The money allotted by the council — $192,000 — includes grants to some Issaquah-based organizations. The allocation is a sharp increase from 2010. The city doled out $147,000 for 2010.

“I’d like to see some increase in funding for one time only because of these especially hard times,” Deputy Mayor Nancy Whitten said. “A lot of people who would normally give have given less because they can’t afford it or not given at all.”

The recipients include Athletes For Kids, AtWork!, Eastside Baby Corner, the Eastside Domestic Violence Program, Faith In Action, Friends of the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery, Issaquah Church and Community Services, the Issaquah Schools Foundation, Life Enrichment Options and the Providence Marianwood Foundation.

The event is one of the largest Kiwanis fundraisers all year, President Connie Fletcher said.

Last year, the event made about $66,000, member Keith Watts said. Members are hoping to reach that again this year at the Hilton Garden Inn with help from emcee Leon Kos, Issaquah’s city administrator, and City Councilman Fred Butler.

Items for the auction include travel packages, an oceanfront condo in Mexico, iPod Touch, jewelry, local experiences like a fire truck ride, and two Trophy Club passes to the U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Golf Course.

Proceeds from the event go to fund grant requests from local organizations, like Eastside Baby Corner, Issaquah Church and Community Services and the Issaquah Food and Clothing Bank.

It also helps pay for programs, like Kiwanis Hospital Dolls, headed by member Joan Probala. The program purchases supplies for making dolls to give to Seattle Children’s. The dolls aren’t only comfort to some of the area’s smallest patients, but they are tools doctors use to help describe procedures to children.

“The doctors can draw on them and show the children what is going to be done,” said Kiwanian Chris Brandt, chair for the auction and dinner.

It also funds other fun events, like the ponies for the Down Home Fourth of July, and typically helps provide emergency funding for emerging needs in the city.

In addition to filling grant requests, Kiwanis officials have named the Eastside Domestic Violence Program as the benefactor of the evening’s Fund An Item paddle donations. People are asked to make flat donations of varying amounts during the event that go directly to the organization.

“Eastside Domestic Violence Program has benefited from Kiwanis dollars for a long time and we have a long-term relationship with them,” Fletcher said. “In times of economic slowdown, it’s shown that families come under stress and there is an increase in domestic violence incidents. There is more of a need out there than ever before and we are trying to respond to that need.”

The organization, founded in 1982, has grown to become one of the state’s largest domestic violence service providers, serving more than 100,000 victims and their children.

In 2009, the organization answered nearly 10,000 calls to its crisis line, provided 33,130 nights of safe shelter, provided services to 4,316 victims, and provided education and training to more than 25,000 members in the community.

“For every one person we shelter, 18 are turned away,” Executive Director Barbara Langdon wrote in an e-mail. “The Kiwanis Club of Issaquah’s support will ensure that Eastside Domestic Violence Program will be there when families need us most. Together, we can make a difference.”

Last year, the Fund An Item portion of the evening raised nearly $20,000, Fletcher said.

“We are so excited about this event. We can’t wait to celebrate with the Kiwanis,” Kelly Becker, program director for Eastside Domestic Violence Program, wrote in an e-mail. “We hope you will join us for a fantastic evening out with friends while raising money to benefit families in our community.”

Eventgoers will also be able to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win an Apple iPad.

So, raise your paddles, glasses and forks for what is often known as the “social event of the year,” Fletcher said.

But remember to get your tickets by about April 20, as they go quickly.

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Representatives of local recipient organizations and Issaquah Women’s Club officers pose March 4 with checks totaling $6,000, raised by club members at their annual Harmony & High Tea fundraiser last November. Contributed

Issaquah Women’s Club members gathered to distribute $6,000 in donations to local organizations March 4.

“This is what we work so hard for all year,” said Club President Mariann Crane. “We are very thoughtful where our monies go, and we feel we have got intertwining connections with all the recipients here today who do work in our community.”

The recipients of the Women’s Club checks were Eastside Domestic Violence Program, Eastside Baby Corner, Issaquah Parks and Recreation, Life Enrichment Options, Issaquah Church and Community Services, Washington Women in Need, the Issaquah Valley Senior Center and the Issaquah School District’s high school music departments.

“This money will go to Washington women in need, so we appreciate all of you. We provide opportunities for education and health care grants for low-income women, so they can purchase their choice of health care, including dental, health and orthodontia,” Washington Women in Need Executive Director Deborah Cushing said. “This money means a great deal, considering you never know where or when a woman will become a woman in need.”

Club members raised the money at their annual Harmony & High Tea fundraiser Nov. 14.

Now, the club turns its attention to their next event, an annual basket auction called Basket and Buddies.

The event starts with a 9 a.m. social hour and basket preview, so you can eye your favorite, whether it’s a gardener’s delight with tools and plants or a spa basket. Bidding begins at 10 a.m. with auctioneer and Issaquah City Councilman Fred Butler.

The event is open to the public and proceeds from the event will go to area charities, like Camp Corey, a summer camp for children with chronic or life-threatening illnesses, and the Issaquah Valley Senior Center.

If you go

Basket and Buddies

9 a.m. April 1

Tibbetts Creek Manor

750 17th Ave. N.W.

Chantelle Lusebrink: 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Worldwide, 1,400 employees were laid off from the company Jan. 22. Up to 3,600 additional layoffs are expected within the year in areas such as marketing, legal, human resources, information technology, finance, sales, and research and development, a Jan. 22 press release from the company said.Roughly 872 employees were laid off throughout the Puget Sound area, said Dan Trimble, the city’s economic development director.

However, he said he wasn’t sure how many were laid off from the Issaquah campus. In the 2008 Issaquah Chamber of Commerce Directory, Microsoft listed having 1,839 employees at the Issaquah campus.

“The majority of last week’s announcements were in Redmond, consistent with the high concentration of employees based at our headquarters in the Puget Sound area,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in an e-mail.

The spokesperson declined to comment on the number of employees laid off from the Issaquah campus.

“It was a cross company layoff announcement, which means it ranged across all the various divisions and departments,” the spokesperson wrote. “Unfortunately, this is all we have to share.”

Other cost reductions will occur by limiting facilities, capital expenditures and marketing, the release said. The cost reductions will reduce capital expenditures by about $700 million in 2009.

At the Microsoft campus in Issaquah, several employees declined to comment on the recent layoffs as they hustled in and out of the lobby.

Without knowing how many jobs were lost in Issaquah, Trimble said he couldn’t say specifically what the effect to the city would be. However, because Issaquah only had a portion of the 872 job losses, the effect on the city’s economy probably won’t be that significant, especially since Issaquah has a fairly diverse economy, he said.

“I think it is important to see if this is going to be a long-term adjustment, or if it is going to be a short-term cycle that we need to continue to move forward through,” he said.

He also said that even though Microsoft is beginning employee layoffs the company still grew by 2 percent last year.

The company posted $16.63 billion in revenues for the second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, a 2 percent increase over the same period last year, the Jan. 22 press release said.

“There are different cycles in the economy,” Trimble said. “I think we always want to know where we are, but panicking because there are some layoffs isn’t always a rational, good choice.”

For example, the city’s retail sale revenue is down about 5 percent to 7 percent from last year, Trimble said.

“We can focus on how it is down 5 percent to 7 percent or focus on how it is 94 percent of what we had last year, which was a record year in retail sale revenues,” he said.

And even though city officials have held the line regarding what they are spending this year, the city still has double the money in its reserves than what is required, he added.

What is good to recognize is that “people are going through a transition and will possibly need assistance,” he said. “We want to make sure we focus on human services at this time and also focus on economic opportunities for those companies that are doing well.”

City officials are making sure any services they can provide for employees recently laid off, or people experiencing financial hardship, are available to residents, Trimble said.

“My first suggestion, for people new to needing help, is that they call 211,” said Steve Gierke, the city’s human services director. “That will connect them to any of the services they may need, whether that is employment services or food services or counseling services, whatever they need to get connected to resources.”

The number is a state hotline service where people can get one-on-one assistance guiding them to resources to help them weather tough financial times.

The city doesn’t provide specific services, but does support groups in the area that do, Gierke said.

“As things progress, whether that is a week or a month out, depending on severance, we have our food banks and Issaquah Church and Community Services,” he said.

Those organizations provide food, housing, utilities and clothing assistance.

Microsoft officials are also helping employees find new positions, inside or outside the company.

“Some jobs currently open will be filled by those affected by the layoffs, and for others, we will provide generous severance, as well as outplacement services to help their search for a new job,” the spokesperson wrote.

Additionally, the city has other employers like Boeing, Siemens and Costco, which are also a measure for economic stability.

“There are always things we can do, in terms of making sure we are business friendly,” Trimble said. “Issaquah, like I said, wants to be long-term focused.”

Reach Reporter Chantelle Lusebrink at 392-6434, ext. 241, or clusebrink@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.issaquahpress.com.

NEW — 11:47 a.m. Jan. 5, 2009

Donations to Merry Christmas Issaquah had slowed during the snowy weather, but just before the year ended, an anonymous check for $15,000 arrived in the mail. It is the single largest donation the fund has received since its inception in 1981.

With the goal now clearly in site, Issaquah families in need of emergency aid can be sure they will get the help they need.

“Our volunteers are never able to help beyond a couple hundred dollars per request, but often that is just enough to keep families in their homes and the heat on,” said Pat Stegner, president of Issaquah Church and Community Services. “We are so grateful that people send checks to help their neighbors in need.”

Issaquah Church and Community Services is the nonprofit agency that screens clients before making rent or utility payments. Other times, the aid is for a car repair, bus fare, a work uniform for a new job, a prescription or food. Merry Christmas Issaquah makes up 90 percent of all Issaquah Church and Community Services funds. With no paid staff, 100 percent of donations can go to those in need.

The fund will remain open for donations until Jan. 10. Send checks to Merry Christmas Issaquah, c/o The Issaquah Press, P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027, or drop off at The Press’ office, 45 Front St. S.

GOAL: $50,000

As winter approaches, the calls increase from families needing a bit of financial help to keep them in their homes and the heat on. Not coincidentally, checks begin arriving about the same time for the Merry Christmas Issaquah fund, money that will be used to help those families in crisis.

The volunteers at Issaquah Church and Community Services know firsthand how important the donations to Merry Christmas Issaquah can be. 

“We would be unable to help those people who come to us when they are faced with an emergency,” said Church and Community Services President Pat Stegner. “Most often, it is help with utility bills, especially as winter progresses and the bills get bigger. But there are plenty of other emergencies that ICCS helps with.”

Church and Community Services primarily gives families one-time help with utilities and rent payments, but also helps with car repairs, bus vouchers, food, prescriptions, work uniforms and more. 

Donors appreciate that 100 percent of their donation goes directly to help those in need, thanks to volunteer staff. Phones and office space is contributed by the city of Issaquah. 

The good work of Church and Community Services is dependent on Merry Christmas Issaquah, a fund drive begun in 1981. 

“We aren’t able to provide much, but a little goes a long way when you are faced with eviction or a power shut-off,” Stegner said.

You, too, can help by making a tax-deductible donation. Names of donors (but not amounts) will be published unless anonymity is requested.

Send contributions to Merry Christmas Issaquah, c/o The Issaquah Press, P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027.

To date: $13,725

Issaquah residents who come to Church and Community Services are usually at the end of the line, not knowing how to stave off the bill collectors. And more often than not, this feeling of helplessness is a new experience for them.

There was the older couple who needed portable propane tanks for their small cooking stove. And the single mother of two who was faced with a big increase in daycare costs at the same time her car broke down. A father had been laid off at an escrow company and needed help with his mortgage while he looked for work. Another young man who lost his job just needed gas money so he could go live with his grandmother in Burien.

Church and Community Services can usually help a little, making payments via vouchers, never in cash. And it can refer families to other sources of help.

But Church and Community Services depends on the generosity of the hundreds of people who contribute to the Merry Christmas Issaquah fund, coordinated by The Issaquah Press since 1981. Without it, Issaquah families with emergency needs would have no place to turn.

You can help, too. Send tax-deductible donations to Merry Christmas Issaquah, c/o The Issaquah Press, P.O. Box 1328, Issaquah, WA 98027.

Donor names (but not amounts) will be published unless anonymity is requested.