Idea a Day 2: Write a Review on GreatNonprofits.org

One of the ways you can support First Place from your desk is to write a review about us online.

The website GreatNonprofits.org lets you write a review about your experiences with any registered 501(c)(3) non-profit. It’s user-friendly, quick, and you can even log-in using your Facebook account.

At First Place, we hear from individuals, companies and foundations that online research about our organization directly impacts their giving decisions.

Having good reviews can help us raise awareness about our mission, recruit volunteers, get positive media attention and help raise funds for our programs.

Our GreatNonprofits.org page can be found here: http://greatnonprofits.org/reviews/profile2/first-place1

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Idea a Day Intro
Adopt a Classroom for the Holidays

Idea a Day 1: Adopt a Classroom for the Holidays

Over the holidays we have great success with our Adopt a Family program which provides gifts for families for the holidays, but we don’t get as much support for our teachers and classrooms.

We’ve asked all of our teachers, and our programs such as Mentoring/Tutoring program, Library, After School program, and even Technology and Marketing, to come up with their own wish list in the hopes that someone will adopt their program.

In-kind gifts for classrooms and programs have a direct impact on the children who attend First Place.


When a mentor spends an hour with a student, they choose a board game, a puzzle, a jewelry making kit or an art project from the volunteer room and those short weekly interactions have huge impacts on the rest of their life. A study by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America shows that children who have mentors are 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs.

Tutors use books in our library to help students with their reading. Many children enter First Place up to 3 grade levels behind their peers. In a classroom of 30 children sometimes special needs are overlooked. At First Place, each child has an individual learning plan which helps them get back up to grade level.

Our After School Program provides arts and enrichment activities that our students may not otherwise have access to. Going to the local swimming pool and learning how to swim is just one example. First Place provides a towel, swimsuit, goggles and swim caps for each child at First Place that they can keep at the end of the program, but right now we’re running short on supplies.

2nd/3rd Grade Teacher Ms. Kristy uses pedometers to help her students measure distances and learn math.

When you adopt one of our classrooms or programs, you’re not just buying a pencil or a packet of paper, you are touching the life of a child.

To view Holiday Wish Lists and for more information about Adopting a Classroom or Program, please visit our Holiday Giving page.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day:
Idea a Day Intro Post

Idea a Day to Support First Place

What can you do today to make a positive impact in your community?

Especially around the holiday season we get a lot of phone calls asking us “What can we do to contribute to First Place?”

From now through January 1, 2010, our team will post an Idea a Day which will describe how you can support First Place through the holidays, and year round.

We also want to highlight the many generous volunteers and donors that help make our work possible. Our hope is that these ideas will spark something in you to take action.

Please send us your story telling us how your company, family, social club, girl scout troop or book club came together to support First Place and we’ll post it on here our blog.

It is our sincere wish that you will forward and share these ideas with your friends and coworkers.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Do You Have Your Winter Warmth Tickets Yet?

For over ten years The Mountain 103.7FM has been supporting First Place through their Winter Warmth Concert and we couldn't be more excited each year when we start hearing our name on the radio!

This year the concert features Brett Dennen with special appearances by Brandi Carlile and Grace Potter and The Nocturnals.

We hope you can join us there, Sunday December 6 at The Moore Theatre at 7:30pm. Learn more about the event.

Tickets are $25 through STG Presents and a portion of proceeds benefits the children and families at First Place.

"Everyone in the Mountain community is glad to continue our connection with First Place. Our listeners know the importance of supporting the good work being done at First Place and we all look forward to this year’s Winter Warmth Concert and the chance to share the good music and the holidays together." --Dave Benson, Program Director at The Mountain 103.7FM

A huge thank you to everyone at The Mountain for their ongoing support of First Place. Every year they are committed to promoting our mission and this year and Sean Demery interviewed us on the morning show.

ABC's of Ecosystems - Day 4 at Islandwood

On our last day at Islandwood students and staff had mixed emotions about our camp experience. On one hand, we are excited to come home and see our friends and family. At the same time, we will miss the Islandwood staff and the friends we have met over the past week. Overall, the trip was a success and we will be bringing back great memories of our Islandwood camp experience.
This morning after breakfast we spent time in the lodge packing for the trip home. Then, students went back out into the field for one more outdoor experience with nature. Students talked with their field group instructors about what they have learned this week at camp. Many students reflected on all of the new experiences they had at camp, "I had never seen a banana slug before!", and "I had never seen a deer before", "I never thought I could be away from my mom for this long", or "I was afraid to be in the woods, but now I see that its a lot of fun!"

Students also reviewed of the ABC's of ecosystems, Abiotic, Biotic and Cultural, and made plans to work with students from other schools to become better stewards of our environment.

Islandwood was such a unique experience and we are sad to see it end, but we look forward to applying what we have learned about our environment and bringing this new information back to our First Place family.
After our final meeting at the Friendship Circle, we said goodbye to our friends at Islandwood, and headed home.

Drumming and Lunch on the Beach - Day 3 at Islandwood

Wednesday was our last full day at camp. First Place students watched a video at Islandwood's Learning Studio on the history Bainbridge Island and Blakely Harbor. They learned about different people from around the world that settled at Port Blakely over one hundred years ago and what life was like on the island back then. Some students asked, "What was life like for kids back then?" and "Why did people settle at Bainbridge Island instead of Seattle?"

Next they explored the history of the island even further by hiking three miles to the beach to explore animals and plants in that ecosystem. Students had lunch on the beach and then hiked back to campus where they participated in a drumming workshop in the Art Studio. Students learned how to play a beat on the Djembe, a popular West African drum, and learned a song in a West African language, which meant, "Welcome. I greet you with my mind, my lips, and my heart. I come in peace."
The highlight of the day was the evening Campfire Ceremony where students from different schools performed skits, poems, and other special talents. One of our students teamed up with a student from Roxhill Elementary and performed a breakdance routine. At the end of the night, we had our own talent show back at our lodge and students prepared to end their week at camp.

FP Students Sing to Banana Slugs - Day 2 at Islandwood

Now that the students have settled in comfortably at camp, our second day was all about learning to work together as a team.

Students in Team Pond started their day by playing an interactive game called "Owls, Mice and Seeds", an Islandwood favorite that teaches students the importance of the food chain, animal survival, and how different elements in nature may impact the food chain.
First Place students interacted with students from Bennett Elementary, and then participated in a ropes course in the Islandwood team course. Students had to work together as a team to complete a task and ultimately reach their goal of achieving team work. After lunch, Team Pond went to the garden, and sampled different foods growing in the Islandwood garden. Students also picked foods from the garden, and worked with Islandwood's kitchen chef's to prepare the dessert for tonight's meal- Apple Crisp and Pumpkin-Raisin cookies.

Along the journey today, students saw a banana slug. They were told that the banana slug would respond to singing, and the whole group burst into song, singing "Banana slug, Banana-nana-nana Banana Slug!"Some of the First Place staff's highlights from the day:

"I am noticing students working together and getting along."
"Islandwood helps students appreciate the environment as well as each other."
"I love that students who don't normally socialize together, are taking the time to make new friends."
"The students seem engaged and excited about science!"

Some of the students' highlights from the day:

"The pancakes at breakfast this morning were my favorite."
"I wanted to take the banana slug home with me!"
"I saw a decomposing bird in a tree and lots of fungus growing on trees in the woods."
"I saw a deer right outside our lodge, and took a picture!"
"I can't wait for dinner!"
"I learned about different kinds of mushrooms and which kinds of fungi are poisonous."Read about Day 1.

Check back tomorrow for more updates.