Weather concerns force VYFS to cancel Raft Up, weekend fundraising event

Published 12:08 pm Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Sunday’s high winds and small-craft advisory left little choice for Vashon Youth & Family Services, (VYFS), but to call off its Raft Up event slated for that day.

The fundraisevent, which was to have featured human-powered craft joining together on the water, a bounce house and bands playing under a tent, would have been unsafe, said VYFS Executive Director Kathleen Johnson, and the agency will have to make do without the expected financial boost from the day.

“This is a hole we cannot go back and make up,” she said.

The lack of proceeds combined with the expenses the agency incurred has left it down about $13,000 to $15,000, she added.

In part, it will mean VYFS will have to wait to tend to delayed maintenance and physical improvements at its facilities, she said. Surroundings make a difference to people’s mental health, she added, and the agency would like to make improvements accordingly.

“We would like to do better, and we do not have the money to do so,” she said.

This latest turn of events is one of several financial challenges the agency has faced in recent years, some of them stemming from the  economic downturn. On the cusp of launching its fall fund drive, Johnson said the agency will continue to provide core services, but it needs community support.

“People need to understand we are stable and we are here for them, and I do not want people to hear that as we do not need help because we do,” she said.