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Aug 11 , 2010
At Avista, we have a long history of reaching out into the communities we serve to help in many ways. Usually we ask our employees to donate school supplies in barrels placed in many of our offices, so kids who need a little help can start the school year well-equipped to learn.
This year we chose to do things a little differently. There are great organizations sponsoring school supply drives in almost every town in our service area. We’re informing our employees about as many of these community drives as we can. So, it’s even easier for our employees to give back to their communities by placing new rulers and pencils and notebooks in bins right where they shop – in their own town.
We’ve seen how the faces of kids in lower-income schools absolutely light up when they get a new backpack filled with all the supplies they need to get a great start on their school year. While we may not see those faces directly this year, we know that even more kids will have a great start to their school year through the generosity of our employees. I hope you’ll take a few minutes on your next shopping trip to pick up a few extra supplies and help fill the bin, the box or the bus for the children in your hometown.
Jun 30 , 2010
The Shock is electric for sure, but this Shock is Spokane’s number one ranked national Arena Football League team.
And on July 2, the team’s home game against the number two-ranked Arizona Rattlers will do more than generate a lot of touchdown frenzy. Avista’s Project Share emergency energy assistance fund will receive $3 from every ticket sold when fans use the code word “Share” when they purchase their discounted $12 tickets through TicketsWest, over the phone (800-325-SEAT (7328)), or in person at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena Box Office, 720 West Mallon.
It’s summer, why are we talking about energy assistance? Because the need for help in our community doesn’t go away just because the weather gets warmer.
Project Share is through donations from our customers, our community and our company. It provides one-time emergency energy assistance to families in our region regardless of the fuel they use for heating. This past heating season, Project Share provided more than $671,000 in energy assistance to 2,972 households in Spokane County. We work with our community Partner, SNAP, to make the grants. More information about Project Share is available on our website.
So, this holiday weekend think winning football team and a big score for Project Share, helping those in need in our community
Jun 08 , 2010
One of the best parts of working at Avista – and there are many – is getting to write about how our company partners with community organizations to improve the health and well-being of people who live in our service territory. If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you’ve seen some of my posts on topics like our CEO’s direct involvement in United Way, our employees’ generous giving to Tom’s Turkey Drive at Thanksgiving, as well as clothing and food banks, just to name a couple of examples.
There’s another way that we partner with the communities we serve – through grants from the Avista Foundation ( www.avistafoundation.org). The Foundation just completed its second round of donations for 2010. There are always more requests than dollars to support them. That’s why the Foundation’s board of directors carefully studies each request, makes sure the organization is sound and assures the request falls within the guidelines for giving, namely for K-12 education and higher education particularly in the fields of science, math and technology; for assistance to those on limited incomes and for initiatives to reduce poverty; and for projects that help communities and citizens to grow and prosper. One grant made this quarter will help support a job training program in Spokane for low income and homeless women. The New Leaf Bakery-Café provides job training opportunities for low income and homeless women so they can gain work readiness skills to overcome the barriers to mainstream employment. Tell me more. Another grant will help complete a new roof at Alliance House in Moscow, Idaho, a place that houses people with severe mental illness, giving them a safe place to live. Tell me more. And the Foundation also made a grant to Kids Unlimited of Oregon, in Medford, Ore., to support the renovation of a building to house evening, weekend and summer programs so low income kids are more likely to stay and finish their educations. Tell me more.
The people who benefit from these and the other programs receiving grants from the Avista Foundation are your neighbors. They are part of the fabric of our community. We’re pleased that we can be part of weaving the threads together for stronger, more livable communities for everyone.
Jun 02 , 2010
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Col. Richard McReynolds (far right) and Sgt. Ken Heywood (right)
present the Patriot Award to Dennis Vermillion, Scott Morris and
John Schwendener (left to right). | Post by Sarah Hilbert
Avista was awarded the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award last month in Medford, Oregon. Sgt. Ken Heywood, an Avista Medford Operations Inspector, and Col. Richard McReynolds, the Southern Oregon Area Four Chairperson with the ESGR Oregon Committee presented the award to Medford Area Coordinator John Schwendener.
The Patriot Award is an award not all employers receive or deserve. The award is given to employers who employ civilian soldiers and support them in times of deployment or annual training. Continuing benefits and salary play a major role in the success of civilian soldiers.
According to the ESGR website, “The ESGR is a Department of Defense organization that seeks to promote a culture in which all American Employers support and value the military service of their employees.”
Heywood nominated Avista for the Patriot Award based on his experiences as a soldier in the National Guard.
“I nominated Avista because of the understanding I received when I was activated and sent to Louisiana for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and for understanding that I may have to perform duties on short notice,” Heywood said.
“Another reason was because Avista continues a military salary and benefits, understanding that we, as soldiers don’t make a lot of money. We do this ultimate job for our country because we want to, not because we have to. In the past 21 years of my service to our state and country, I have had some employers that were less than understanding. It means a lot to have a company that understands what it means to be a civilian soldier.”
Congratulations and special thanks to Sgt. Heywood and all who have served our country.
May 28 , 2010
It’s funny how you meet people sometimes. And it’s amazing how much good can come out of a casual conversation. On a flight back to Spokane in January, I shared the plane with an energetic group of Keller Williams real estate professionals returning from their annual meeting. One enthusiastic Realtor started up a conversation with my co-worker and me about Keller Williams’ annual community outreach event called RED – Renew, Energize and Donate. Since we do a lot of work with non-profit agencies, we knew who to put the Realtors in touch with to find the people they could help in their day of service on May 13. Our great energy efficiency experts trained the Realtors how to do some simple home weatherization, and we provided some CFL bulbs and other materials that they installed.
We’re pleased that we could be of assistance to Keller Williams as they helped six families who are most in need in our community.
May 14 , 2010
Have you heard the word? Seems like it’s being used everywhere. Sustainability. What does it mean and why does Avista care?
As a utility company founded on renewable hydro generation, Avista has a long history of using and taking care of the natural resources in our environment. That’s part of doing business in a sustainable way – a way that doesn’t compromise the future for generations to come. That’s important to us and we think it’s important to you, as well.
As important as taking care of our environment is, there’s much more to doing business in a sustainable manner. Sustainability has three components: environment, economy and society. Our newly released 2010 Sustainability Report provides information about our company’s business practices in all three areas. And, in keeping with the spirit of sustainability, the report is web-based to conserve resources and contain costs.
Research groups, major investors and others often use sustainability reports like ours to understand how a company’s operations reflect its values and its commitment to the short and long-term use of resources. Our report is also a valuable tool for customers, community leaders and others who want to better understand Avista’s environmental, economic and social responsibility actions and impacts.
The information is a snapshot in time, largely based on results as of Dec. 31, 2009, and tells about our company’s activities from power generation to resource planning, from philanthropy to governance, from human resources to energy efficiency, and much more.
We encourage you to check out our 2010 Sustainability Report, watch the video message from CEO Scott Morris and give us your feedback. Your input will help us shape the content of future reports.
Mar 02 , 2010
Kids in foster care and families in need are just a few of the people in our service territory to see the benefit of the first grants from the Avista Foundation for 2010.
We want to give you a brief look at two of the programs the foundation is supporting.
Children in foster care in the Greater Spokane area will benefit from an expanded volunteer mentoring program supported by a $2,000 grant to the non-profit Olive Crest organization. The program recruits, trains and supports volunteers who tutor and mentor foster and adoptive children.
Carol Plischke, area director for Olive Crest told us that the majority of the foster children they work with have encountered abuse, neglect and other challenges in their short lives. They are often behind in school and need the direct support a tutor or mentor can provide, not only to keep up with their studies, but to eventually graduate from high school. She said that through the involvement of community volunteers, this program addresses the need for quality mentors and tutors for foster children and provides opportunities for others to give back to their community in meaningful ways. More information on Olive Crest is available at www.olivecrest.org/pnw.
Over in Coeur d’Alene the St. Vincent de Paul H.E.L.P. (Helping Empower Local People) Center is located in the former Coeur d’Alene Library Building. It received a $5,000 grant this quarter from the Avista Foundation to support programs helping the area’s low income and homeless individuals and families. The first-of-its kind in Idaho pilot project is a one-stop location for meals, job and life skills training, legal counseling, child and family advocacy services, parenting classes and more.
Jeff Conroy, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul, told us that the H.E.L.P. program is a collaboration of state agencies, the city of Coeur d’Alene and other non-profits that brings vital services together in one place to help some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in our community. He said that the services they are able to provide help others to help themselves, and this fits well with Coeur d’Alene’s 10-year plan to end homelessness.” Read more about St. Vincent de Paul at http://stvincentdepaulcda.org/c5/help.
In all just over $14,000 was distributed from the Avista Foundation during the first quarter. In addition to Olive Crest and St. Vincent de Paul, grant recipients included Mid-City Concerns, Lilac Services for the Blind, Community Frameworks and Center Pointe in Spokane. The Foundation also made in-kind donations of gently used laptops to the YMCA in Medford, Oregon, and to KSPS Public Television in Spokane.
The Avista Foundation, established in 2002 as a private, corporate foundation, focuses its giving on grants that strengthen communities and enhance the quality of life for people served by Avista Utilities in eastern Washington, northern Idaho, southern Oregon and Sanders County, Montana. The foundation focuses its giving in the areas of:
• Education – K-12 education particularly in the fields of science, math and technology; and higher education including scholarships,
• Vulnerable and limited income populations – providing assistance to those on limited incomes and support for initiatives to reduce poverty,
• Economic and cultural vitality – supporting projects that help communities and citizens to grow and prosper.
Feb 05 , 2010
If you read The Spokesman-Review this morning you might have seen that the Spokane County United Way campaign wrapped up to a great success. $4.7 million raised. Employees at Avista have a particular interest in United Way and always have a robust internal campaign, and our CEO Scott Morris has been the overall campaign chairman for the last two years.
The 4 percent increase in giving this year – a remarkable number – is a testament to the community we live in. As a personal contributor to United Way, let me give my small thanks to everyone who donated.
Feb 01 , 2010
My feet have stopped hurting. I got a little rest, and I now have a little perspective on Avista’s 2010 Energy Fair held last Saturday. It was great! Some 325 people of all ages and interests came through the Lair Student Center at Spokane Community College from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. They talked with Avista staff and our community partners about topics that ranged from installing energy saving door sweeps to filing for earned income tax credits. We were very pleased to partner with Community Colleges of Spokane for this first annual event. Also attending and providing valuable information were staff members from SNAP, Work Source Spokane and the CASH Coalition.
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Camille shows how to help insulate
drafty windows. | One of the biggest hits of the day was the interactive singing and dancing program from Wattson, our energy watchdog and his friend Edison. It was so fun to see the kids – their parents and a few Avista staffers – singing and dancing right along with the big dog and his pal, learning energy efficiency tips at the same time.
It warmed my heart to see a family relaxing around a table in the Lair Café, talking about the Wattson activity sheet the kids colored. Or catching bits of conversation from the older couple who discussed which lamp in their home would get the free CFL bulb they received at the fair.
A little excitement was in the air at least once an hour, when door prize winners were announced. And a lot of excitement followed the announcement of the two grand prize winners. Avista House Warming certificates, cozy blankets, and other energy-saving goodies were the coveted prizes.
All in all, I thought the fair was a wonderful success. Attendees told us the information was very helpful and they appreciated the free samples they received after each demonstration. We learned some things that will make it even better next year and we’re looking forward to it.
Jan 06 , 2010
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Avista workers help collect
ospreys for banding as part
of a restoration project. | Post by Anna Scarlett
Recently, the Avista Foundation donated $2,500 to Birds of Prey Northwest for the construction of an eagle flight cage at the organization’s raptor rehabilitation facility near St. Maries, Idaho. In a few months, Avista employees led by Bob Beitz, Operations Manager for St. Maries and Kellogg, will set the poles and help build the flight cage.
It’s not the first time Avista has worked with Birds of Prey Northwest and its president/founder, Janie Fink. In fact, Fink has partnered with our own line workers in the protection and rescue of raptors.
“Several years ago we reached out to Jane to help us with problems we’d been having with osprey on our lines,” Beitz said.
Fink initially educated employees on raptors, and from there, the relationship continued. On several occasions, our St. Maries and Kellogg line crews have assisted her in collecting and banding baby ospreys as part of an osprey restoration program she leads.
This fall, Fink approached Beitz, who serves on the Avista Foundation Board of Directors, about a donation to Birds of Prey Northwest to update the rehab facility. An injured bird must go through physical therapy to treat its injury and build strength and flexibility for its return to the wild; this therapy includes flight exercise and flight tests. But the current aviary used for the flight exercise is too small for an eagle’s large wingspan, which can reach up to 8 feet wide for an adult.
Avista gave Birds of Prey Northwest $2,500, which, along with a pole donation from McFarland Cascade, will help Fink get the supplies to build the new cage. The flight cage will accommodate the largest raptor she cares for, but will be used to exercise all the birds.
Injured bird now Avista’s namesake
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Avista is a juvenile American
bald eagle with a damaged
wing. | During the grant process, Beitz visited the rehab facility, and as Fink was walking him through, a young American bald eagle drew their attention. The eagle, an adolescent that hasn’t matured enough to get its yellow-beak and white head, has a bad wing and can’t fly – it will be a permanent resident of the facility. Fink mentioned she hadn’t yet named the eagle.
Beitz suggested “Avista.”
“She looked at me and said ‘I think there was a reason we were waiting to name this eagle,’” he said.
So the young raptor became Avista. Avista joins Beauty, a bald eagle that lost her upper beak after she was shot by a poacher in Alaska, and who has since been fitted with a prosthetic beak so she can eat and preen, as well as various owls, hawks, falcons and ospreys either living at or being rehabilitated at the facility.
While her rehab facility is not open to the public, Fink, a raptor biologist and falconer, is currently seeking funding to build the Northwest Birds of Prey Center, a public education and raptor rehab center that will be located near Lake Coeur d'Alene.
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