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Volunteers of America presents Lake Stevens Community Resource Center data to council; asks for continued support
Summary
Volunteers of America operations director Tina Mandela told the Lake Stevens City Council the Lake Stevens Community Resource Center served 4,543 people (1,612 households) in 2025 and detailed services including food, case management and housing navigation while asking the city to maintain support.
Tina Mandela, operations director for the Lake Stevens Community Resource Center at Volunteers of America, told the City Council on May 19 that the center’s reach has grown sharply and that continuing support from the city helps sustain emergency services for residents.
Mandela said the center served 4,543 individuals in 2025 — the equivalent of 1,612 households — and that staff disbursed $77,044 in direct aid last year. “The need is there and it’s growing,” Mandela said, citing rising costs for food, utilities and transportation. She added that the center provides emergency food, hygiene items, clothing, diapers and formula; on-site case management; employment referrals; and assistance completing benefit applications.
Mandela identified the site director as Elizabeth Miller and the organization’s executive director as Amanda Etchie and said the Lake Stevens CRC is appointment‑based Monday through Thursday with limited walk‑in emergency service. She described annual community programs supported by volunteers and partners — including a back‑to‑school event that served 416 students in 2025 and a holiday toy drive that provided five gifts per child for about 260 children — and emphasized that about 224 families served in 2025 reported they had never used social services before.
Mandela framed the center’s work as both humanitarian and economically effective, citing a national figure she attributed to the National Family Support Network: “For every dollar spent on CRCs, there’s an average savings of $4.93.” She asked the council to continue the city’s partnership, noting that local funding supports critical staffing and emergency assistance.
Council members thanked Mandela for the presentation and the city moved on to other agenda items. Mandela left the council an annual impact report and encouraged councilors to visit the site and refer residents in need.
The council did not take a funding action during the May 19 meeting; Mandela said donors, volunteers and partner agencies — including the Lake Stevens Food Bank and local service groups — remain central to the center’s operations.
