Community Partnerships Secret Harbor is launching a partnership program for businesses, civic organizations and foundations who make investments in our mission. We will o� er our partners year-long recognition for their investment in ways that are meaningful to them.

Secret Harbor is all about making a positive impact on the lives of the youth who become the future of our communities. Our goals are to build a healthier community and awareness:

• About the devastating impacts of abuse and neglect

• About the dire need for foster homes • About therapeutic programs that

heal emotional wounds, saving children, youth & families in crisis

Please call (360) 755-5700 for Brian Carroll x 424 or Chris Heaton x 448 for more information about the Community Partnership Program.

Year-end donations will do double duty . . .

A NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY OF SECRET HARBOR – FALL 2014Connections

� anks to a special matching grant from the Jerry H. Walton Foundation of Sedro Woolley, Secret Harbor has an amazing opportunity to double the impact of every gi� donated between November 15th and January 31st up to $15,000.

Meeting this match is a very big challenge for Secret Harbor. We hope YOU will step up to help us meet the $15,000 goal . . . and perhaps even more.

Here’s how it works. For each dollar YOU give, Secret Harbor receives an additional dollar from the Foundation. • A $100 gi� means $200 for our kids• A $500 gi� means $1000 for our kids• A $1000 gi� means $2000 for our kids• And so forth.

You can donate:• Online at www.secretharbor.org • Or mail a gi� in the envelope we’ve

provided with our mailings.

� e Walton Foundation is dedicating their dollars to the most crucial community funded service our youth receive while in

care - skilled mental health services. Mental health issues are very common when children have experienced abuse or neglect. Helping youth get stable is the � rst step in their journey to a productive life.

� e Foundation wants to make sure Secret Harbor has su� cient resources to address the trauma and loss our kids have experienced in their short lives. Helping us secure the Foundation’s gi� with YOUR dollars will make a tremendous di� erence.

Secret Harbor has always gone the extra mile to make sure youth in our programs have comprehensive, top quality services. In 2014, sta� introduced new treatment protocols related to trauma-informed care. Even though our kids’ family lives are signi� cantly disrupted, Secret Harbor is able to o� er the youth the best of care in community settings where they have an opportunity to re-establish a relatively normal life. � e agency is also increasing attention on making family and community connections for each child so that they have the best chance at living healthy lives when they leave Secret Harbor.

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Please give!

Autumn brings change that’s good for our kids . . .

I revel in the crisp morning air, the changing of the leaves, fog, football and the seasonal celebrations where families gather — all things I love.

What all of us at Secret Harbor love about the fall is the START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR! Summer o� ers so much to the youth involved in our programs — many of these things you will read about in this newsletter today — the Deception Pass Work Program, summer camps and

outings to keep them busy. Long summer days provide for potential excitement and lots of outdoor fun. But — by the end of August our young clients are, at some level, yearning for the start of school too.

Our public schools o� er an incredibly important component in the lives of all school kids — structure, predictability and an established daily routine. � ese essential elements also greatly help our foster homes and residential programs settle into a nine month routine that allows the kids to focus on learning. Kids at Secret Harbor, in particular, thrive on structure and predictability — things that may have been sparse at times in their earlier lives. � e school transition has gone well across all of our programs this year.

Brian CarrollPresident/CEO

Please enjoy this edition of the newsletter, paying particular attention to the matching grant opportunity from the Walton Foundation. None of Secret Harbor’s work with children is possible without support of the community. Why not double the impact you can make?

Also, please take note of the article about the wonderful evening we had on September 12th celebrating Dr. Robert Fleming’s retirement a� er 40 years with the agency and for honoring Dave and Eddylee Scott with our Champions for Children Award. Secret Harbor has been fortunate to attract some amazing people.

Enjoy your autumn season as much as I will mine. � anks again for your continued support of our important work.

Back-to-school . . . A time to learn

Empathy is learned by example . . .One of Secret Harbor’s core values is EMPATHY. By understanding the e� ects of trauma and loss on children and families, we are better able to respond with EMPATHY to those experiences through caring and helpful interactions.

EMPATHY is learned by example, and it starts by giving youth good role models.When dealing with challenging families, both adults and children, our sta� constantly remind themselves that people behave the way they do because of what has happened to them in their lives, not because there is something wrong with them. � ey o� en lack the requisite skills to care about what happens to others.

Real breakthroughs come when a youth connects with others in a meaningful way.

When a child’s life is out-of-control, they o� en seek control in inappropriate ways. Sam has struggled to make friends in school for years. A� er being in the residential treatment program for a year, Sam felt more secure when he headed back to school this year. He shared the following with his case manager: “I had a choice. I could be bossy and insist that I get to sit where I always sit and make them follow my rules — or I could try to be their friend and ask them where they want to sit and be nice to them. Guess what? When I am not bullying them, they actually want to be my friend. I guess I’ve learned something from all of those people trying to help me with social skills.” Sam now looks forward to interacting with his peers at school. � is young man is on track for early graduation because he is thriving academically. It’s nice to know he will also graduate with a group of new friends.

Recently, one of our boys had to go to the emergency room for a broken bone. He

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� e world is changedby your example,not your opinion.

~ Paulo Coelho

Saving children and youth in crisis by building healthy relationships, promoting support and developing successful connections to families and communities.

� e world is changed

Empathy is learned by example . . .was anxious. To distract him from his pain, the sta� member gave this normally video-crazy boy a portable game. � e boy started to play, but also asked the sta� member if anyone in her family had to go to the hospital. When the sta� member mentioned that her grandfather had to go the hospital because of a heart attack, the boy asked how her grandfather was doing now. She replied, “He died.” � e boy put down the game, looked at her, and said, “I am so sorry your grandfather died. You must be really sad about that.” � e sta� member then had an opportunity to acknowledge the boy’s caring response.

Our youth learn to support one another too. One of our young boys, Art, was having a rough time in his new foster home. Another older boy, Seth, was in the o� ce at the same time and he encouraged Art to give the home a chance. He o� ered stories about how that particular home worked out for him when he lived there. Seth also approached Art’s teacher at school to let him know Art was having a rough time. He hoped the teacher would o� er extra support and look out for him.

With our passel of kids, Secret Harbor must give a lot of thought about the holidays well in advance. � e holidays can be a stressful time for families already in crisis.

PRECOR and Hart Crowser employees are once again stepping up to the plate to � ll the wish lists of most of our kids. We are grateful for their enthusiastic generosity.

We are still seeking groups, families and individuals who would consider buying gi� s for any extra kids, or who might put together some � anksgiving and Christmas food baskets for their families. A lot of the families receiving in-home support have a very hard time making ends meet around the holidays. Call Chris at (360) 755-5700 x448 if you think you can help.

. . . ringing in the HOLIDAYS

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Working Together . .

In the words of Ranger Rick Blank, “this was the best summer ever.” � e boys from the residential program cleaned trails, beaches and campgrounds at Deception Pass State Park. � ey also were invited to go on the State Park boats to di� erent islands to do general park maintenance and pull wayward crab pots. � e special project this summer was beautifying the administration building including construction of a decorative pond. � ere were many sore muscles from moving big boulders and rocks around!

Summer Work Experience leader, Harry Nicholson, has supervised the work crews for six years. He believes summer of 2014 was both the most productive and the most fun. Kids from the residential and foster care programs earned an hourly wage, gained work experience and learned the importance of teamwork. Our top earners made around $900.

To celebrate the success of the summer, kids from residential and foster care enjoyed a carne asada picnic. Foster care and residential both made trips to the water slides in Birch Bay.

It was cool to see the kids be kids at the waterslides. Some of the kids had never been to any water park before, and some of them even balked at going. � ey had a great time! When Jerry took his � rst slide of the day, it was di� cult from the look on his face to tell if he enjoyed it. When asked, his calm response was “It was nice. No . . . it was AWESOME”. Yes it was!

. . . the Best Summer Ever

We’d like to give thanks to the many wonderful people and groups who make donations so that the valuable work of Secret Harbor can happen every day.

Each donation we receive is very much appreciated - from the $3 gi� a donor makes each month and the hand knit hats Heart and Hand brings by each fall - to the major gi� s we receive from individuals, businesses and foundations. YOU know who you are. We know YOU care . . . and YOU are all genuinely special to us!

For many years, Secret Harbor did not need to raise as many dollars as we do now. YOUR gi� s matter a lot. � ey make lives better and, in some cases, literally save the lives of kids in our care. Please keep giving.

We’ve also had some very unique and useful in-kind gi� s this year - from � at screen monitors and bikes to the many donations for our Welcome Pantry.

We appreciate your willingness to get involved for our kids. � e Skagit Valley Food Co-op recently encouraged their members to shop on 4% Friday to support our KIDS Fund. In one day, they raised $1,984. Helping us spread the word is a very important gi� to us!

� en, there are incredible groups like United Way of Snohomish County, � omas V. Giddens Foundation, Northwest Children’s Fund, Opus Community Foundation, Everett Clinic Foundation, Union Bank Foundation, Jerry H. Walton Foundation, Glaser Foundation, the Puyallup Tribe, the Stillaguamish Tribe and the Muckleshoot Tribe, Soroptimists of Sedro Woolley, BNSF Foundation, Anacortes Noon Kiwanis and Burlington-Edison Kiwanis — that have all made grants to Secret Harbor the � rst part of 2014. We also have one amazing grantor each year that won’t let us share their name. Let’s just say they make our summer work program possible.

Saving children and youth in crisis by building healthy relationships, promoting support and developing successful connections to families and communities.

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDBELLINGHAM WAPERMIT NO. 114

P.O. Box 828Burlington, WA 98233

O� ce225 N Walnut StBurlington, WA 98233360-755-5700Fax: 360-755-2212www.secretharbor.org

Sta� Brian Carroll, President/CEOJon RylaarsdamDirector Foster Care ResourcesJenn RyanDirector Residential Treatment Al LewandowskiDirector of Administration/CFO

Board of DirectorsBeth Woolley, ChairBrian Carroll, PresidentTerry Ebersole, Vice ChairSharon Prouty-Hall, Secretary/TreasurerSarah CleaverLaura FletcherBryan HarrisonGermaine Kornegay Jere LaFollette

Memberships: Alliance for Strong Families and Communities • AACRC • Foster Family-Based Treatment Association

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501 (c)3 Nonpro� tTax ID#-91-1025997

In MemoryJohn Hoge Rolfe, long-time Board member and friend passed away on September 1st at age 86. John served on the Board of Directors from 1986 to 1999. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends.

Honoring Special SupportersOn September 12th, Secret Harbor came together to honor three exceptional advocates for children - Dr. Robert Fleming, Dave Scott and Eddylee Scott.

Dr. Fleming, Pediatric Psychiatrist, retired recently a� er 40 years of treating the very challenging young people at Secret Harbor. Dr. Fleming is highly respected by the sta� and the child welfare community. Dr. Fleming was named as Champion for Children in 2010. One of Secret Harbor’s group homes, the Dr. Fleming Home was also named in his honor in 2008.

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A� ectionately called “Team Scott” by Brian Carroll, CEO - Dave Scott served 20 years on the Board of Directors; and both Dave and Eddylee have been extraordinary ambassadors and active volunteers for Secret Harbor throughout that time.

At the event, Dave and Eddylee Scott were awarded Secret Harbor’s highest honor — the Champions for Children Award. � e award has been given out only two previous times. Both prior recipients, David Quall and Dr. Fleming, were on hand to help present the award to the Scotts.

Pictured from le� to right are Brian Carroll, CEO; David Quall; Dave and Eddylee Scott; and Dr. Robert Fleming.