Wow! During our October Chili Drive, residents and staff generously donated a total of 986 cans of chili, making a meaningful contribution to All Kids Win.

All Kids Win, formerly Homeless Backpacks, is a non-profit organization that provides food for the weekend to homeless teens in Thurston County. Some teens are in government-supported meal programs during the school day but lack access to food on the weekend. Each week, volunteers deliver food bags to local middle and high schools in Lacey, Tumwater and Olympia, as well as K-12 in Yelm, Rainier, Tenino and Rochester. Chili is an excellent, shelf-stable, source of protein, and the most expensive item included in the backpacks.

As always, this year’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s was both impactful and moving, bringing together countless individuals united in a common cause. Team Panorama truly shone, and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and contributed to the day’s success. It was heartwarming to see such strong support from the community, with friends, families and pets coming together to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s.

We were proud to serve as the Purplest Pooch sponsor once again! Many dogs joined in the fun, sporting their finest purple attire, which added a joyful touch to the event. It was wonderful to see so many furry friends strutting their stuff and posing for photos for a chance to win a $100 gift card to MudBay.

Thank you to everyone who took part in this meaningful event! Watch the video below for some highlights!

Each year, we look forward to our Back to School Supply Drive with great enthusiasm. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to come together as a community and support students in their educational journey.

Our 2024 Drive recently wrapped up! We’re thrilled that students at North Thurston Public Schools will be more prepared to return to school with the supplies they need to succeed, thanks to the generous donations from our residents and staff! All contributions were delivered to the North Thurston Public School’s Family and Youth Resource Center.

Our annual Giving Tree event was a great success! We adopted local families through the North Thurston Public Schools Family and Youth Resource Center and Family Education Support Services. Overall, Panorama residents, staff and vendors donated 235 presents to 11 families with 35 children. We are so grateful to everyone who joined us in spreading holiday joy!

In 2017, the Green Team informally adopted the Stormwater Ponds and began removing Scotch Broom. After being successful with that, the Broom Busters morphed into being the Berry Blasters.  A much less satisfactory endeavor but a necessary one.  The goal went from eradication to control.  Gary Proctor and Cleve organized the latest work party.

Photo: Staunch group not afraid of getting bloodied.  Left to right:  Roy Treadway, Kit Harma , Steve Lundin, Dick Van Wagenen, Dave Milne, Gary Proctor,  Dave Morris, Cleve Pinnix, Wayne Olsen and John Erickson.

Photos: Cleve Pinnix is not all wet despite claims!  The water was only knee deep when Cleve waded across the narrow channel between the mainland and the island, in what he has dubbed “Lake Vogel”, to attack the last bastion of Scotch Broom.  Wayne, John and Dave helped ferry the plants across.

Panorama Green Team honored Earth Day last month by removing litter from the Chehalis Western Trail. Many volunteers participated in the clean-up. Thank you, Green Team!

On April 11 at 7:00 am, five Panorama folks attended the annual breakfast for the South Sound Reading Foundation. The early risers were Sue Ballard, Kathy and David Forsythe, Matt Murry and Meghan Vu. The goal is to bridge the gap between schools and libraries. The majority of the funds raised by the foundation go to buy books for kids – starting at birth. Also in attendance were political, civic and school leaders. The motto for the Foundation is a good reminder for everyone to “Read 20 minutes a day.”

The keynote speaker was Claudia Castro Luna, who is the current Washington State Poet Laureate. She was born in El Salvador and came to the United States in 1981. She read to us from her memoir, The Heart Knows When, which is about her experiences escaping the civil war. She told about leaving for the airport to come to the United States and they all prayed they would make it to the airport without being killed by rebels on their trip. Her story made everyone appreciate how safe we feel in our life in Lacey.

As a former teacher and the daughter of a librarian, I believe reading is such an important skill for everyone. I love this breakfast because it reinforces my basic beliefs about the magic of reading. I learned studies have shown people have a better memory of the content of a book if they read it in hard copy, as opposed to an electronic version. I also love going to this event because it gives me an opportunity to connect with people I know from the community. All in all, I enjoy this program and going to a 7:00 am breakfast is well worth the challenge of getting up early.

Sue Ballard, Panorama resident