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Meet Your Neighbors: Mary Charbonneau

Meet Your Neighbors: Mary Charbonneau

How did we miss this?

Last year Emerson-Garfield resident Mary Charbonneau won the Peirone Prize as part of The Inlander’s Give Guide, the alt-weeky’s annual philanthropy issue in which they highlight people who are making things better here in the Inland Northwest.

The paper featured a long profile of Mary and her work with Washington Bassett Rescue.

Mary Charbonneau

Mary is a familiar face at neighborhood council meetings, neighborhood events, and even (or especially) in the virtual ‘hood on our Facebook page.

What’s even cooler is that Mary isn’t the only one in the neighborhood who has been highlighted by the Give Guide for making a difference. In 2011, Brent and Amy Hendricks, who run Global Neighborhood Thrift here in E-G, won the same philanthropic prize, which was accompanied by a similar profile writeup in the paper.

Now in its third year, the Give Guide is once again calling for nominations of deserving individuals for the Peirone Prize. Whether it’s education, social action, the environment, animal welfare, or community gardening, they want to know who to recognize when it comes to people generating positive change in our community.

So send the full names of your nominations, their ages (if you know them), and a sentence or two explaining why you think they deserve recognition to giveguide@inlander.com by no later than Thursday, August 1.

And who knows — maybe Emerson-Garfield will be represented three years out of three!

Spokane Community Land Trust Open House, July 17

Spokane Community Land Trust Open House, July 17

SLCT logoThe Spokane Community Land Trust (SCLT) is a new nonprofit organization focused on providing affordable home ownership opportunities to low- and moderate-income households in the Spokane area.

Community land trusts enable affordable home ownership by separating the ownership of the land from the ownership of the house. The land is placed in a trust, making home buyers responsible only for the cost of the structure. CLT home buyers lease the land from the nonprofit for a modest fee.

The SLCT is holding an open house on Wednesday, July 17 from 4:30 to 5:30pm in Meeting Room 1B at the Downtown Branch of the Spokane Library [map] so that people to learn more about how a land trust model can help people in our community successfully transition from renter to homeowner. Home ownership helps families build equity, strengthens neighborhoods and can provide needed stability for individuals and families.

The organization’s board and staff will be at the open house to share information on how a land trust works, why one is needed in Spokane and how this model has worked well in the Northwest and around the country. Lemonade, cookies and good company will be available.

If you cannot attend the event but would like to learn more about the Spokane Community Land Trust and the land trust model, please e-mail the SLCT or give Tim Williams a call at (509) 279-2351.

Marlene Alford Profiled in InHealth

Marlene Alford Profiled in InHealth

Marlene Alford, Exec. Director of The Women's and Children's Free Restaurant. Photo from InHealth.
Marlene Alford, Exec. Director of The Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant. Photo from InHealth.
Marlene Alford, Executive Director of the Women and Children’s Free Restaurant, is profiled in the most recent issue of InHealth.

It would be hard to overstate Marlene’s dedication to the WCFR or the neighborhood itself. In addition to all the hours she invests in her organization, Marlene has been involved with the Emerson-Garfield Neighborhood Council in the past, particularly with our neighborhood planning efforts.

The WCFR itself is an invaluable resource in Emerson-Garfield — and its positive reach extends far beyond our neighborhood. If you’re looking for fulfilling (and much-needed) volunteer opportunities, please consider donating some time to helping out at the WCFR.

You can grab your (free) copy of InHealth in retailers and waiting rooms all across Spokane, or you can read the profile online here.