’s support is vital to our being able to continue being the reliable source to be supportive of myriad needs which are on going and we are proud to be able to be part of ‘Find a need and fill it,’ as the old sales adage goes,” McKenna-Blessing said.

For reservations or for more information, contact McKenna-Blessing at SequimKahu1@aol.com or 360-912-3399, or call or Pat McCauley at 360-670-9444.

One in 25 school children are homeless

According to state officials, about one out of every 25 K-12 students in Washington state – nearly one in every classroom – is homeless, living in hotels or in cars, or with friends.

Numbers released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction lst week show that in 2016-17, 40,934 Washington students were counted as homeless – a 3.2 percent increase from 2015-16.

“Homelessness puts incredible strain on families,” said Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction. “The students might be staying somewhere unsafe. And they may not have the time or a consistent place to study.”

This can lead to higher absenteeism and lower student achievement, Reykdal said. Graduation rates also suffer: The four-year rate for students experiencing homelessness in the Class of 2017 was 53.9 percent. For all students, the rate was 79.3 percent.

“Students experiencing homelessness need a place that is stable, a place where they are supported and nurtured,” Reykdal said. “For some, that place is school.”

The federal McKinney-Vento Act provides that those students be given the same access to their education as other students and cannot be separated from other students. Where feasible, the students can remain in the district they were in before becoming homeless and are provided transportation to and from school.

Specific reasons for the increase in students experiencing homelessness are difficult to determine at the state level. Local community factors, such as a lack of affordable housing options, a reduction in services, or unemployment or under-employment, may contribute.

The McKenney-Vento law provides some funding for states. Typically Washington receives about $1 million annually. Given in the form of competitive grants, the money goes to school districts with the greatest need and can be used for a variety of purposes, such as:

• helping to minimize the excess cost of transportation;

• tutoring, instruction, and enriched educational services;

• providing supplies and other educational materials; and

• providing early childhood education programs.

The State Homeless Student Stability Program also provides supports and resources for the education of students experiencing homelessness. A total of $850,000 is being awarded for the remainder of 2017-18 to 12 school districts. The funds will be used for a variety of programs, such as professional development for staff and partnerships with community-based organizations, that support students experiencing homelessness.

As defined by McKinney-Vento, a student is homeless if they lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. The definition also includes students who are “doubled up,” which occurs when the student doesn’t have a fixed address but instead must stay with family or friends at various times.

The new data show the largest increase in students experiencing homelessness occurred with those who are unsheltered, which includes, for example, students living in parks, abandoned buildings, cars, or on the streets. In the 2015-16 school year, there were 2,134 such students; in 2016-17, there were 2,753 – an increase of 29.0 percent.

Joe Rantz