Regional Director’s Message

Spring greetings from Ross, Glory, Cristi and Katie!

We have had a busy month with events in Portland, our annual GiveBIG day of online giving, and a fun cooking class with our Seattle Institute students. I want to thank our Portland supporters for hosting such a fabulous event on April 22, raising more than $25,000 to support one of the “hogares” (homes for boys) at NPH Honduras. Nancy Merchant, Douglas Orofino, Sarah McNary and Vicky Medley – we are so grateful for your hard work and it was such a pleasure reconnecting with old and new friends in the Portland area. You can read more about the Portland event and the speech given by my goddaughter Saravia, one of the students in our Seattle Leadership Institute, here on our blog!

In April we were also excited to host our annual cooking class with more than 35 NPH supporters and our Seattle students, at 21 Acres, an organic and locally sustainable farm and demonstration kitchen. Donors who purchased tickets at last fall’s Gala came for a fun evening of food, drinks and conversation as we cooked and shared a meal together. This is always one of the highlights of the year for our students and for us, and we appreciate all those who came out, especially Chef Jennifer Asmundson and sous chef Silvia!

On May 10th NPH USA participated in the Seattle Foundation’s annual online day of giving, GiveBIG. We are pleased to share that 41 donors contributed more than $51,000, which includes a $20,000 matching gift from one of our generous local supporters. This was a significant increase over 2016 and we appreciate all of the support of our local NPH family! We are also grateful to the Seattle Sounders FC and defender Román Torres, who selected NPH USA as his charity to play for during GiveBIG. The Sounders and Román also donated match tickets and a signed pair of cleats to benefit NPH USA. Muchas gracias, Román!

Right around the corner are many opportunities to connect with NPH this summer, and we hope to see you at one of our upcoming events.

Come play golf at our third annual NPH USA NW Golf Classic on June 1 at Newcastle. We’ll be playing on two courses with games, food trucks and beverages aplenty, followed by an awards banquet to finish the day. More than 250 golfers and 30 sponsors have already registered – and you can register as a corporate sponsor or foursome, or sign up as an individual player! You can even join us for the awards banquet if you aren’t a golfer.
Join us for the Associate Board’s annual Hunt for Hope on June 24^th in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Hunt for Hope is a fun urban scavenger hunt where teams compete for prizes and raise money for NPH. The fun starts at Optimism Brewing in Seattle at 1pm. Check out all the details and register your team here!
Celebrate the graduation of this year’s class of Seattle Institute students on Sunday, June 25^th. We will celebrate Mass together at 4pm, followed by a potluck dinner and graduation. This will be a great opportunity to congratulate our students on their hard work this year and catch up with a few of our National Directors. Please contact the office for more details about location and logistics.
Sign up for our trip to NPH Guatemala July 1-7, 2017, led by NPH’s Director of Family Services, Donna Egge, and Northwest Development Manager Ross Egge, who recently returned from an 11-year stint working in the NPH homes. This will be a special opportunity to visit one of our most beautiful homes, with the guidance of Northwest natives and NPH experts! You can also tack on a couple of days to visit Antigua and other sites before heading back to the U.S.

We also look forward to partnering with many businesses, schools and faith communities in the coming months, and to working with all of you, as we join together to transform the lives of the children at NPH and beyond. We always welcome your calls and visits to our office, and we love meeting our donors for coffee, lunch, even a walk. Please feel free to reach out to us anytime with questions, concerns, feedback – or just to say hello.

With gratitude,

Katie Hultquist