Seattle Channel Features First Place Panel Discussion

On April 29, 2009, immediately following the First Place Annual Fundraising Breakfast, we hosted a panel discussion featuring local individuals and businesses making big change toward ending homelessness.

The panel featured:

• Bill Block, King County Committee to End Homelessness Project Director
• Tod Leiweke, CEO of Vulcan Sports and Entertainment
• Thach Nguyen, Realtor, Developer and Philanthropist
• James Sun, CEO & Founder of Zoodango.com, Finalist on NBC's "The Apprentice"
• Evelyn Brown, Owner of Xazz Salon and community volunteer
  
• Anne Keeney, Executive Director of Seattle Jobs Initiative
• Moderated by Linda Byron, KING 5 News
  

We are excited to share with you that the Seattle Channel filmed the discussion as part of its Town Square program. Watch it online right now, or on TV the following dates and times:

Seattle Channel 21:

Thursday, May 14, 2009	5:00 p.m.
Monday, May 18, 2009	6:00 a.m.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009	2:30 a.m.
Thursday, May 21, 2009	4:30 p.m.

First Place hosted this panel as way to further engage individual and businesses in getting involved in ending homelessness. We hope when you watch this, you will be inspired to find a way to get your business or organization involved in social change.

Panel attendees received a packet of information to take home with them, which included facts on homelessness, a 'Take Action' sheet, a copy of the Washington State Report Card on Family Homelessness and a few other informational papers. If you are interested in a copy of this packet, contact Chris Cooper, Director of Marketing and Development at 206-323-6715 ext. 1301.

Over the next few weeks we want to feature a few companies on our blog that do some creative fundraising for First Place. First on our list to share is Car Toys.

Beat the CFO! The employees of Car Toys have a long-standing tradition of supporting the many vital programs of First Place. Every fall Car Toys employees break out of the office for their annual stress reliever "beat the CFO". For a small donation to First Place employees compete against the CFO in a high-tech virtual golf game, or in years past have taken their chance at hitting a target to dunk the CFO in a less than warm pool. Car Toys CFO Robert Jensen continues to take his dedication to ending family homelessness to a new level. “Keep up the great work,” Jensen tells us, “and we will keep coming up with other ways to help.”

Thank you to the Seattle Channel, our panelists and companies like Car Toys!