Please accept my invitation!

Hi Everyone! 

Here is my latest PR for our event coming up on May 30th! 

What is so great about this event is that the price is $125 but that is it. This is not an auction where you end up spending way more after you get there. In fact, guests at our event get to take home a glassybaby! All proceeds go directly to Family Services. While you are giving back you get to enjoy amazing food and good wine while networking and listening to spectacular music! 

Don't think I don't know about how tough it is in this time of recession. We are all affected, and just think of the struggle those that had nothing to start with are dealing with. Please accept my invitation and help us help Family Services do what they are best at.....helping others move in to a life that is self-sustaining. 

See you there!

For Immediate Release
May 13, 2009


WWISH and glassbaby Host Fundraiser to Benefit Family Services

Seattle, Washington, May 13, 2009 – Did you know that 2,922 parents and children are homeless each night in King County, or that 23,000 children here witness domestic violence in their homes? These aren’t just statistics. These are people – people that Family Services is helping each and every day. 

To help them with that mission, WWISH and glassybaby are partnering to benefit Family Services with a fundraising event – An Evening of Elegance – on Saturday, May 30 from 6 to 10 p.m. The fundraiser will be hosted by WWISH at glassybaby art studio in Madrona and will feature food, wine and entertainment.  

WWISH president Laura Cruikshank created the event because she knows how difficult it can be for families to get help when they need it most, particularly during a recession.

“Family Services has been helping families deal with social issues for over 100 years,” Cruikshank said. “WWISH supports them in their work to create positive change in the lives of women and families every day.”

Billed as an elegant evening of hope and promise, guests will enjoy delicious food and wine by St. Clouds, live music by composer and pianist Jeannette Alexander, an inspirational surprise guest speaker and a glassblowing demonstration. At the end of the evening, guests will receive a special gift from glassybaby to take home.
 
Tickets are $125 each and net proceeds will go directly to Family Services. The nonprofit organization has been strengthening families in King County since 1892, dealing with difficult issues like homelessness, poverty and domestic violence while supporting self-sufficiency. In 2008, Family Services assisted more than 6,000 people, but many more need our help.

Women’s Wellness and Integrated Social Health, WWISH, is an online, interactive magazine for women and about women. We offer support, resources and editorial content pertaining to women’s issues and lifestyles. For more information about our organization and how we help support women, please visit us online at www.wwish-inc.com. WWISH:  Resources. Connection. Empowerment.

To learn more about An Evening of Elegance or to purchase tickets, visit www.wwish-inc.com. For more information about Family Services and its important role in our community, visit www.family-services.org.

Media contact:

Laura Cruikshank, president
WWISH, Inc.
206-605-3736
laura@wwish-inc.com    
www.wwish-inc.com

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A Tribute to Mother's and our children: Hooray for Summer, or Not?

This time of year I always look forward to the end of the school year, when my children can have a break from their busy, regimented schedules, and I get a break from being the homework Nazi and taxi driver. We can all take some time to breath, enjoy unstructured time, relax — that is until the first echoes of “I’m bored” ring through my ears. This happens usually inside a week.

 

Unfortunately, even though the kids are off for summer break, my work doesn’t allow for a three-month summer break. And it’s amazing how far the echo of “I’m bored” rings through the airwaves. While I am working, even if I am there physically, I can’t always direct them toward un-boredom. In fact, the interruptions don’t bring out the best parenting techniques in me, and then the guilt ensues for not being able to meet their needs. I know, I need to work on that.

So, to avoid the inevitable, by Mothers Day, with any luck,  I have the summer schedule buttoned up. 

Our summer vacation takes up about a week, depending on how much time I can take off from WWISH. After we have that planned, I begin by asking them what their idea of summer fun looks like aside from our vacation. My kids (the two living at home, I have a son who flew the coop so to speak, he's a UW engineering student :-)) aren’t close in age: I have a teenager and a 10-year-old, and this presents very different ideas of summer fun. 

My 16-year-old says he wants a job this summer. As any parent knows, this is great news. But, as we also know, the job market isn’t looking so good these days, and even in good times you don’t wait until June to start looking for a summer job. So my role of suggestor takes over: “Have you decided what kind of job you want this summer?” “Would it be a good idea to get their contact info and let them know you are interested?” “Do you want help with a resume?” The result: a few shrugs and a nod once in a while, and he assures me he has it handled.

For my 10-year-old, summer fun is not something he thinks about — he just does. But 

this is not to say he won’t tell me what he won’t do. This is where my director role takes over: “You have a choice of three camps and a few other activities. Which ones would you prefer?” 

He has suggested to me that he would like no plans this summer, except, of course, our family vacation. But when it comes to camps, theater groups, sports clubs, etc., he has an aversion. So this is the tough parenting call.

 

We know we feel so much better when we know our kids are stimulated, learning and safe. And you know what? They do, too. Never have my kids come home after a day in group activities with kids their own age — participating, connecting and sometimes competing — and said, “I hated that! It was horrible.” Instead, they have occasionally cried because they were sad about the fact that they will miss their new friends.

 

So this summer will be the same. I will give him his options, and he will choose what best suits him. And then I have no doubt he will have another memorable childhood summer. 

And, of course, I will sleep much better at night.

*Photo’s are from last years summer fun on Lake Chelan.