Real EstateTips, Trends & Living March 1, 2024

5 Ways to Prepare Your Trees Before Listing Your Home For Sale

 

Most sellers know that some strategic home prep—and hiring the right broker—are key to getting you the highest possible price for your home (you can find tips in my Complete Checklist for getting ready to sell). However, one of the items on the list definitely deserves a deeper dive: Tree Care. Many homeowners are not aware that a targeted dose of tree care can go a long way in supporting the final sale value of your home.

 

According to a review of various studies completed by Dr. Kathleen L. Wolf at the University of Washington, homes with trees see a roughly 7% price premium compared to comparable homes without trees. If you’re looking at listing your home for $850,000, that 7% premium could mean almost $60,000 more in your pocket! Not a bad return on investment for a couple grand in tree work spend upfront.

 

Now look—if you’re more than 10 years away from selling your home, the #1 tip would be to plant a couple new trees in your front yard (in coordination with an arborist to help you with species selection and location selection). That way they grow into feature pieces of your landscape by the time you’re selling. But even if you’re planning to sell in the next 2 to 3 months, there is still a lot you can do to capture that tree premium with your existing trees and shrubs!

 

We partnered with the ISA-Certified Arborists at Blooma Tree Experts, a locally-owned and operated tree care contractor that has worked on many Windermere-listed or managed properties, to provide you with clear guidance on how to prep your home’s trees and shrubs for sale.

 

Read below for five tips for getting your trees and landscape in order before listing your home.

 

1. Complete Clearance Trimming

The upper canopy of the birch tree in this building’s courtyard could become a rat-to-roof highway.

 

Did you know that rats can jump as far as four to six feet from a tree branch onto your roof? While not all tree branches can be trimmed to create that much clearance, ask your arborist to provide 4-6 feet of roof and building clearance all around your home regardless of if you’re selling your home or not.

 

Similarly, some basic walkway, driveway, sidewalk, and roadway clearance trimming will set up your property to maximize curb appeal. You want your trees to provide a beautiful canopy to your property, not feel like they are bogging down the space.

 

This work is especially important before listing your home. Why? First, depending on the buyer’s insurance coverage, it may be a requirement to have clearance from all tree branches as part of the roof coverage—don’t let this become a closing delay in your home sale. Second, creating that room around the building and walkways allows it to stand out and create a feeling of space. You still have the beautiful trees framing your home, but the property won’t feel crowded in or cramped.

 

This is a quick and easy maintenance step that any qualified arborist should be able to handle for you.

 

2. Complete Selective Pruning for Light on any Trees Closer to the Home

No need to prune the whole tree excessively – in fact, that’s bad for the tree. Instead, selective pruning of dead branches that create unnecessary shade can efficiently open up light on the houses below.

 

You’ve seen it before—a home shrouded in darkness due to a row of massive trees towering over one side. This shadow, particularly if on the south or west sides of the home, can make the home feel darker and less welcoming.

 

This can be easily resolved without major pruning. An experienced, qualified arborist can complete selective pruning, which means they look for the ideal branches to take out to promote light passing through. They’ll focus on dead, dying, and crossing branches that are either safety risks or don’t serve much purpose. This doesn’t require extensive pruning, which helps manage the cost down, but still promotes the overall feel of your home, especially given Seattle’s overcast and low-light climate.

 

3. Hedges – Get Them In Order

A large hedge being reduced for the first time to a manageable height – “after” on the right, “before” on the left as the team continues to work.

 

Rows of hedge trees provide beautiful natural privacy walls—unless they are unruly, with unlined tops and lots of bushy growth in all directions. When the hedge looks scary, a new homebuyer is thinking, “Uh oh, this looks like a maintenance nightmare.” When they see a properly maintained hedge, they actually appreciate the value the hedge brings to the home as a complete property.

 

This is crucial to get done early, at least 2 months before listing if possible. When you have hedge trimming done, it will not look great at first; there will be unsightly sticks showing. However, hedge trees grow FAST—these spots will fill in quickly with new foliage and the whole hedge will serve as an attractive feature.

 

If you don’t have enough time pre-listing to do the full hedge trimming work, ask your arborist or landscaping team to do a light trim and specify that you don’t want any brown showing from the inside branches. No guarantees on that front—each tree within a hedge grows differently, so if you make a straight line, you may end up with slightly different looks—but this will be a quicker and cheaper option to at least tidy up the appearance pre-listing. You’d rather the hedge look like a bit-too-short buzz cut (at least it’s clean!), rather than a poorly-managed mullet.

 

If you are a year or more away from listing, then it may be worth having your tree care contractor do the full hedge work, including setting the ideal height for your hedge to where it should be going forward. This is chainsaw work (not hedge trimmer work) and costs more money, but will allow you to actually maintain the shape of the hedge in a manner that is visually appealing to future homebuyers.

 

In the picture above, you can see exactly how different a hedge can look before a new line is set (left side of the picture) and how much more manageable it looks after the new line is set (right side of the picture).

 

You just want to do this work at least 6-12 months before listing to give the greenery time to grow back in.

 

4. Complete Aesthetic Tree & Shrub Pruning + Soil Amendments

A Japanese Maple pruned to showcase its intricate internal structure.

 

 

Your front yard trees, shrubs and bushes are like your home’s first impression on potential buyers—let’s make them pop.

 

For example, if you have a Japanese Maple or native Dogwood tree in your front yard, you want those special trees to be a centerpiece that wows potential homebuyers. If you’ve got the lower canopy of a mature tree growing straight into these ornamental trees, you may want to complete some crown raising pruning on the larger tree to really help your ornamentals stand out. Basically, you want to create the “I bought the house because of this tree” sentiment for a homebuyer—investing in a fine tree pruning specialist can go a long way here.

 

If your front yard is more shrubs and bushes, a light application of fertilizer, water, and other organic soil amendments can promote your plants’ vigor, flowering intensity, and color. You’re basically giving your shrubs a little extra food to give them that boost of energy going into home listing season. Whether it’s flowering bushes showing off stunning colors, or just bright greens on foliage, it all helps paint the scene. The best part is that it doesn’t take much to help the flowers and leaves show vigor—a tree and plant healthcare application like this should cost less than $200. Combine this with some light pruning for deadwood removal to help de-clutter the inside of the bushes. Your homebuyer should understand how bright and pretty the front yard landscape can look after a long, dreary Seattle winter.

 

Further, a little DIY tip—as flowers die on the stem, you can manually remove them yourself (aka “deadheading”). The plant wants to move on from flowers into seeds. If you interrupt that sequence, the plant will want to keep pushing out more flowers.

 

Don’t forget to water your shrubs and bushes well—more than you think you should. Avoid watering directly on the foliage or right against the trunks of the shrubs. Instead, try to water around the exterior edges of the shrub, as that’s where the most important roots are. Water slowly and deeply—it’s better to water a few times per day rather than a huge amount all at once.

 

Lastly, if you have unsightly stumps in your yard from prior tree removals, now’s the time to deal with those eyesores. Stump grinding can be expensive, but it fundamentally alters one of your landscape beds from “Oh, that’s ugly and a future cost” to “Wow, I wonder what flowers we could plant here!” for your potential homebuyer.

 

5. Health & Safety Management

An ISA-Certified Arborist removing a dead tree in a client’s front driveway, which would be an immediate eyesore for a potential homebuyer.

 

No homebuyer will be excited to buy a home with an obvious problem facing them the day after closing. If you have a furnace about to die, you know it’s going to impact your offer price. It may scare away a buyer who worries about all the other appliances that may be on their last legs or poorly-maintained.

 

Your yard is no different; an obviously dead, dying, or diseased tree could be interpreted by buyers as a signal that the home wasn’t well-maintained in general. Some may just not be interested in the headache of dealing with the tree removal right after they stomached all the closing costs—as a result, they may decline to write an offer, or overestimate the cost of the tree removal and discount their offer by too much.

 

Similarly, if you have large, mature trees that haven’t been pruned in years, it may be prudent to complete “deadwood pruning” where qualified arborists remove dead, dying, diseased and hazardous branches. They can also remove hangers (sometimes called “widow makers”) and address any structural defects in the tree’s architecture.

 

To be clear, this is a more costly part of the prep process, but there’s likely an immediate ROI on dealing with it yourself before going on the market. Please note: for any tree removal (and larger tree pruning), you should hire a qualified arborist, ideally with an ISA-Certified Arborist on the crew. If you live in the City of Seattle, your contractor should be able to provide you with their Registered Tree Service Provider license number.

 

Give yourself time to handle this issue, as city permitting for tree removals can often create a 2-3-month lead time even for dead trees.

 

Conclusion

 

Your home is likely your largest investment and savings. Don’t shortchange yourself when it comes time to sell!

 

For more information on preparing to sell your home, check out my “Preparing to Sell Your Home” Checklist—and when you get to the Yard section, come back to this list of tips and see what makes sense for your property!

 

We’d like to give a BIG shout out to the Blooma Tree Experts team for assisting us in preparing these tree care pre-listing tips for you. They’d be happy to support you in your tree care needs, starting with a complimentary consultation with an ISA-Certified Arborist.

 


 

Windermere Mercer Island

 

We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative, and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.

 

© Copyright 2024, Windermere Real Estate/Mercer Island.

 

Community November 3, 2021

Give Back This Season

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.”

Giving to others can enrich our own lives in ways we never imagined. With that in mind, here are some of our favorite Seattle-area organizations who are in need of time, resources, toys, and more to help improve the lives of homeless and low-income families in our area. You might also check out these tips on how to make the most of charitable giving. Together we can make the holidays a little brighter for everyone!

 


 

YOUTH CARE: Homeless Youth Off the Streets Preparing for Life

Each night in King County, almost 1,100 unaccompanied youth and young adults experience homelessness on any given night, and around 70% of these youth sleep outside because of lack of shelter or housing. Why? A national study found that over 90% of homeless youth reported family conflict and 1/4 suffered from abuse and neglect before they reached the streets. YouthCare builds confidence and self-sufficiency for homeless youth by providing a continuum of care that includes outreach, basic services, emergency shelter, housing, counseling, education, and employment training. Lend a hand by donating most needed items, delivering a warm meal, hosting a virtual fundraiser, or hiring a YouthCare graduate.

http://youthcare.org/
(206) 694-4500
2500 NE 54th Street, Seattle

 


Northwest Harvest

Northwest Harvest’s mission is to end hunger in Washington. They partner with 375 food pantries, meal programs, and high-need schools across the state to provide nutritious food (an average of 2 million meals per month!) and promote good health for those in need. You can help by hosting a virtual food drive, making a cash donation, or volunteering (children age 9 and up can volunteer with you!).

http://www.northwestharvest.org/
1 (800) 722-6924
SODO Community Market Food Bank: 1915 4th Ave S, Seattle
Kent Warehouse: 22220 68th Ave S, Kent

 


http://www.marysplaceseattle.org/

Mary’s Place helps homeless women, children and families from the greater King County area. You can help by participating in their giving tree tag program now through December 11th. You can also volunteer your time, donate wishlist items, or share your used clothing, blankets, and coats.

http://www.marysplaceseattle.org
(206) 621-8474
Donation Center in SODO: 9 South Nevada St, Seattle
Mary’s Place at the Regrade: 720 Blanchard St, Seattle

 


 

Hopelink

Hopelink provides critical services to homeless and low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities on north and east King County. You can help by donating to their Greatest Needs Fund, volunteering at one of their centers, participating in their Turkey Trot 5k fundraiser (virtual this year), or making a cash donation to support their “Lend a Hoping Hand” holiday giving campaign.

https://www.hopelink.org/
(425) 869-6000
8990 154th Ave NE, Redmond

 


 

Treehouse

 

Did you know less than 50% of Washington state youth in foster care graduate from high school? Treehouse seeks to level the playing field by providing academic and other essential support foster kids need to graduate at the same rate as their peers, with a plan for their future. You can help by hosting a holiday drive, purchasing items on their holiday wish list, volunteering, or donating.

https://www.treehouseforkids.org/
(206) 767-7000
2100 24th Avenue S./Suite 200

 


 

 

With a mission to help people in need of immediate food assistance, the Emergency Feeding Program partners with 120 local agencies to distribute 42,000 meals of quality, nutritional food per week and ensure that no one will go hungry tonight. Your volunteer time or cash contribution would be most appreciated.

https://www.emergencyfeeding.org/
(425) 277-0300
851 Houser Way N, Suite A, Renton

 


 

Eastside Baby Corner was founded by a local pediatric nurse concerned about the large numbers of babies in her practice who began life without basic essentials like adequate food, clothing, beds, or safety equipment. Today Eastside Baby Corner’s locations in Issaquah, Northshore and Bremerton collect, purchase, and distribute essential care items such as formula, diapers, car seats, warm coats, school supplies, and more for babies and children in need. You can help out by donating goods or cash, shopping off their wish list, volunteering or organizing a drive.

Eastside Baby Corner:
http://babycorner.org

(425) 865-0234
1510 NW Maple St, Issaquah

 


Toys for Tots

Last year, King County Toys for Tots donated 85,169 toys to 61,092 local children in need. Consider helping out this year by making a cash donation, donating a toy before December 15th, hosting a Toys for Tots event, or asking your organization to become a toy drop site.

https://fort-lewis-wa.toysfortots.org
Coordinator: GySgt Edward Chapman, 760-405-3203

 


Food Lifeline

Every year, nearly 40% of our country’s food ends up in landfills, while millions go hungry. Food Lifeline attempts to solve both problems by rescuing millions of pounds of surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants. They then deliver this healthy and nutritious food to more than 350 food banks, shelters and meal programs across Western Washington–providing the equivalent of 201,000+ meals every day for hungry children, adults and seniors. You can help by volunteering (opportunities are available for kids as young as 10, too!), donating funds or hosting a food drive.

https://foodlifeline.org/
(206) 545-6600
815 S 96th St, Seattle

 


 

Wellspring

Wellspring helps low-income and vulnerable individuals, children and families in Seattle and King County address issues such as mental health, family homelessness, early learning, basic needs, and domestic violence intervention. Each year they help thousands of children and families break cycles of instability, homelessness, and adversity to achieve positive, permanent change. You can help by donating essential items, cash, or your old vehicle. You can also get your kids involved in the Kids Helping Kids youth philanthropy program.

http://wellspringfs.org/
(206) 826-3050
1900 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle

 


 

Seattle Children's Hospital Research Foundation

 

Founded and run by a group of philanthropic women over 100 years ago, Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. You can help their patients by donating a new toy or gift card, volunteering, contributing funds, or supporting one of its guilds (such as the Project Kids Cancer Cure Guild).

http://www.seattlechildrens.org
(206) 987-2000
4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

 


 

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We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative, and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.

© Copyright 2021, Windermere Real Estate/Mercer Island.

Community November 3, 2020

Give Back This Season

Local Charities That Would LOVE Your Help

 

In his poem, When Giving Is All We Have, Alberto Álvaro Ríos wrote,

“We give because someone gave to us.
We give because nobody gave to us.
We give because giving has changed us.
We give because giving could have changed us.”

With need especially keen this year during the pandemic, many of us are looking for ways to be “the helpers” for others. Below are some of our favorite Seattle-area organizations who are in need of time, resources, toys, and more to help improve the lives of homeless and low-income families in our area. You might also check out these tips on how to make the most of charitable giving. Together we can make the holidays a little brighter for everyone!

 


 

YOUTH CARE: Homeless Youth Off the Streets Preparing for Life

Each night in King County, almost 1,100 unaccompanied youth and young adults experience homelessness on any given night, and around 70% of these youth sleep outside because of lack of shelter or housing. Why? A national study found that over 90% of homeless youth reported family conflict and 1/4 suffered from abuse and neglect before they reached the streets. YouthCare builds confidence and self-sufficiency for homeless youth by providing a continuum of care that includes outreach, basic services, emergency shelter, housing, counseling, education, and employment training. Lend a hand by participating in the Survival Needs Drive, delivering a warm meal, donating cash or most needed items, hosting a virtual fundraiser, or hiring a YouthCare graduate.

http://youthcare.org/
(206) 694-4500
2500 NE 54th Street, Seattle

 


Northwest Harvest

Northwest Harvest’s mission is to end hunger in Washington. They partner with 375 food pantries, meal programs, and high-need schools across the state to provide nutritious food and promote good health for those in need. You can help by hosting a virtual food drive, making a cash donation, or volunteering (children age 9 and up can volunteer with you!).

http://www.northwestharvest.org/
1 (800) 722-6924
SODO Community Market Food Bank: 1915 4th Ave S, Seattle
Kent Warehouse: 22220 68th Ave S, Kent

 


http://www.marysplaceseattle.org/

Mary’s Place helps homeless women, children and families from the greater King County area. You can help by participating in their giving tree tag program now through December 11th. You can also volunteer your time, donate wishlist items, or share your used clothing, blankets, and coats.

http://www.marysplaceseattle.org
(206) 621-8474
Donation Center in SODO: 9 South Nevada St, Seattle
Mary’s Place at the Regrade: 720 Blanchard St, Seattle

 


 

Hopelink

Hopelink provides critical services to homeless and low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities on north and east King County. You can help by donating food or grocery gift cards to their food bank, or making a cash donation to support their “Lend a Hoping Hand” holiday giving campaign.

https://www.hopelink.org/
(425) 869-6000
8990 154th Ave NE, Redmond

 


 

Treehouse

 

Did you know less than 50% of Washington state youth in foster care graduate from high school? Treehouse seeks to level the playing field by providing academic and other essential support foster kids need to graduate at the same rate as their peers, with a plan for their future. You can help by hosting a holiday drive, purchasing items on their holiday wish list, volunteering, or donating.

https://www.treehouseforkids.org/
(206) 767-7000
2100 24th Avenue S./Suite 200

 


 

 

With a mission to help people in need of immediate food assistance, the Emergency Feeding Program partners with 120 local agencies to distribute 42,000 meals of quality, nutritional food per week and ensure that no one will go hungry tonight. With volunteering limited this year due to COVID, your cash contribution would be most appreciated.

https://www.emergencyfeeding.org/
(425) 277-0300
851 Houser Way N, Suite A, Renton

 


Eastside Baby Corner

 

Eastside Baby Corner was founded by a local pediatric nurse concerned about the large numbers of babies in her practice who began life without basic essentials like adequate food, clothing, beds, or safety equipment. Today Eastside Baby Corner’s locations in Issaquah, Northshore and Bremerton collect, purchase, and distribute essential care items such as formula, diapers, car seats, warm coats, school supplies, and more for babies and children in need. You can help out by donating goods or cash, shopping off their wish list, volunteering or organizing a drive.

Eastside Baby Corner:
http://babycorner.org

(425) 865-0234
1510 NW Maple St, Issaquah

 


Toys for Tots

Last year, King County Toys for Tots donated 85,169 toys to 61,092 local children in need. Consider helping out this year by making a cash donation, or asking your organization to become a toy drop site.

https://fort-lewis-wa.toysfortots.org
Coordinator: GySgt Edward Chapman, 760-405-3203

**2020 toy donation locations and times to be announced**

 


Food Lifeline

Every year, nearly 40% of our country’s food ends up in landfills, while millions go hungry. Food Lifeline attempts to solve both problems by rescuing millions of pounds of surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants. They then deliver this healthy and nutritious food to more than 300 food banks, shelters and meal programs across Western Washington–providing the equivalent of 116,000 meals every day for hungry children, adults and seniors. You can help by volunteering (opportunities are available for kids as young as 6, too!), donating funds or hosting a food drive.

https://foodlifeline.org/
(206) 545-6600
815 S 96th St, Seattle

 


See the source image

Wellspring helps low-income and vulnerable individuals, children and families in Seattle and King County address issues such as mental health, family homelessness, early learning, basic needs, and domestic violence intervention. Each year they help thousands of children and families break cycles of instability, homelessness, and adversity to achieve positive, permanent change. You can help by donating to their Giving Together holiday campaign or getting your children involved in the Kids Helping Kids youth philanthropy program.

http://wellspringfs.org/
(206) 826-3050
1900 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle

 


 

Seattle Children's Hospital Research Foundation

 

Founded and run by a group of philanthropic women over 100 years ago, Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. You can help their patients by donating a new toy or gift card, volunteering, contributing funds, or supporting one of its guilds (such as the Project Kids Cancer Cure Guild).

http://www.seattlechildrens.org
(206) 987-2000
4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

 


 

Find a Home | Sell Your Home | Property Research

Neighborhoods | Market Reports | Our Team

We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.

2737 77th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040 | (206) 232-0446 mercerisland@windermere.com

© Copyright 2020, Windermere Real Estate / Mercer Island

Community November 5, 2019

Give Back This Season

Thanks & Giving: Charities That Would Love Your Help

 

Looking to share your bounty this holiday season? Below are some of our favorite Seattle-area organizations who can use your time, household items, toys, and more to help improve the lives of homeless and low-income families in our area. You might also check out these tips on how to make the most of charitable giving. Won’t you join us in making this holiday season just a little better for everyone?

 


YOUTH CARE: Homeless Youth Off the Streets Preparing for Life

Each night in King County, almost 1,100 unaccompanied youth and young adults are homeless. Why? A national study found that over 90% of homeless youth reported family conflict and 1/4 suffered from abuse and neglect before they reached the streets. YouthCare builds confidence and self-sufficiency for homeless youth by providing a continuum of care that includes outreach, basic services, emergency shelter, housing, counseling, education, and employment training. Lend a hand by volunteering, hosting a drive for the most needed items, or hiring a YouthCare graduate.

http://youthcare.org/
(206) 694-4500
2500 NE 54th Street, Seattle

 


Northwest Harvest

Northwest Harvest’s mission is to end hunger in Washington. They partner with 375 food pantries, meal programs, and high-need schools across the state to provide nutritious food and promote good health for those in need. You can help by volunteering at the Cherry Street Food Bank in Seattle (children in 3rd grade or older are welcome to volunteer with you!). You can also host a virtual food drive or make a cash/vehicle donation.

http://www.northwestharvest.org/
1 (800) 722-6924
SODO Community Market Food Bank: 1915 4th Ave S, Seattle
Kent Warehouse: 22220 68th Ave S, Kent

 


 

Mary's Place

 

Mary’s Place helps homeless women, children and families from the greater King County area. With a list of families that has double this year, the need for help is higher than ever. You might consider attending the “Season of Giving” benefit concert on November 22nd, with proceeds going toward the “No Child Sleeps Outside” campaign. You can also volunteer your time, donate wishlist items, or share your used clothing, blankets, and coats.

http://www.marysplaceseattle.org
(206) 621-8474
Donation Center in SODO: 9 South Nevada St, Seattle
Family Center in North Seattle: 1155 N 130th St, Seattle

 


 

Hopelink

Hopelink provides critical services to homeless and low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities on north and east King County. You can help by donating food or grocery gift cards to their food bank, contributing unwrapped toys to their holiday gift room, or volunteering to help with their holiday giving events.

https://www.hopelink.org/
(425) 869-6000
8990 154th Ave NE, Redmond

 


 

Treehouse

 

Did you know less than 50% of Washington state youth in foster care graduate from high school? Treehouse seeks to level the playing field by providing academic and other essential support foster kids need to graduate at the same rate as their peers, with a plan for their future. You can help by hosting a holiday drive, volunteering, or donating to their holiday program.

https://www.treehouseforkids.org/
(206) 767-7000
2100 24th Avenue S./Suite 200

 


 

 

With a mission to help people in need of immediate food assistance, the Emergency Feeding Program partners with 240 local agencies to distribute 50,000 bags of quality, nutritional food and ensure that no one will go hungry tonight. You can help by volunteering or making a cash contribution.

https://www.emergencyfeeding.org/
(425) 277-0300
851 Houser Way N, Renton

 


Eastside Baby Corner

 

Eastside Baby Corner was founded by a local pediatric nurse concerned about the large numbers of babies in her practice who began life without basic essentials like adequate food, clothing, beds, or safety equipment. Today Eastside Baby Corner’s location in Issaquah, Northshore and Bremerton collect, purchase, and distribute essential care items such as formula, diapers, carseats, warm coats, school supplies, and more for babies and children in need. You can help out by volunteering, donating goods, or organizing a drive.

Eastside Baby Corner:
http://babycorner.org

(425) 865-0234
1510 NW Maple St, Issaquah

 


Toys for Tots

Since 1947, The U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program has distributed 548 million toys to 251 million children in need. Consider helping out this year by donating a new toy, volunteering, or asking your organization to become a toy drop site.

https://fort-lewis-wa.toysfortots.org
Click Here for Toy Drop Off Locations
Coordinator: Gunnery Sergeant James Wells, (253) 720-9858

 


Food Lifeline

Every year, nearly 40% of our country’s food ends up in landfills, while millions go hungry. Food Lifeline attempts to solve both problems by rescuing millions of pounds of surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants. They then deliver this healthy and nutritious food to more than 300 food banks, shelters and meal programs across Western Washington–providing the equivalent of 116,000 meals every day for hungry children, adults and seniors. You can help by volunteering (opportunities are available for kids as young as 6, too!), donating funds or hosting a food drive.

https://foodlifeline.org/
(206) 545-6600
815 S 96th St, Seattle

 


Wellspring Family Services

Wellspring helps low-income and vulnerable individuals, children and families in Seattle and King County address issues such as mental health, family homelessness, early learning, basic needs, and domestic violence intervention. Each year they help thousands of children and families break cycles of instability, homelessness, and adversity to achieve positive, permanent change. You can help by donating to their Giving Together holiday campaign or getting your children involved in the Kids Helping Kids youth philanthropy program.

http://wellspringfs.org/
(206) 826-3050
1900 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle

 


 

Seattle Children's Hospital Research Foundation

 

Founded and run by a group of philanthropic women over 100 years ago, Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. You can help their patients by donating a new toy or gift card, volunteering, contributing funds, or supporting one of its guilds (such as the Project Kids Cancer Cure Guild).

http://www.seattlechildrens.org
(206) 987-2000
4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

 


ABOUT WINDERMERE MERCER ISLAND

We earn the trust and loyalty of our brokers and clients by doing real estate exceptionally well. The leader in our market, we deliver client-focused service in an authentic, collaborative and transparent manner and with the unmatched knowledge and expertise that comes from decades of experience.

 

 

© Copyright 2019, Windermere Real Estate/Mercer Island.

 

Community November 14, 2018

Give Back This Season

Thanks & Giving: Charities That Would Love Your Help

 

Looking to share your bounty this holiday season? Below are some of my favorite Seattle-area organizations who can use your time, household items, toys, and more to help improve the lives of homeless and low-income families in our area. You might also check out these tips on how to make the most of charitable giving.

 


Northwest Harvest

Northwest Harvest’s mission is to end hunger in Washington. They partner with 375 food pantries, meal programs, and high-need schools across the state to provide nutritious food and promote good health for those in need. You can help by volunteering at the Cherry Street Food Bank in Seattle (children in 3rd grade or older are welcome to volunteer with you!). You can also host a virtual food drive or make a cash/vehicle donation.

http://www.northwestharvest.org/
1 (800) 722-6924
Cherry Street Food Bank: 711 Cherry Street, Seattle
Kent Warehouse: 22220 68th Ave S, Kent

 


 

Mary's Place

 

Mary’s Place helps homeless women, children and families from the greater King County area. With a list of families that has double this year, the need for help is higher than ever. You or your organization might consider supporting their giving tree (donations due by December 7th) or joining in the Brooks Holiday Fun Run on December 1st benefiting the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign. You can also volunteer your time, donate wishlist items, or share your used clothing, blankets, and coats.

http://www.marysplaceseattle.org
(206) 621-8474
Donation Center in SODO: 9 South Nevada St, Seattle
Family Center in North Seattle: 1155 N 130th St, Seattle

 


 

Hopelink

Hopelink provides critical services to homeless and low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities on north and east King County. You can help by donating food or grocery gift cards to their food bank, contributing unwrapped toys to their holiday gift room, or volunteering to help with their holiday giving events.

https://www.hopelink.org/
(425) 869-6000
8990 154th Ave NE, Redmond

 


 

YouthCare

 

Each night in Seattle, 700-1,000 young people are homeless and most were traumatized before they reached the streets. YouthCare builds confidence and self-sufficiency for homeless youth by providing a continuum of care that includes outreach, basic services, emergency shelter, housing, counseling, education, and employment training. Lend a hand by volunteering, hosting a drive, or hiring a YouthCare graduate.

http://youthcare.org/
(206) 694-4500
2500 NE 54th Street, Seattle

 


 

Treehouse

 

Did you know less than 50% of Washington state youth in foster care graduate from high school? Treehouse seeks to level the playing field by providing academic and other essential support foster kids need to graduate at the same rate as their peers, with a plan for their future. You can help by volunteering, hosting a drive or donating to their holiday program.

https://www.treehouseforkids.org/
(206) 767-7000
2100 24th Avenue S./Suite 200


 

Emergency Feeding Program

 

With a mission to help people in need of immediate food assistance, the Emergency Feeding Program partners with 240 local agencies to distribute 50,000 bags of quality, nutritional food and ensure that no one will go hungry tonight. You can help by donating these most needed foods or making a cash contribution.

https://www.emergencyfeeding.org/
(425) 277-0300
851 Houser Way N, Renton

 


Eastside Baby Corner

 

Eastside Baby Corner was founded by a local pediatric nurse concerned about the large numbers of babies in her practice who began life without basic essentials like adequate food, clothing, beds, or safety equipment. Today Eastside Baby Corner’s location in Issaquah, Northshore and Bremerton collect, purchase, and distribute essential care items such as formula, diapers, carseats, warm coats, school supplies, and more for babies and children in need. You can help out by volunteering, donating, or organizing a drive.

Eastside Baby Corner:
http://babycorner.org

(425) 865-0234
1510 NW Maple St. in Issaquah
6524 NE 181st Street, Suite 6, Kenmore1463 NE Dawn Road, Suite B, Bremerton

 


https://fort-lewis-wa.toysfortots.org/images/lco-sites/lco-logos/tft-ZxAsQw-logo.jpg

Since 1947, The U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program has distributed 548 million toys to 251 million children in need. Consider helping out this year by donating a new toy, volunteering, or asking your organization to become a toy drop site.

https://fort-lewis-wa.toysfortots.org
Click Here for Toy Drop Off Locations
Coordinator: Gunnery Sergeant James Wells, (253) 720-9858

 


Food Lifeline

Every year, nearly 40% of our country’s food ends up in landfills, while millions go hungry. Food Lifeline attempts to solve both problems by rescuing millions of pounds of surplus food from farmers, manufacturers, grocery stores, and restaurants. They then deliver this healthy and nutritious food to more than 300 food banks, shelters and meal programs across Western Washington–providing 97,000 meals every day. You can help by volunteering (opportunities are available for kids as young as 6, too!), donating funds or hosting a food drive.

https://foodlifeline.org/
(206) 545-6600
815 S 96th St, Seattle

 


Wellspring Family Services

Wellspring helps low-income and vulnerable individuals, children and families in Seattle and King County address issues such as mental health, family homelessness, early learning, basic needs, and domestic violence intervention. Each year they help thousands of children and families break cycles of instability, homelessness, and adversity to achieve positive, permanent change. You can help by donating to their Giving Together holiday campaign or getting your children involved in the Kids Helping Kids youth philanthropy program.

http://wellspringfs.org/
(206) 826-3050
1900 Rainier Avenue South, Seattle

 


 

Seattle Children's Hospital

 

Founded and run by a group of philanthropic women over 100 years ago, Seattle Children’s mission is to provide hope, care and cures to help every child live the healthiest and most fulfilling life possible. You can help their patients by donating a new toy or gift card, volunteering, contributing funds, or supporting one of its guilds (such as the Project Kids Cancer Cure Guild).

http://www.seattlechildrens.org
(206) 987-2000
4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

 


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