VashonBePrepared Has Joined Islanders for Ferry Action
Your Donation Will Help Us Push for Better Ferry Service
Vashon Life Depends on Our Broken Ferry Service
Ambulance runs to mainland hospitals • Cardiology appointments • Dialysis • Chemo
Food, gasoline, lumber, and everything else we buy on Vashon • Off island shopping runs for things not available on Vashon • Catching a plane for work or vacation • Students making daily trips to school • School teachers, store clerks and healthcare workers coming to serve Vashon • Economically crucial tourist visits
Ferry Crisis: Slowly Strangling Our Community
The ferry crisis has been slowly strangling our community. A small town like ours can only take so much. And now, Washington State Ferries says it will be another five years to restore full service! Vashon can’t wait for WSF to build more boats and train new skilled captains, mates and engineers. Thousands of Washington residents and visitors who rely on the Washington State Ferries, need relief now.
VashonBePrepared: Joined the Ferry Action Campaign
If anyone would know about community survival, it’s VashonBePrepared. We are the nonprofit that organized our community to fight the pandemic and we are experts on emergencies. So, VashonBePrepared has joined Islanders for Ferry Action. VashonBePrepared:
- Has taken a seat on the IFA steering committee to advise and support the campaign.
- Signed an agreement to be the 501(c)(3) non-profit fiscal sponsor for IFA fundraising. Your donations are tax deductible.
Next: We All Must Dig Deep
IFA has launched a one-year advocacy campaign to make a difference. We are raising $85,000 to fund this campaign. Here’s what your investment will buy:
- State government officials and legislators will be educated about potential solutions.
- Dozens of Vashon residents will mobilize to bear witness to county and state officials.
- Compelling letters, emails, video clips, and social media posts will saturate communications.
- Social media posts and video clips will advocate for immediate relief.
- Other ferry communities will be pulled together into a powerful block.
- An experienced campaign manager will make all this happen.
How to Donate to Islanders for Ferry Action
Use our website donate button. Or, mail a check or direct your Donor Advised Fund donation to:
VashonBePrepared
P.O. Box 2840
Vashon, WA 98070
VashonBePrepared is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. Your gift may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes. Our Federal Employer Identification Number is #06-1808389.
Vashon Stories
“I have a rare blood cancer called MDS. Every three weeks without fail I must go to Fred Hutch Cancer Center for a day of treatment. My visit involves a team of five medical professionals and rescheduling is extremely difficult for my medical team, not to mention me. Folks like me need reliable ferries to get the medical care that we must have to stay alive. If we could have all-day water taxi service it would be extremely helpful for people in my position.”
“We have no other way to get off of the Island. I understand that it is my choice to live here, but in the 58 years I have been here, this is the worst service I have ever encountered. I'm afraid to drive off of Vashon not knowing when or if I can make it back.”
“When I was pregnant, I had to miss an entire day of work just to make a 30-minute check-in and that happened on a monthly to bi-weekly basis. Even with preferential medical boarding, I could not be sure of making my appointments because of boat cancellations and delays. I was terrified of what might happen if I went into labor on the island.”
“My son is now a sophomore in high school, and he commutes to Tacoma for school every morning on the 7:10am ferry during the week. There are quite a few kids on that ferry. Last week, my son and all of his schoolmates missed half of their school day because the ferry was canceled for lack of crew. When we received notification, most of them were already en route to the ferry.”
“During days when the north end is down to 1 boat we have employees flat out say ‘I’m definitely not coming in today because it’s probably a three hour wait or more to come over and the same wait to catch a boat home.’ I personally have had countless home owners decide not to come over for meetings. One missed meeting could mean hundreds of thousands.”
“After forty-two years on the island, raising our three children there, we made the difficult decision to sell our home and move to Seattle to be near children and grandchildren. It was taking 2-1/2 hours, minimum, each way to assist our daughter with child care when needed.”
The Studio Art Tour will not function as it has for twenty years. Period. A one-hour wait for a boat for a special event is one thing, but a three- to four-hour wait is impossible and not viable, as we have seen.”
“...the next four years will be rough for riders. Any failure on a single vessel cascades into cancellations across the network, further plummeting confidence in the system and stranding riders who sometimes have no choice but to ride to get to work, school or even critical doctor’s visits.”