Praise for the Mercer Island ‘Friendship Circle’
My family would like to thank the Friendship Circle for providing friendship and fun for our son, Milo. Milo is 8 years old and has a severe form of epilepsy and Autism. It is very hard for him to make friends since he is non-verbal. But at the Friendship Circle, he has over 140 teenagers ready to play with him!
We love coming to the Sunday Circles at the Mercer Island Community Center. These circles provide 2 hours of respite for my husband and I, and the ‘Sib Circles’ are a wonderful support for Milo’s brother, Sam.
We cannot get over how amazing these teens are for giving up their precious time to hang out with our son. And we cannot believe this is free for our family! Thank you Friendship Circle for providing a simple act of kindness and friendship for our sweet boy.
Kim, Erik, Sam and Milo Lawson
How to help earthquake victims in Nepal
My name is Taylor Caldwell. I grew up on Mercer Island, graduated from Mercer Island High School in 2011, and currently attend Pitzer College in southern California. Pitzer has a very strong study abroad program in Nepal and has been sending students to live with host families and learn the language/culture for nearly half a century.
As I’m sure you know, a devastating earthquake magnitude 7.8 struck just northwest of Kathmandu late Friday night. Myself and other Pitzer alums have set up a relief fund to help aid the communities who are in crisis. This is the best possible way to support emergency relief in Nepal without money getting tied up in bureaucracy. Your donation will go directly to the Pitzer in Nepal program and into the hands of the most qualified people to aid the crisis.
They are in Nepal currently and can best assess how to effectively use the funds to help families in both rural and urban areas who have loved and welcomed Pitzer students for nearly half a century. Short-term use includes emergency food, water, and medicine and long-term use will go to rebuilding the homes of Nepali families that have been torn to rubble in the wake of the devastation.
I would really appreciate it if the Mercer Island Reporter published an article about the event and even shared the link where people can donate. If you have more questions about my experience in Nepal or where the donations will be going, please don’t hesitate to contact me or visit http://pitzernepalrelief.tumblr.com/ for more.
Taylor Caldwell
A letter to Rep. Senn
I am taking this opportunity to bring to your attention to problems that don’t seem to be on the radar of governments at the Federal, State, and Local levels. Twice in less than a year my car while legally parked, has been damaged by some one not paying attention.
The first incident resulted in $710 worth of damage to driver’s side of the car. The incident this week resulted in over $400 dollars worth of damage to driver side rear bumper. In both cases no note was left in regards to damage.
Because of the age of my car I have liability but not collision and even if I had collision it would be below deductible amount. More over insurance companies have the habit of raising one’s insurance rates even for accidents not one’s fault.
The laws and regulations in this country are not written to protect people but to protect businesses and the people who run them.
I use to vote for tax increases to support schools and other projects but no more for too many of our tax dollars have gone to fighting wars, paying off government debt and subsidizing corporations and those who run them.
George Whitaker
Bellevue
