Somali Youth & Family Club gets van

January 14, 2010 1:37 pm
County council member Julia Patterson meets with clients of the Somalit Youth and Family Club Jan. 11 after delivering a retired Metro Vanpool Van to the Human Services program.
County council member Julia Patterson meets with clients of the Somalit Youth and Family Club Jan. 11 after delivering a retired Metro Vanpool Van to the Human Services program.

Metropolitan King County Council member Julia Patterson’s delivery of a retired Metro eight-passenger van to the Somali Youth & Family Club was also a delivery of hope for a program that provides vital services to clients.

Patterson was greeted Monday by a crowd of youth, volunteers and club members who were there to take a look inside the shiny, blue, van and welcome her into their community.

“This was one of the greatest van donation experiences I have ever had in my eight years on the Council,” said Patterson. “It was incredibly heartwarming to be welcomed with such enthusiasm and graciousness by the Somali Youth & Family Club, and it is a wonderful feeling to be able to provide their community with this unprecedented opportunity for mobility.”

Somali Youth & Family Club is non-profit organization founded in 2005. Located at the Creston Point Apartments in the West Hill unincorporated community outside of Renton, the organization was created to meet the growing needs of Somali immigrant populations living in South King County. The club’s main focus is to strengthen academic achievement among Somali children and to connect families to various community resources, such as on-site ESL instruction and employment services. The club serves roughly 600 refugee families a year, the majority of which live in the Creston Point Apartment complex.

“With this van donation we will work toward teaching our children to care and enjoy the beautiful nature of our state,” said Aden Hussien, president of the Somali Youth & Family Club. “This kind of support is invaluable to our organization, especially since we do not have a direct source of revenue, but rely solely on volunteer and community assistance.”

Since 1995, the King County Council has donated vans to nonprofit groups to help meet the transportation needs of low-income, elderly, youth, or people with disabilities in King County. The vans are part of a fleet of county vehicles that have been “retired” after accruing a certain number of miles. This is the eighth year that each member of the council has been able to donate vans.

The vans were donated through an annual application process. For more information about applying for a van, contact Patterson’s Office at 206-296-1005.