PF Chang's Fundraiser Sept 23rd, 2014

Please come and eat with us on Sept 23rd 

and support Holly House! 

PF Chang's is donating 20% of their sales and hosting a raffle for some fabulous gift baskets that have been donated by Holly House supporters. This is an easy way to help fund our operating costs - all you need to do is enjoy some delicious food with your friends and family on Tuesday 9/23! Also, come in the week before to view the gift baskets and enter for your chance to win!

PF Chang's Alderwood Mall, Lynnwood WA
Tuesday September 23rd, 2014
11 am - 10 pm

Princesses Anna and Elsa will be visiting from 4pm to 8pm!

Holly House - Flyer - PF Chang's Fall Fundraiser - 2014

August 2014 Update from Holly House

Where has the summer gone? Already it is nearing the end of August, and we are well under way for getting things ready for our event in December ...but still lots of work left to do! Here are some highlights from the month, and ways you can help.

Dropping new underwear in the collection bin, thank you!

We were privileged to be invited to have a non-profit booth at the Lynnwood Farmers Market last week. We were lucky to have Princesses Anna and Elsa come to visit with the children and help us collect new socks and underwear, and spread the word about the work that we do for the 2000 low income children in the Edmonds School District.

Don't worry if you missed us this time around! We collect donations YEAR ROUND! Feel free to drop them off at Armadillo Storage on Hwy 99 in Edmonds (Tues - Sat, 9:30-5:30).

A huge thank you to Marielle Harrington and her staff at Lynnwood Parks and Rec for inviting us

We received an anonymous donation of 1600 Pearl Jam t-shirts from their 2013 tour. Some kids are surely going to appreciate those!




We had a great shoe sorting party, and got through 1500 pairs of shoes that were donated by Redeeming Soles. Thanks to the Director, Jessica for the generous donation and help!

Thank you to the Westgate Chapel for letting us have your remaining garage sale items. Our families struggle to put food on the table. Seldom do they get to buy things we take for granted - A picture for their living room, a beautiful serving bowl, a floral arrangement, a blender, some tools...things that enhance and make our lives just a little easier, that bring smiles to our faces or just make our environment pleasant.Thank you for being so generous to us Westgate Chapel and thank you Christine Deasy for all your help that day.

Some examples of items we received from Westgate Chapel

We were given access to collect unsold items from the Northshore Senior Center rummage sale. This was a great gesture, and really helps us supplement our families' gifts - they are able to take home 20-30 gently used items. This is a great thing for the parents who often go without so that they can provide necessities for their children.  Unfortunately, due to lack of enough volunteers, we left many items behind that we weren't able to pack and haul with us. PLEASE CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING at these one day events - even a few hours helps! 

Want to be on the gala/fundraising committee? We are looking for energetic, well organized people to help us plan our first ever gala event March 7, 2015! If you are interested in helping please contact Pam at 425-673-0526. 

Getting clothes sorted for the
Holly House event in December

We are having another clothing sorting party Monday August 25th from 6-9pm at Armadillo Storage. If you can make it please RSVP to Pam above or contact us using the "contact us" button on the right! 

If you are looking for ways to help in your local community, please consider volunteering with Holly House, or making a financial donation. All donations are tax deductible. Use the links at the side of the page to get more information. 

Thank you to all of the volunteers who have helped keep Holly House going. 

~ Pam Martinez, Executive Director

Holly House has a dilemma....A good dilemma, but one nevertheless

Do you have connections that might be able to help us find and secure a storage solution for Holly House? Unused warehouse space that could be donated? A church? School? A Realtor connection?  An unused storage unit? 

A work group in the midst of a cramped storage unit

We are currently brainstorming solutions to our storage dilemma! The good news is we have lots of donations coming to us for our kids. The bad news is we are out of places to store them until the event in December.

Each year, we work to accumulate items for our families (toys, books, pajamas, stocking stuffers, socks/underwear, coats, and shoes, plus gently used household items). This has to happen throughout the year in order to get it sorted, organized, and planned for distribution at the Holly House event that takes place the first part of December.

We have a couple of donated storage units at Armadillo Storage in Edmonds, but they are just too small. Each year we seem to have a "just in the nick of time" solution that comes by the grace of God, but we are desperate for a permanent solution. And, in fact, are in need of a solution through the end of 2014 at a minimum. 

Sorting PJs outside of the storage units - no rain this time!

If you have been to a Holly House sorting event, you know that we work (in sometimes less than perfect weather conditions) outside the storage units and then have to pack the unit "Tetris style" to make everything fit, push the boxes to the back, and bring the door down before they come exploding out. 

We would love to have a place that can handle incoming donations (drop-off location), pallet deliveries (from large distributors), a place to sort and organize these donations, PLUS a place to store them. Perhaps this is multiple locations until we are able to get a warehouse of our own. Right now we are open to ideas!!! Our dream is to one day have a place that houses the items and then serves as the distribution center. We are taking baby steps...or maybe giant steps?

Please share your ideas and/or leads with us. Your gift of your time and energy in making this happen is truly appreciated. 

You can contact Pam Martinez at 425-673-1578 or via the blog's contact “us” button. 

Holly House Summer 2014 Update

Holly House volunteers are busy year-round getting things ready for the event in December that helps 2000 low income children in the Edmonds School District. We are always looking for volunteers and other ways we can meet the needs of Holly House (fundraiser ideas, collection bins, etc). If you are available to help or have some ideas, please contact us using the button to the right!

Here's a look at what is going on this summer:

• Planning is commencing for our 2015 Fundraiser Gala event. If you'd like to be part of the planning committee, we would love your help! Our first meeting will be 7/23/14 - see Volunteer link for more details. 



The Mountlake Terrace knitting group at work

•  Garage sale donations needed – Christmas, household, and kitchen items.  By gathering items that might otherwise go to Goodwill or Salvation Army, we can provide (for free) our families 15-20 gently used items to help supplement their households.
• The Mountlake Terrace Senior Center knitting group is busy making scarves and hats for the children. We acquired some adorable hats for our Holly House kids and needed scarves to match. Thank you all for taking the time out of your knitting group to make sure the kids have matching hats and scarves this winter. They are adorable and the kids will be the "cats meow" when they wear them. Oops, I think I just dated myself...

Here are some of our current volunteer opportunities. Also see the Volunteer page to learn more! 

• We are still in need of a warehouse manager to help facilitate effective storage solutions for the donations we receive year-round. 
• We are in need of volunteers to help sort/organize/pack/move donations 
• We are in need of volunteers to pick up donations from collection bins throughout the year. 

A big THANK YOU to:

Thank you to our volunteers who have helped us these past 7 months of 2014 already, we can't do it without you!

Volunteers helping pick up the shoe donation

Thank you to Redeeming Soles for a giant shoe donation of 1500 pairs of shoes! These shoes may be just what a fast-growing child needs this winter and we are so happy to have them to distribute.

Work party with Target employees

Thank you to employees from the Lynnwood and Everett Target stores who helped us sort and re-pack the storage unit at a June work party.


Thank you to Run to Win for donating sports camp scholarships for our kids. This camp provides a week of sports related activities, and our kids can go for FREE this summer!





There you have our summer update. We have many more activities and plans in the works, stay tuned! Please contact us if you are looking for ways to get involved - even a few hours can make a huge difference.
~ Pam Martinez, Executive Director

Fundraiser update - it's not too late to show your support!

We had a successful fundraiser this past Tuesday, raising over $1000 for Holly House. We are working hard to keep up with the demand, and all of the funds will go towards ensuring this program continues for the low-income families in Edmonds School District. 

Two of our clients, Maria & Rachel, shared touching stories of what Holly House has meant to them and their children.

Rachel sharing her story

Maria talked about how hard she works to take care of her two little girls but it’s such a struggle, especially during the holidays. Without Holly House her children would have gone without.

Rachel shared that because of Holly House her family is able to keep up with their holiday traditions, even though throughout the year they struggle to make ends meet due to disabilities and injuries.

"My kids are old enough to question Santa Claus because other kids tell them he's not real. But I can tell you that on Christmas morning when they see what's under the tree, they believe."

 Instead of just new and much needed clothes for school, they are able to get things from their wish lists that the parents can select from Holly House.

Donors ready to help

In order to provide the joy of gift giving (and also some necessities like socks, underwear, and pajamas), we need your support.

Our operational costs are only 8% of our total $500,000 budget. Can you help us keep Holly House running smoothly and help out 2000 kids served in 15 Edmonds Schools? Our goal is to be able to support all 43 local schools, giving any family who requests it the joy of the holidays - without worry of meeting their household needs at the same time.

You can donate online by clicking the DONATE button on the right side of the screen, or you can mail a check to:
Holly House/Protocol Foundation
17561 110th Lane SE
Renton, WA 98055
(All donations are fully tax deductible. Protocol Foundation is our fiscal sponsor and is a 501(c)3 charity.)

Holly House Fundraiser 5/27/14

We invite you to attend our first ever fundraiser for Holly House! As our charity has grown, so have our operational costs. We rely 100% on donations and grants to fund this program which reaches 2000 children in the local Edmonds School District. Please come learn more about our program, our goals, our needs, and ways that you can help. These children need a hero in their life - could it be YOU?

Join us Tuesday 5/27 from 7-9pm for appetizers, wine, and dessert at Madison Alderwood Park Apartments Clubhouse (18031 36th Ave W, Lynnwood). RSVP to Pam Martinez 425-435-1403 or pjkringle@comcast.net

Edmonds School Board meeting

Alicia and Pam attended the latest Edmonds School District Board meeting and presented our slideshow as well as fielded questions. The goal was to spread the word about Holly House and gain support from the District for the program that services children who attend there. It was highly successful, and we look forward to working with the district more closely.


My Edmonds News reported on the meeting, mentioning Holly House as well as the other topics discussed at the meeting. Another topic of interest to those with school age children is the push for healthy options in vending machines. You can see the article here.