Letters to the Editor: May 2-8

The Editor:

The annual Letter Carrier Food Drive will take place on Saturday, May 11, 2019. Letter carriers across Whatcom County and the nation, will participate in the largest one-day food drive of the year. Letter carriers hope to collect at least 6,000 pounds from Blaine, Custer and Birch Bay area residents that day during the ‘Stamp Out Hunger Drive.’

“This food drive is critical to our food bank and the families we serve,” says Jerry Bladies, Blaine Food Bank executive director. Bladies says that one in six Blaine households visit the food bank regularly, and that visits have gone up by almost 30 percent since 2016.

This time of year is challenging for us as it is in between the holiday giving season and the summer growing season. We must rely on canned fruits, vegetables and shelf stable boxed meals to provide for our clients. The Stamp Out Hunger drive is a lifeline for us and the families we serve as your generous donations refill our empty shelves and allow us to continue to provide for our friends and neighbors in need until we receive the wonderful bounty of our local gardeners.

It’s an easy food drive for anyone to join. Letter carriers will pick up donations as they deliver the mail on Saturday, May 11. They will be joined by many volunteers to help carry all of the donations back to the food bank.

We thank everyone for their continued support in this very worthy cause.

Jerry Bladies and volunteers

Blaine Food Bank

The Editor:

Annie Wright is a senior at Blaine High School. She’s currently taking classes at Whatcom Community College through the Running Start Program and has been accepted at Western Washington University with Distinction where she plans to pursue a double major in film studies and creative writing.

Annie first started learning Kungfu Fan in the fall of 2013. She was an attentive student, and it was clear from the start that she was a leader. Attached is a picture of Annie leading Kungfu Fan at the Bellis Fair Mall for Chinese New Year 2014. Behind her, is her sister MaKenna who has supported her throughout her journey.

Annie’s senior project was to co-organize World Tai Chi Day 2019. When Annie first approached me about being her mentor, I immediately said yes. I knew that she would accomplish whatever she set her mind to, and her strong work ethic and positive outlook would carry her through any challenges she would come up against. One of the challenges she faced was that her mentor up and moved across the border, but that didn’t deter Annie. She came across the border almost every week to continue working on her project. What Annie and I didn’t realize last year was that our roles as mentor and mentee would flip back and forth. I don’t know who learned more from whom. Some pictures of the event include practices in the Peace Arch Park, volunteers she coordinated, and people who attended the event. They came from as far as Mount Lake, Terrace and Vancouver.

I’m thrilled that Annie is going to continue her journey with Tai Chi and is planning to teach Kungfu Fan in the near future.

I wish Annie great success with all of her endeavors, and I’m sure she’ll move through life as with everything else she’s done so far, with distinction.

Kelly Hong-Williams

Surrey, B.C.