A Year of Giving

Our culture at Herrera includes a passion for serving our communities. We are stewards of the environment and we care about people that reside within it. More than a quarter of Herrera staff contributed volunteer hours and or funds to non-profits in 2018. Many of our staff supported multiple organizations with one person contributing to a whopping 24 different non-profits.

Herrera employees had the option of donating to a non-profit in lieu of receiving a holiday gift in 2015 and 2016. Given the popularity of donating, we redirected all holiday gift funds to non-profit donations in 2017 and 2018. In addition to Herrera’s main office in Seattle, there are branch offices in Portland, Bellingham, Olympia, and Missoula. Each year we vote for one regional and three local non-profit organizations to support. Herrera employees selected Engineers Without Borders, two food banks, and one shelter to receive a donation in 2018.

We are pleased to contribute $2,000 to Engineers Without Borders whose work empowers communities by developing sustainable means for providing for basic human needs. We love that Engineers Without Borders provide lasting solutions to better the lives of some of the poorest and underserved communities. One notable project included drilling wells to provide clean and reliable drinking water sources for villagers in Simwatachela, Zambia.

Engineers Without Borders: https://www.ewb-usa.org/

The Oregon Food Bank and Montana Food Bank Network each received a $1,000 donation from Herrera. According to the Montana Food Bank website, each dollar is enough to provide for 3 meals. In addition to distributing food, the Oregon food bank provides educational programs for nutrition and gardening to increase self-reliance. Both Oregon and Montana food banks advocate for legislation that reduce hunger.

Oregon Food Bank: https://www.oregonfoodbank.org

Montana Food Bank: https://mfbn.org

Herrera also donated $1,000 to Mary’s place, a Seattle shelter for women, children and families experiencing homelessness. The non-profit provides laundry, showers, employment, and housing services. According to its 2017 annual report, Mary’s place provided over 175,000 overnight stays, served almost 300,000 meals, helped over 1,000 children, and treated almost 3,500 medical conditions.

Mary’s Place: https://www.marysplaceseattle.org/

Organizations that Herrera staff supported in 2018:

Access Fund
ACLU
Adelante Mujeres
Aldo Leopold Nature Center
Allied Arts of Whatcom County
Amnesty International
Arc of Whatcom County
Audubon Society of Portland
Ballard Food Bank
Bellingham’s Community Boating Center
BikeWorks
Board of Washington Green Schools
Burke Museum
Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP)
Christmas Family Adoption Foundation
City Fruit
Community Vision
CURED Foundation
Depave
Engineers Without Borders
Everytown for Gun Safety
Friends of Bertrand, Haiti
Friends of the Seattle Public Library
Friends of Trees
Girls Build
International Living Future Institute
International Rescue Committee
KUOW (NPR radio station)
La Leche League International
Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Lovell Wyoming School District – Frank Somer Art Scholarship
Mary’s Place
Mercy Corps
Michigan Tech Fund
Momentum Alliance
Motley Zoo Animal Rescue
Mountains to Sound Greenway
NAMI Seattle
National MS Society
Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA)
Nature Conservancy
Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA)
North Creek Presbyterian Church
Northwest Center
Northwest Washington Engineers Without Borders
NPR
NRDC
O’Hara Commons and Sustainability Center 
Oregon Cultural Trust
Oregon Humane Society
Oregon Justice Resource Center
Oregon Public Broadcasting
Organic Consumers Association
Pacific Science Center
Packwood Trail Project
Peace in Schools
PEPS
PetSmart (homeless pets)
Portland Chinatown History Foundation
Prison Pet Partnership
Puget Soundkeepers
Recreation Northwest
Resolutions Northwest
River Restoration Northwest
Save a Warrior
Seattle Aquarium beach naturalist program
Seattle International Film Festival
Seattle Parks Foundation
Seattle Public Library Foundation
Seattle Works
Shifting Gears
Sierra Club
Sisters of the Road
SMART (Start Making a Reader Today)
Southern Poverty Law Center
Stoughton Area School District
Stoughton Opera House
Sustainable Connections
Sustainable Tacoma Commission
Tacoma Environmental Services Commission
The BLOCK Project
The Christian Left
The Empowerment Plan
The Nature Conservancy
Tilth Alliance (formerly Seattle Tilth)
Trauma Intervention Program of Portland
Verde
Vertical Generation (through International Refugee Committee)
Wallowa Resources
Washington Trail Association
WaterWatch of Oregon
Whatcom County Habitat for Humanity
Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center
Whisker City
Wild Salmon Center
Wild Steelhead Coalition
Woodland Park Zoo
World Central Kitchen
York Community Farm