The Olympic Peninsula Bluebills don’t wait until the holidays to distribute gifts.
Today, on an August morning, about a dozen of the volunteers, most of whom live in Port Ludlow, will bring six to eight pickup loads of supplies to some 20 nonprofits and schools in Clallam County.
“It’s enough to fill a storage unit that would hold a large RV,” said Larry Lang, a Port Angeles resident who is the Clallam County coordinator for the Bluebills’ Gifts-in-Kind program.
More than 200 types of items ranging from school and office supplies to clothing will be delivered to nonprofits in Port Angeles and Sequim, as well as to Neah Bay and Clallam Bay schools, Lang said.
Monthly thing
It’s something the group — better known for its volunteer builds of wheelchair ramps and grab bars across the North Olympic Peninsula — does every month.
They deliver World Vision donations through the Bluebills’ Gifts-in Kind program not only to Clallam and Jefferson counties but also to agencies in Kitsap and Mason counties.
Clallam County deliveries are made about every three months, Lang said.
Today, volunteers will meet at the Bluebills’ warehouse in Chimacum to pick up the goods brought from the World Vision warehouse in Fife.
They will deliver to a variety of nonprofits in Port Angeles and Sequim before taking supplies to the West End, ending their day at about 1 p.m., Lang said.
Among the agencies receiving the donations will be Peninsula Community Mental Health, Parenting Matters, the Clallam County 4-H, the Sequim Adventist Community Services, Voices for Veterans, Family Planning, Sew Much Comfort, Salvation Army, First Step Family Support Center, Sequim Senior Activities Center, Serenity House, Olympic Community Action Programs, Catholic Community Services Volunteer Chore Services, Healthy Families of Clallam County, the Disabled American Veterans — even the Clallam County Genealogical Society.
Retirees
The Bluebills started out as a group of Boeing retirees, their spouses and friends who do volunteer work with local agencies and schools, with a primary goal of making it possible for senior citizens to stay in their homes for as long as possible.
Myron Vogt of Port Ludlow, a 2011 Heart of Service Award recipient, helped found the Olympic Peninsula chapter of the Boeing Bluebills in 1997.
He is the program director for the gifts program, begun several years ago with World Vision, said Barbara Berthiaume of Port Ludlow, a volunteer for the Bluebills whose husband, Ed Berthiaume, is the Bluebills coordinator for Kitsap County.
She said that Vogt estimates that about 65 volunteers will put in some 1,700 hours this year, and drive nearly 20,000 miles distributing goods with a value of more than $100,000.
Others now volunteer
Not all volunteers have connections with Boeing, said Lang, a National Park Service retiree who volunteered for the Bluebills after reading about their work.
He is one of only two Clallam County Bluebills volunteers.
And he would like to see more volunteers from the county.
“We have more agencies in Clallam County than in Jefferson and Mason combined,” he said.
“We here in Clallam County benefit tremendously by the Bluebills organization and the donations from World Vision, but most of the people working in this organization are not from Clallam County,” he added.
“I’m trying to stimulate interest in people living in Clallam County to help support the agencies,” Lang said.
He said skills ranging from driving to carpentry work to administrative organization are welcomed.
World Vision is a global organization that serves more 100 countries. Its mission is to help children, families and communities overcome poverty and injustice, its says on its website at www2.worldvision.org.
To volunteer for the Bluebills, phone Lang at 360-452-4348 or Vogt at 360-437-4055.
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Managing Editor/News Leah Leach can be reached at 360-417-3531 or leah.leach@peninsuladailynews.com.
