Inviting readers to come to the aid of community

Hope and a helping hand. Second chances. Dignity.

These are the themes guiding The Seattle Times Fund For The Needy, an endeavor that has shown for the past 28 years how much readers care about their community.

Last year, readers contributed more than $634,000, the second-largest amount in the fund's history. Local social-service agencies get 100 percent of it. All told, the fund has raised more than $11.3 million.

Longtime recipient The Salvation Army said it builds the expected donations into its annual budget; experience has taught the agency it can count on Fund For The Needy donors to come through year after year with nearly $200,000 for the agency's services.

"It really does more than any other $200,000 that we get," Lee Stiles, the agency's director of development, said of the fund.

This year, the fund will add a 13th agency to its list of recipients: Kent Family Services.

Also this year, Alan Fisco, Times vice president for circulation and marketing, will make his debut as the fund's president. That job was held for years by William Blethen, former Times treasurer, who "poured his heart and soul" into running the fund until retiring earlier this year, Fisco said.

"It's a bit overwhelming to see the scope of the needs within the community," Fisco said. "And it's also rewarding to see the amount of support the community gives."

Last year, the fund helped support the following services:

The Salvation Army: 64,000 nights of lodging to homeless men, women and children; 80,000 bags of groceries for the hungry; holiday gifts and food for 22,000 low-income children, families and seniors; and rent assistance to 1,100 households facing eviction.

Senior Services: 438,747 meals delivered to homebound seniors through its Meals on Wheels program; assistance in finding housing and applying for health benefits and financial aid for 1,800 caregivers raising their relatives' children.

Childhaven: 23,000 hours of service to children enrolled in the Drug-Affected Infant Program; 2,977 placement hours through the Crisis Nursery Program; and phone support for the more than 1,100 calls received through the Crisis Line.

Hopelink: Emergency services for more than 12,000 people in need of food, shelter, financial assistance, job-readiness training, parent education and support groups.

Family Services: 21,128 nights of emergency shelter for homeless men, women and children; diapers, clothing and equipment for 900 homeless families; mental-health counseling for 7,500 individuals and 1,200 families.

Atlantic Street Center: Tutoring, summer school, vocational exploration, recreational outings and more for 600 children in its Youth Development Program.

Youth Eastside Services: Help for more than 36,000 children and families coping with substance abuse, emotional distress and violence.

Treehouse: Tutoring, recreational camps, clothing, toys and computers for more than 3,000 foster youth, many of whom are victims of abuse and neglect.

Asian Counseling and Referral Services: 45,000 hot, nutritious meals to Asian Pacific Islander elders, and guidance to 15,000 youths and families in domestic-violence prevention, dating and healthy relationships, cultural-identity development and more.

Kindering Center: Comprehensive assessments for more than 2,600 special-needs infants and children, plus special-education, mental-health, physical and speech therapies, nutrition intervention and specialized foster care.

Big Brothers Big Sisters: Mentors for 1,935 at-risk youth.

ASTAR: Resources for families seeking help for autism spectrum disorders.