SMOKEY POINT The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians handed a check for $10,000 to the Arlington Boys and Girls Club Feb. 13, for the Boys and Girls Clubs May 5 auction.
Stillaguamish Tribal Chair Shawn Yanity and Terry Freeman, associate director of development for the Snohomish County Boys and Girls Clubs, fondly recalled the time theyve spent working together, while praising each others organization for their positive contributions to the community.
Yanity described the Boys and Girls Club as a safe haven from discrimination during his own childhood, acknowledging that Native Americans share the benefits of the Boys and Girls Clubs as much as the fellow members of their surrounding communities.
While Yanity plans to restore the community center for the Stillaguamish Tribe that was lost when the Angel of the Winds Casino was built, he cited the Tribes increased use of the Arlington Boys and Girls Clubs resources since then as one reason why its important to him that the Tribe give back.
As the population and economy of the area grows, were sharing in the success of this community, said Yanity, whose cited the Tribes contributions to groups such as Cocoon House as other examples of its investment in children, regardless of ethnic heritage.
Freeman said he was proud of his years of working with the Stillaguamish and Tulalip Tribes, as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D.C., to make Boys and Girls Clubs available to Native Americans in Snohomish County and across the country.
The Boys and Girls Clubs can make a difference for all our kids, said Freeman, who credited the contributions of Yanity, Arlington Boys and Girls Club Director Bill Kinney and Don Hatch Jr. of the Tulalip Tribes.
We can each bring different partnerships to the table, he added. I know we can make it work.
Snohomish County Boys and Girls Clubs Director of Development Linda Spain pointed to the socioeconomic spectrum of the Arlington area, as well as Yanitys positive experiences with the Boys and Girls Clubs, as evidence of how the Boys and Girls Clubs expose its members to a diversity of backgrounds.
Yanity cited local events within the past few years, including the cross-burning on a black ministers lawn and vandalism of Tribal casino signs, as reasons why such multicultural awareness needs to be heightened.
The Arlington Boys and Girls Clubs 13th annual Fiesta for Kids on Cinco de Mayo, May 5, starts at 5:30 p.m.