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10/21/2011 9:56 AM 

In addition to helping maintain Vashon CERT’s generators at the local fire stations each month, Vashon’s Dennis Schroeder has been a volunteer at the Real Change newspaper for the past five years, as well as serving on its Board of Directors for a two-year term. For those who may  not know, Real Change is the street newspaper that is sold in Seattle and the surrounding areas by homeless and low-income people.

The mission statement reads: "Real Change exists to provide opportunity and a voice for low income and homeless people while taking action for economic justice." What we're getting at here is every Thanksgiving Real Change has an event called, "Survive the Streets." This is a day where we hand out basic survival materials to people who live outside in tents, under bridges, etc. Basically, these folks live the disaster that we train for.

For the past 12 years, the husband and wife team of Patti Dunn and Mike Grabham have been giving out clothing, backpacks, and sleeping bags to homeless men and women in Seattle. Three years ago, they partnered with Real Change to expand their reach and organize a larger-scale, Thanksgiving Day event now known as Surviving the Streets. At a time of ever-decreasing funding for homeless services from both the city and the county, personal donations are needed now more than ever. That’s why we are partnering with over a dozen businesses, community groups, and schools to hold survival gear drives for Surviving the Streets. Here are some photos of a past Survive the Street event.

To help support this year’s Surviving the Streets event, they are currently looking for:

• Sleeping bags
• Tarps
• Men's jackets (most women prefer men's jackets because they are warmer)
• Socks
• Men's fleece jacket liners
• Warm blankets
• Backpacks
• Duffel bags
• Ponchos

Any of these items in decent and clean condition will be greatly appreciated.  Items can be brought to the CERT training on Friday, October 21, or contact Dennis to pick up any time before November 20.

Again, Real Change and the people we serve appreciate all the help from the community.

Dennis Schroeder can be reached at iyakman (at) comcast.net or 463-3292

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