Peggy LaPorte and her Federal Way-based FUSION will receive one of Traditional Home magazine’s 2009 Classic Woman Awards. LaPorte will also be featured in the upcoming November 2009 issue.
LaPorte will be honored at the magazine’s premier Classic Woman Awards luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel ballroom in New York City on Nov. 24. The event will honor recipients of the magazine’s fifth-annual Classic Woman Awards, a signature program that celebrates the spirit of volunteerism by recognizing standout charitable women from across the country.
LaPorte founded FUSION (Friends United to Shelter the Indigent, Oppressed and Needy) after she toured a homeless shelter that was about to close in 1993. “It became evident to me that something had to be done,” LaPorte said in a news release. She started FUSION to provide transitional housing to women and children until they could acquire the skills and income to move into their own permanent homes.
FUSION now owns 10 condos, four houses, and an apartment that provide beautifully furnished and well-equipped housing. It also raises funds so that children can participate in camps, athletics, and the arts. So far, 85 percent of the 157 women and 225 children it has helped have moved into their own permanent housing. One reason for its success is that FUSION contracts to provide case management for each woman, including weekly meetings to assist with job training,
child and medical care, financial planning, counseling, and anything else needed for self-sufficiency.
In previous issues and on its Web site, Traditional Home invited its 4.7 million readers to nominate a woman who is making a positive difference in her community. The magazine’s editorial staff and the judges pored over the nominations to choose six women who truly are changing the world one day, one person at a time.
In addition, each honoree’s chosen cause will receive a contribution from Traditional Home. The women and their causes are also featured in the magazine’s upcoming November 2009 issue, which will hit newsstands Oct. 20.
