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Newsletter - Building Community
Awards & Recognition
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Neighborhood House's Rainier Vista Center
open
Services under one roof to help
change lives and community |
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SEATTLE—September 1, 2005—Over the coming years
thousands of people will come through the doors of
Neighborhood House’s newly opened Rainier Vista Center.
Preschool children from all over the world will come to the
daycare, job seekers will utilize the building’s computer
lab and service providers, teenagers will learn new skills
in the Head Start classrooms, community members will learn
English for the first time in English as a Second Language
courses and children of all ages will make new friends at
the Rainier Vista Center. |
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“Rainier Vista Center is so much more than a
century-long dream come true for all of us at Neighborhood
House,” said Neighborhood House Executive Director Mark
Okazaki. “It’s a place to help change lives and build a
community of families who support and nurture one another.”
More than 250 community members and public officials
celebrated the opening of the new center, as well as the
completion of the first phase of rental housing at Rainier
Vista, at a celebration last month.
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Neighborhood House staff, partners and officials unveil
Neighborhood House's new logo at the grand opening event. |
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“The center will benefit people in this community,” said
Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis at the event. “The access to the
services that are in this building is what will help make
this a true community.”
Built by Neighborhood House on land donated by Seattle
Housing Authority, the Center is the first “home” that the
organization has constructed and owned in its nearly
100-year old history. |
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Generous support from various community and individual
donors helped fund the new construction. The 10,000 square
foot building will allow the agency to expand programs for
low-income children, adults, families and seniors, all under
one roof.
The technology center – made possible in part by a $250,000
grant through the Seattle Housing Authority from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development – will offer computer skills, vocational
training, English as a Second Language classes, citizenship
classes and financial literacy education. |
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Two large sun-filled classrooms will be home to the learning
space for Head Start students, who will also enjoy a
state-of-the-art outdoor play space.
Five private offices will allow multilingual family support
workers and employment specialists to meet with their
clients, while several social service and housing service
providers, like Seattle Housing Authority’s The Job
Connection and the Rainier Vista Leadership Team, will lease
space in the Center. |
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A mosaic mural highlighting the Rainier
Vista Center's donors is displayed in the building's main
entry. |
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Families who live just steps away from
the new center will have access to training, education and
support to help them become more self-sufficient.
“I believe this new building is geared
to helping families and encouraging kids to continue their
lives on a more positive note,” said Sandra Borders, Rainier
Vista Leadership Team chair. “Kids in the neighborhood will
be watching people getting up and going to work at the
Center in their neighborhood; this sets a great example for
them.”
King County Executive Ron Sims, State
Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, Senator Adam Kline,
Neighborhood House Capital Campaign Director Shirley Wilcox,
Councilmember Larry Gosset, Nancy Hutchins from Head Start,
Neighborhood House Board President Barbara Larson,
Neighborhood House Executive Director Mark Okazaki and
Seattle Housing Executive Director Tom Tierney shared
comments at the celebration. The unveiling of Neighborhood
House’s new logo and a lively Chinese dragon dance concluded
the event.
“Thank you and congratulations to
everyone involved in creating this new community and
Neighborhood House’s Rainier Vista Center,” said Tom
Tierney, SHA Executive Director. “Most importantly, thank
you to all Rainier Vista’s residents. Your partnership is
the most important.”
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