VOA a key partner in bureau’s success

The director of the regional Volunteers of America, Marilee Roloff, stood surrounded by children’s books Saturday afternoon at the end of the first day of the Christmas Bureau. She looked tired but undaunted by the task of restacking the mountain of books that spilled off the table onto the concrete floor of the Ag Building at the fairgrounds.

Nearly 1,400 parents and grandparents had selected new books for 2,800 children in about six hours Saturday, a small part of the contribution by Volunteers of America, or VOA, to the annual charity.

VOA partners with Catholic Charities in the operation of the bureau at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. In addition to teaming up administratively, VOA donates storage space, staff time and volunteers, and it stages a Christmas in July party for the 200 Christmas Bureau volunteers. But by far the most visible donation is the 20,000 books, an $80,000 value that VOA brings and distributes to poor children each year.

VOA’s late director Ken Trent was a catalyst for the growth of the Christmas Bureau and its partnership with The Spokesman-Review Christmas Fund through the 1980s and 1990s.

Donations to the Christmas Fund, solicited through daily stories in the newspaper, pay for the new toys, a $280,000 cost, and $200,000 worth of food vouchers. A generous donation of $7,500 by Cochrane & Co. and Tepco Premium Finance boosted the daily tally of donations to $15,848, which brought the Christmas Fund to $134,848.

Trent hired Roloff, who had worked at a homeless teen shelter in Seattle, to start a similar service in Spokane. She got Crosswalk off the ground, and when Trent retired from VOA in 1996, Roloff stepped into his position.

Her first stint at the Christmas Bureau was in 1984, a month after being hired by Trent. “I walked in the bureau and felt like I’d been punched in the stomach. I’d never seen so many poor people in one place,” Roloff said.

As VOA director, she ushered in a number of programs, including Hope House, a shelter and transitional housing for single women; Alexandria’s House, a home for pregnant and parenting teen girls; and Flaherty House, a transition home for men age 18 to 21.

VOA serves about 3,000 people with emergency shelter and housing, works with about 20,000 others throughout the year, and operates the Christmas Bureau that gives the fixings of Christmas to about 30,000 poor people, according to Roloff.

Just as Catholic Charities is proud of the legacy of its longtime director Donna Hanson, Roloff nurtures Trent’s legacy at the Christmas Bureau. “I think that even as big as this has grown, he would be proud that we still treat people well, that we bend our own rules here, that we give out quality toys and that the process is as speedy as it is. It hurt him that people had to wait in line for hours,” she said.

A few years after Roloff became president of VOA, the Christmas Bureau outgrew VOA’s ability to run the organization. Roloff and Hanson talked and decided it made sense for Catholic Charities to take the lead.

“It’s really an equal collaboration,” says McCann, who assumed the reins at Catholic Charities when Hanson became ill. “There is no way we could do this without Volunteers of America.”

“It’s perfect to have two agencies,” says Roloff. “It used to be Donna and me. Now it’s Rob and me. We bounce ideas off each other. All the changes here come from our conversations. It’s better and faster, and it seems to work.”

Funding for the Christmas charity depends heavily on a generous community. Donations of all amounts are welcome. Following are the donors and their donations (online donations were subject to a 3.2 percent PayPal charge):

Cochrane & Co., and Tepco Premium Finance, of Spokane, donated $7,500. “The holiday season is upon us and we are all experiencing the bombardment from the media to buy, buy, buy. Here at Cochrane & Co., and Tepco Premium Finance, we believe there should be a stronger focus on children, family, community good will and generosity. During the holiday season, our employees would like to focus on the important things in life. We recognize that life is fragile, that we need to appreciate what we have each and every day, and we want to recognize the less fortunate,” wrote Cochrane & Co. vice-president Brian Carney.

The law offices of Douglas, Eden, Phillips, DeRuyter & Stanyer, of Spokane, donated $2,500. “Since the inception of our firm in 1990, we have contributed annually to the Christmas Fund. Each year we are simply amazed at the dedication and hard work of the volunteers of the organization and the level of contributions of the community to help those in need at Christmas time. Without your hard work, there would be many families that would not have a Christmas nor have sufficient food for a Christmas meal. We would like to thank you and all of the volunteers for the generous gift of time and talent,” wrote members of the firm: Ronald Douglas, Marc Phillips, Brent Stanyer, Diane Kiepe, Anita Anderson, Sandi Pendleton, William Eden, Daniel DeRuyter, Ryan Douglas, Suzanne Bretting, Robbie Beyer and Kathi Garcia.

Greg and Ann Houghham, of Spokane, gave $1,500.

Leslie and Derek Yates, of Spokane, gave $500, as did Ed and Virginia English, of Spokane.

Walt and Ruth Cummings, of Spokane, donated $400.

Gary Miller, of Spokane, donated $300 in memory of his mother and father, Margaret and Lonnie Miller.

An anonymous donor, of Spokane, sent $250.

L.K. and Tudy Hatch, of Spokane, donated $200, as did Sam and Janet Whitcomb, and Derek and Martina Tyler, all of Spokane.

Jim and Carrie Clanton, of Spokane, donated $150 in honor of their daughter Ashley Clanton, “who has chosen to serve her country by joining the U.S. Navy. We are pleased that Ashley will be home with us this Christmas, but in the future, who knows? At any rate, we are blessed with health and good fortune and hope that this gift can help those less fortunate,” wrote the Clantons.

Bob and Alma Burchell, of Spokane Valley, donated $150.

An anonymous donor, of Spokane, donated $125 in memory of Lloyd and Elenor Bain. Ron and Naomi Franklin, of Spokane, also donated $125.

Gail Harper, of Spokane, donated $100, as did Kathryn Sharp, of Liberty Lake; Rita Purkett, Bruce and Frances Rogers, and an anonymous donor, all of Spokane; and an anonymous donor, of Colbert.

Harry Sparks Jr., of Spokane, sent $100 in honor of his parents and grandparents.

Christine Hinnen donated $96.80 via PayPal.

Janet and Charles Watkins, of Newport, Wash., donated $75, as did Carol Phelps, of Spokane.

An anonymous donor, of Spokane, sent $65.

The Greenacres Elementary office staff and first-grade team sent $50 and a note: “May this help in the lives of those in need.”

The Evergreen Ladies, of Spokane Valley, donated $50. “We are a group of teachers who worked together at Evergreen Junior High (now Evergreen Middle School) over the years. Some of us are retired or have moved to other schools, but we still meet for friendship over lunch or dinner a few times a year. This donation comes as a result of our last in-home dinner, Nov. 30. We would like to share our good fortune and Christmas wishes with others,” they wrote.

Hattie Carroll, of Spokane, donated $50 in memory of John Lollis and LeAnne Lollis. An anonymous donor, of Spokane, gave $50.

Garrett and Saige Connor brought $20 to the newspaper.

Robert Stevens donated $17.18 via PayPal.