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When Bellingham's YWCA (1906) was barely a year old, it provided a summer camp on Lake Whatcom. The current building at Forest and Maple was the gift of Charles Larrabee's wife and daughter in 1915. Many other donors helped furnish the rooms. At that time, it was one of only three Northwest YWCA buildings, along with Portland and Seattle.
The PTA, another current institution, was active in Bellingham as early as 1918, when it sponsored a children's poster contest urging kindness to animals. The PTA also sponsored surveys on literacy, and conducted evening classes for illiterate parents, taught by volunteers.
Philanthropy was no stranger to other areas of Whatcom County in those early years. When the important Northwest Diagonal Road to the city of Ferndale needed repairs, a community meeting produced enough cash and free labor to get the job done. When a bridge on that road burned in 1888, volunteers replaced the structure in a single day. For many years, county residents depended solely on volunteer fire departments to quell destructive blazes. The Ferndale Commercial Club improved Pioneer Park and the tourist grounds. And the Civic Club of 50 community-minded women carried out a beautification plan near the city's railroad.
These philanthropic examples are only a few of hundreds that occurred during the past 150 years in Whatcom County. The same generous spirit continues today. Like so many aspects of American society, philanthropy and the charitable institutions and public functions it serves has become professionalized. Today, nonprofit corporations number more than 1,200 in Whatcom County. Their work touches the entire range of daily life: from arts, culture, and education to human services and the protection of our environment.
There is also a growing number of philanthropic organizations that see to it that our local charities have the financial support they need to carry out vital services that benefit us all. The 68 organizations highlighted in the Catalog - many of which have deep roots in our history - are the legacy of those who have gone before and set good examples. They teach us what it means to care for our neighbors.
The organizations featured in the Catalog, as well as others not listed here, are our future hope in Whatcom County. More than ever, let's pull together for the inevitable challenges and opportunities before us.
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© 2002 Whatcom Community Foundation. All rights reserved.
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