In order to raise enough money to run a quality program we have to fund raise. In the past we have sold stuff, done garage sales, hired ourselves out to paint, chop wood, etc, etc. We are pleased to say that we are done with all of that and have developed a fund raiser that we can live with, a fund raiser that fits our values. There is an old saying that explains what we are doing and why. It states, "There is no giving, there is only giving back." Our runners gave back over 260 hours to the community.

We started the summer with thirty runners, coaches, parents, and siblings meeting at Riverside State Park with the forest ranger. The instructions were simple. In order to help prevent forest fires we were to clear the snags, saplings, and brushes 75 feet from both sides of the roadways. Six hot hours later we could point out one long, long stretch where it would be hard for a fire to burn.

Once the season started twenty of our harriers ran the short distance to the Vanessa Behan Crisis Clinic and spiffed it up inside and out for two-and-a-half hours. Washing windows and siding, weeding, dead heading, clearing and hosing the parking lot and dumpster, polishing sculptures, organizing and cleaning the attic--all were done with vim, vigor and élan. The children and parents who must use the crisis service will have a clean, healthy facility.

Our last project took us only a few blocks away from North Central. After a short practice, twenty of our runners went to the Women's and Children's Free Kitchen for a two-hour stint of giving. The tasks were many and varied. Many stacked food boxes, cleared out expired food, organized and hauled. Another group measured out meal sized portions and emergency rations for a week of rice, beans, and oatmeal, putting them into take-out containers. One last group cleaned out a storage area and attic. We feel good about helping these kind people serve the hungry of Spokane.