Organizations
We Love
We love our communities!
Our number one mission at Simple Box is to make a difference. To achieve this goal, we work to make sure that Simple Box is an active, positive member of the communities that have welcomed us.
One of our first priorities when we enter a new community is to get involved in the local Chamber of Commerce so that we can best understand the needs of the locals and how we can best serve them. After that, we get involved in popular events, whether we sponsor the event, donate a box, as participants, or all three!
We believe that local businesses should work to strengthen their communities. Here are some of the organizations that we love to support.
National Partnership
Each year, Get Simple box partners with the national organization, Believe with Me. This incredible organization partners with family’s of fallen soldiers to help meet their needs, whatever that may be. From building new housing, sponsoring children at Christmas, and sending gifts to widows on Valentine’s Day, Believe with Me steps in to make sure that these treasured families are loved and taken care of.
See Organizations We Love by Location
Ski to Sea
We love Bellingham for its rich outdoor culture. Every year, Bellingham’s biggest outdoor enthusiasts gather for the Ski to Sea event.
Teams of three to eight gather to participate in up to three of the following legs: cross country skiing, downhill skiing or snowboarding, running, road biking, canoeing, cyclocross biking, and sea kayaking. It truly is the ultimate test of participants’ physical abilities.
Bellingham Chamber of Commerce
In any town, the local chamber of commerce acts as a priceless resource for community members and businesses alike. It serves to strengthen the local economy by supporting local business owners and advocating for the businesses in their community. Although many believe the Chamber of Commerce to be a government entity, it’s actually independently run and paid for through its memberships.
Simple Box is proud to be a part of Bellingham’s and Burlington’s Chamber of Commerce. We make it a point to remain active in both the Chambers by attending the monthly networking breakfasts and other meetings in order to build relationships with other local businesses.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is a non profit organization that works locally and internationally to bring communities together in creating safe and affordable housing. Volunteers come together to work alongside the family receiving the home to build it from scratch, lowering building costs so that the affordable mortgage is made possible. Get Simple Box donates shipping containers to building sites to provide secure storage and dry construction offices.
Habitat builds homes, fixes homes and advocates for housing through their Cost of Home campaign. The Cost of Home campaign aims to get 10 million people access to an affordable home through influencing policies at the local, state and federal levels.
We’re aware of how important decent and affordable housing is for individuals and communities. Homeless does not just affect the homeless, it also affects communities on social and economic levels. For example, people without housing or adequate income are more likely to develop preventable health issues that require emergency services, the cost of which is passed on to taxpayers. Homelessness also comes with an emotional cost for the homeless and those around them.
Habitat has many available avenues of support, including:
Kids Town International
Kidstown supports local homes for orphaned and neglected children in India, Nepal and Romania. The organization helps local homes and orphanages provide care, educational opportunities and ongoing support. Kidstown exemplifies the belief that teaching a man to fish is more productive than simply giving him a meal. Their efforts help provide orphaned children the tools they need to lead successful, productive, happy lives. The children of Kidstown often grow up to go to college or pursue other professional paths that enrich their lives as well as benefit their communities.
Many children in unfortunate situations find themselves without basic care and opportunities during formative years of their lives, which is why Get Simple Box supports one child at Kidstown for each Get Simple Box employee.
Financial contributions to Kidstown can be made in the form of general donations, sponsorship of individual children, donations to educational programs and donations to current projects. Get Simple Box supports Kidstown by sponsoring kids, and it truly fills our hearts to see the letters and photos they send. They also have opportunities for non-financial support in the form of prayer. Specific prayer requests are added to their website for each branch of the organization so we all have an opportunity to lift them up in prayer.
Building Industry Association of Whatcom County
The BIAWC is another one of the many organizations we love. A non-profit organization of builders and businesses in Whatcom County. Like the Chamber of Commerce, it strives to bring those in the building industry together for networking, community service, and policy development. Their work helps build positive community involvement and maintain productive legislation that benefits both companies and the local population.
Skagit Island County Building Association
We are also excited to be members of the SICBA. With our membership, we are building connections with local contractors and builders in order to create a symbiotic relationship where we can provide our containers for their construction needs, and they can let us know how to best serve them.
Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce
We are proud members of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce and the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. We believe that it’s important to stay involved in the community, support other businesses, and stay involved in order to give back to the people who keep us in business.
Naomi’s Hope
This charity helps women who are escaping abuse, facing an unplanned pregnancy, are homeless, or otherwise need some love and care. A Christian-based organization, they work to help women heal, learn how to overcome obstacles, and gain tools for a better future. They do this by building relationships and providing resources to help women get back on their feet and find success.
We provide shipping containers to Naomi’s Hope to collect and store donations. Shipping containers make excellent storage units, and they are able to keep supplies safe and secure, even in the wettest months.
Woman’s Club Spokane
The Women’s Club in Spokane is a non-profit service organization and a community gathering place that has been focused on improving the lives of women and families for over 100 years. Their historic building is a busy hub of cultural, educational, and health-promoting activities.
Through the many years of community activity in their building, the original maple hardwood floors had worn down to the bare wood and needed to be recoated as soon as possible. We had the wonderful opportunity to provide storage for their furnishings while they restored the historic flooring.
Salem Contractors Exchange
The Salem Contractors Exchange provides support and services to commercial contractors of all types of industries in the Salem area. The exchange helps establish relationships and supports local business by providing a central location to plan upcoming projects in the entire state of Oregon.
We love being a part of an organization that does such a great job of supporting local and small businesses. Partnering with them also gives us a great opportunity to network with contractors who could use our services. Every year, we love sponsoring the SCE Golf Tournament where we can help build this wonderful organization while working on our golf swings.
Salem Leadership Foundation
As a local non-profit to Get Simple Box Salem, the Salem Leadership Foundation is a faith based community development organization. We love that their mission is based on building relationships, because the best way to make a lasting impact on a community is to know the community and individuals that make it. Their mission is to improve and support the community through partnerships with Neighborhood Associations, Community Progress Teams, churches and schools.
One big way they carry out their mission is by partnering with churches to create Churches as Neighborhoods (CaN) Centers that offer the following (and more):
- Educational programs and opportunities for kids and adults.
- Organized physical activities and sports.
- Community programs, events and celebrations.
- Necessities like food, clothing and school supplies.
SLF is funded by monetary donations, in-kind donations, and most of all, volunteer hours. Their website includes a volunteer inquiry form, a monetary donation form and a contact form to get in touch and ask any questions you have about in-kind donations or other topics.
The Dream Center
The Dream Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children in need. They go beyond giving items and money to impoverished children; they build relationships, organize mentorship programs, and encourage education so that the kids can feel empowered rather than embarrassed by the charity.
The Dream Center believes that it’s important to give people the tools they need to succeed. Charity is temporary and can come across as patronizing, while education builds self-esteem and creates positive practices that they use their entire lives.
One of our very favorite things that we get to be a part of is sponsoring the Mad Hatter Fun Run every September. We love supporting the people of Salem, who have welcomed Simple Box into our community. Sponsorship of the Mad Hatter Fun Run almost feels like cheating; the event is so fun that supporting it is a no-brainer!
Feed The North
We love to talk about the cool ways that people are using shipping containers, and Feed the North uses shipping containers in the coolest way possible.
With their special license to work in North Korea, they transform shipping containers into hydroponics farms. These devices are self-contained farming units, where one side produces fish and the other produces crops that are able to grow without soil; instead, they are nurtured in other fertile sources.
This process allows great amounts of food to be produced in a near-zero impact environment, which is essential with North Korea’s already limited resources. Currently, they provide 200 lbs of fish, 1,000 lbs of produce, and 2,000 lbs of fertilizer each month in less than 5,000 sq ft., or roughly the size of a city lot. You don’t have to be a farmer to understand how amazing that is.
Last year, we donated an 8×40 container that they used for their hydroponic farms. With the hydroponic process, this can help produce vast amounts of much-needed food. We hope to continue supporting this venture more in the future.
AZ Hope and a Future
As a local non-profit to Get Simple Box Arizona, AZ Hope and a Future helps abused and neglected kids living in the foster care system find hope and a brighter future. We realize how important the work they do is because we understand that children are our future, and that children who’ve experienced abuse or neglect deserve help in overcoming the life-long impact those events left on them. They need the tools and support to understand and live by values like compassion, acceptance, reliability and service. AZ Hope and a Future gives them those and so much more.
The programs available to kids through AZ Hope and a Future are:
- Summer Camp
- Life Skills & Mentoring
- Scholarships
- Graduation Support
- Celebrations
You can donate to AZ Hope and a Future on their website by selecting either a general donation or donating to a specific program. Residents of Arizona who donate to Hope and a Future can receive a tax credit of up to $1,000 for married couples or $500 for single filers, which is an amazing incentive to support such an important cause!
New Generations Ministries Haiti
New Generations started as a place where orphaned children of Haiti could grow up in a healthy environment that offered education and nourishment. That place was called The Good Shepherd Children’s Village, which led to everything that New Generations is now. Their mission is to help the people of Haiti in a sustainable way, meaning they come alongside the people to offer support, education and necessities of life.
Local Haitians employed as doctors, nurses, teachers and caregivers have the opportunity to lead future generations while making a livable wage. New Generations has set a foundation for their communities and provides the ongoing support in health, education and childcare that the people need to build sustainable growth. Their programs include:
- The Good Shepherd Children’s Village
- Medical Clinic
- Well Drilling
- Life Giving Church
- Schools
- Transitional Ministry
We really love that New Generations has created and nurtured opportunities for villages in Haiti that will ultimately lead to more growth and opportunities. New Generations Ministries has an option to donate online for those who want to help them continue to give a helping hand up to the people of Haiti.
Mount of Olives Children’s Village
Missions Network International started with a team of individuals from Whatcom County, Washington, that wanted to help people in the Baja of Mexico. They did so with the Mount of Olives Children’s Village.
Mount of Olives takes in orphaned and abandoned children to give them a home for life in which they are provided for, cared for and given opportunities to grow and thrive. We love that Mount of Olives is a place that children of any age can call their home, and for life. The goal is to provide hope, education (through local community schools) and opportunities for each individual to successfully live on their own, when they are ready.
Not only do they provide a home for children, but they go beyond their doors to keep at-risk families from separating. Mount of Olives forms relationships with those families to share the gospel message of hope while also providing for their tangible needs.
Online forms allow anyone to sponsor a child through their website, or give in other ways like donation of equipment or materials and memorial donations.