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Photo Credit:  Nichole Connor

There is a popular adage, “It takes a village”, that reminds us that there are some goals that cannot be reached alone. This has always been the case for Fishline, whose mission would be impossible to realize were it not for the legions of helping hands and hearts that everyday come together to lift the burdens of their neighbors. 

But that cooperative effort has risen to a new level as we prepare our new facility on Viking Avenue. From the start, the best and brightest in our community have come forward to offer assistance, services, materials and sweat equity. Nearly every day, individuals and organizations join the ranks of this rehabilitation army and, before our very eyes, an abandoned building is transforming. School kids join with local military groups, working side-by-side with families and church groups with one thing in common – a love for their community and a belief in the good work that Fishline represents.

Miles Yanick and Associates, Architect, has helped us put our dream onto paper and has gone ahead to pave the way with permits, regulations and feasibility. Sandy Wenberg donated her color expertise to help us create a color palate that is soothing for our clients and volunteers. Peninsula Paints has donated all the paint, no small donation when considering the tall walls that surround our market, and Chad Lyons Painting has donated the labor. Swift Plumbing will put in all our fixtures for free, which came to us at no cost because Ferguson Plumbing donated them.

And, in a nearly perfect confluence of events, a total remodel of Town and Country on Bainbridge Island will mean that Fishline can receive repurposed refrigeration and shelving and even possibly checkout equipment, making our grocery store design complete.
 
When we asked that technology be upgraded so we could use a progressive digital signage system to keep our clients informed while shopping, David Graves, our long-time IT volunteer, joined forces with a local Rotarian to fund the system and get it installed. And, when in the midst of all this activity, our precious van needed extensive repairs, Ken’s Northwest Automotive did what they have done for years – they fixed it for free.

The Poulsbo Lions Club worked alongside Fishline volunteers to clear out years of scotch broom and other uninvited guests to renew the greenery. Hill Moving has donated pallet jacks and a forklift, standing ready to help us move when the time comes. And Tim Ryan Construction has overseen the project, donating materials and labor while working with our team to do the most work for the littlest cost. 

All of this coordination has been orchestrated by our MVP, Rick Lander (pictured above with a volunteer), who has masterfully and amiably mediated between Fishline and a sometimes baffling construction world to facilitate this huge project, keeping us on schedule and under budget.

In dozens of ways, our neighbors have come together to situate Fishline in a home that should meet its needs for decades to come. There is no way that we can adequately thank all those who have helped thus far and those who will help us in the months and years ahead. We just hope that, when we open Fishline on that happy day this Spring, our village can be proud that it made it possible.

Are you interested in being a part of this wonderful project? Click here to see project updates and how you can help!

how folks can get involved.)

Photo Credit:  Nichole Connor

While our focus at NK Fishline is to provide food and emergency services to the community, we have spent a little over a month now on a very important project: our new building remodel. The new-to-us space will help to provide a much needed expansion from our current location, and allow us to work more efficiently, serve the community better and give more to those in need. 

Photo Credit:  Nichole Connor

Our call to the community has been for services and materials. Donated or discounted time and supplies enable Fishline to stay within a budget, and more importantly: gives members of the community a sense of ownership in the ongoing and completed project.

 

Photo Credit:  Nichole Connor

 A project of this magnitude could not be completed without a committed group of individuals. Finding time in your already busy schedules to give to such a worthy project deserves praise beyond words. While contributions are ongoing, we would like to thank the following businesses and people for their efforts so far:

Tim Ryan Construction
Rick Lander, oversees volunteers and materials
Swift Plumbing
Chad Lyons, Lyons Painting
Miles Yanick & Company, Architect
Sandy Wenberg, Color Specialist
Peninsula Paint, donated all the paint
The Hansen family and Jan and Neal Henson, all the scotch broom extraction
Bainbridge Island Disposal, donated use of a dumpster
Central Market, provided pizzas for work parties
Anne Alexander, donated grab bars for the bathroom
David Graves, Information Technology Implementation
Town and Country Market for the walk-in coolers
Jack Archer
Mark Wright
Glen Hanson
Matthew Brooke
Mike Regis
Les Fritch
Joanne Reno

These are tearful times at Fishline. Not so much because we’re sad – no, these are a different type of tears. They are the kind that Edgar Allen Poe most certainly had been thinking about when he wrote, “Beauty of whatever kind, in its supreme development, invariably excites the sensitive soul to tears.”

These are tears of joy that come by being a part of beauty, of kindness, of compassion beyond words. What invokes this kind of response is often spontaneous, freeing and even surprising. But it is a reaction that can be uplifting. We seem hardwired to want to feel these feelings, to witness some sort of proof of goodness and generosity in a world so often filled with bad news and reasons to worry.

Watching the progress we are making on readying our new food bank, the efforts and contributions of volunteers and contractors coming together to turn an abandoned RV dealership into a warm, respectful promise of better times for struggling neighbors, has had an impact upon us all. Staff, volunteers and other community members are feeling renewed and inspired by the way it is all coming together.

During a recent open house, when we invited clients to see our new facility, many were obviously experiencing awe and relief. Knowing that we were willing to take on this project to make things easier and more dignified for them brought authentic tears of gladness and gratitude.

One senior said, through his tears, “I’ve lived all my life taking care of myself and my family. There was a time when we were well off. But now, I’m 86 years old, my income is barely enough, and I couldn’t afford food without Fishline. I am so thankful.” Another woman, who is a home health care aid and shops for herself and her patient, said “I have always known that Fishline cares about me, about all of us. But this is such a better situation for us, we can park and shop whenever we need to, it is just beautiful.”

When almost overwhelmed with generosity, the human instinct is to want to do something, find some way, to return the favor. One of the clients viewing our new space during the open house looked around and said, almost as a whisper to be overheard, “You’re going to need painters. I’m a painter. Let me help.” This client will join other members of our community offering their support, working side-by-side to help write the next chapter in Fishline’s history.

We are humbled by the way so many have come forward to offer their labor, their donations and their support. But we are reminded by these donors that they receive a great gift by helping, a feeling of satisfaction like no other. When a donor recently came in with a year-end check, she toured the food bank and, by the end of the tour, her face was streaming with tears. To know that Fishline’s services are offered with such respect for our client experience deeply affected her. It made her feel proud to have contributed to it – rightly so, because Fishline only offers what donors and supporters make possible.

We live in a world that can be confusing. In our hearts, we know there must be a way to assure a safe community where everyone has enough. We are frustrated when we hear that this is not always the case. But moments come in the darkest times, almost as if to remind us that along with that darkness is great potential for love, for hope and for the kind of tears that wash away fear. These are the pillars that hold up the house of Fishline, helping make our community a beauty of supreme development.