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Many other civic improvements in those years were the result of organized volunteer efforts and sizable gifts from Whatcom County individuals. Charles Larrabee, another early business leader, gave a large unoccupied residence and "a liberal sum of money" to establish the Bellingham Bay Home for Children in 1892. The facility served as a refuge for homeless children in Northwest Washington until the National Children's Home Association opened the doors to its Seattle home in 1899.
Around the same time, B.P. Cornwall, mentioned earlier, gave Bellingham a building for its public library. Many others provided the funds for books. The 1890s also saw the establishment of several charitable organizations, many of which are still viable today: Red Cross Society, New Whatcom Benevolent Society, YMCA, United Charities of New Whatcom, St. Joseph Hospital, Associated Charities, St. Luke's Hospital, Young People's Bible Institute.
The Bible Institute, led by Carrie Kalloch with considerable business support, provided a soup house for the hungry from 1893 to 1896. The United and Associated Charities existed to provide oversight for the various works of charity throughout Whatcom County at that time.
Many civic improvement functions that have since passed into government hands, were carried out through private volunteerism and funding. For example, the New Whatcom Ladies Cooperative Society (1885), was instrumental in developing Bellingham's Elizabeth Park on land donated by Captain Roeder. A few years later, the same group improved the playground at Whatcom Falls Park. In the early 1900s, the Women of Rotary and the Red Cross played key roles in YWCA fund drives, and raised money for children's beds at St. Luke's Hospital.
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© 2002 Whatcom Community Foundation. All rights reserved.
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