Treehouse Luncheon with Michael Oher

Yesterday, as a member of the “Advisors to the Treehouse Board,” I had the pleasure of attending the annual Treehouse Champions for Foster Kids luncheon at the Sheraton Seattle. It was a huge success and here are the results in the words of Dawn Rains, the Treehouse Director of Development and Marketing, “With about 1,200 people in attendance, we raised $707,326 – a 47% increase over last year! This will go a long way in helping foster kids like Naomi, Tyler and Michael heal from abuse and neglect and follow their dreams.”

Michael Oher, (top photo above) the pro football player featured in the book and movie, The Blindside, was the guest speaker and in his humble and humorous way, shared a bit about his journey and how he wants to help other foster children succeed in life. Other speakers included Janis Avery, Treehouse Executive Director, who has personally raised two children that she and her partner adopted from foster care, and has dedicated the last 15 years of her life to Treehouse and the children they serve. Also sharing stories of their positive association with Treehouse and the difference it made in their lives were foster children, Naomi Nelson, a Treehouse alumni who is currently attending Western Washington University and Tyler Cormier, a 15 year old Treehouse youth who is a high school honor student and tae kwon do black belt. See photo of Tyler (3^rd from left in back row of bottom photo) along with his siblings in the Cormier Family that performed two inspirational songs for the audience.

Friends Carmen Gayton and Alexandra Brookshire co-chaired the luncheon and were lauded for their vision and leadership, tireless commitment and countless hours of service. I especially appreciated that the luncheon was held in a downtown hotel which made it much easier to access than some of the previous years’ luncheons held at the sports stadiums. Also attending the luncheon were fellow Junior League of Seattle sustaining members pictured from left to right in center photo, Toni Hoffman, Mary Herche, Janet True and me.