Giving Guide 2018

1 R Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, APRIL 29, 2018 19 As the whistle blows at every Seattle Seahawks home game to mark the end of the first quarter, thousands of fans leave their seats and rush to the nearest concession stand to order a beer or grab a hotdog. They rarely give a second thought to who is serving them, but many would be surprised that at Century- Link Field, many of the 300 people who prepare, serve and clean up food and beverages at sports games and concerts work for the Millionair Club Charity. Founded nearly a century ago in Pioneer Square, Mil- lionair Club works every day to help people prepare for employment and transi- tion out of homelessness. “We’ve always been about food and jobs,” says James Miller, Executive Director of MCC. Now located in the Belltown neighborhood, MCC provides job-readiness workshops and a variety of support services to people experiencing homelessness and chronic unemploy- ment or underemployment. “These are people who want to work,” Miller adds. “Our focus is to get them job ready so they can be able to work the next day.” While the focus is on jobs and job training, MCC still provides 100,000 meals a year to those in need, as well as showers, lockers and even free eye exams and eyeglasses. “We know it’s important to try to reduce stigmas around experiencing homelessness and chronic unemployment,” Miller says. “We want to make sure we help people go to work with their best self.” Participation in GIVEBIG has helped Millionair Club fund programs that achieve their primary goal of creat- ing a pathway to permanent employment. Through these programs, MCC places workers all over the city, from local hotels to Tom Douglas restaurants, and the Microsoft campus. The CenturyLink Field partnership is a huge source of pride for MCC, which awarded First & Goal Hospi- tality, the company that runs the facility and vendors, with its Employment Partner of the year award in 2017. MCC hopes that its innovative employment program is also becoming a source of pride for the Seattle community. A soccer connection The tie between Seattle and its sport teams is undoubt- edly strong. GIVEBIG has proven that the tie between nonprofits and the commu- nity is equally solid. A new community effort by Seattle Sounders FC’s RAVE Foundation is high- lighting that bond. RAVE Foundation is in- vesting in Seattle’s Yesler Ter- race Park, building a special soccer field for the commu- nity. Located at the cross- roads of Pioneer Square, the International District, and First Hill, the park will open this summer with the Foun- dation’s first RAVE Field, a smaller, urban soccer field with permanent goals. “We couldn’t think of a better place to begin,” said Ashley Fosberg, Executive Director of RAVE Foundation. RAVE Foundation launched in 2016 as the Sounders’ charitable arm. Dedicated supporters of GIVEBIG since its inception, Sounders FC used the 2017 event as a way to amplify and grow awareness of RAVE Foundation and to raise funds for the Yesler Terrace Park Project. “Yesler was the right place and the right opportunity to achieve our goal of invest- ing meaningfully in densely populated neighborhoods of need,” Fosberg says. “RAVE seeks to build small, acces- sible fields in urban areas GIVING GUIDE Seattle sports teams and facilities change lives Participants from Millionair Club Charity prepare and serve the food and beverages enjoyed at games at CenturyLink Field. During last year’s GIVEBIG, RAVE Foundation raised funds for the Yesler Terrace Park Project. See Sports teams on page 27