By Shelby Mang
UW News Lab
Wendy McIntosh provided nearly 300 Federal Way families and their 1,000 kids holiday gifts last year.
And this year she wants to provide even more.
McIntosh co-founded Federal Way Cares for Kids, which puts on the organization’s annual Holiday Support event every December.
“I’ve always had a heart to serve people (and) families and help them get to a place where they’re succeeding and feeling confident in who they are,” McIntosh said.
Cares for Kids works with community partners to organize Holiday Support for low-income families. Parents get to choose and wrap two donated gifts for each of their children, while kids enjoy arts and crafts. Families also leave the event with a family photo with Santa Claus and a ham to cook for holiday dinner.
McIntosh has been a part of the Federal Way community for just more than 35 years.
McIntosh moved to Federal Way at age 5, and later graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in psychology. McIntosh said she has always loved being out with people in the community, learning how she can best support and care for them.
In 2015 McIntosh and her husband, Jon McIntosh, started Cares for Kids in hopes of unifying resources around Federal Way to give back to the community on the biggest scale possible.
The organization currently partners with the Federal Way Police Department, Federal Way Public Schools, Communities in Schools, Heritage Bank, and South King Fire and Rescue.
“We had a dream for a long time to actually pull groups together to actually have the city caring for the city,” McIntosh said.
For the last 11 years, McIntosh and her husband have also been pastors at Grace Church.
“The church has always had a heart for the community,” she said. “Part of who we are is being out in the community, serving the community and loving those that are in it.”
Seeing the community come together to help those in need has been rewarding, McIntosh said.
“It’s just a really beautiful picture of the city of Federal Way looking to meet the needs of those in the city of Federal Way,” McIntosh said. “So we want to continue to see that happen, and grow that and nurture that, because that’s a good thing.”
And the reach of Cares for Kids has been growing. Since the first Holiday Support event, McIntosh has worked to increase the number of families invited from 35 to 275, and has doubled the amount of local gift donation collection sites for the event.
McIntosh is looking to officially transition Cares for Kids from a community coalition to a nonprofit in the near future, she said.
In addition to Holiday Support, the organization works with South King Fire and Rescue and Communities in Schools to collect school supplies each summer to donate to families in need.
McIntosh works with local school counselors to find families in need to invite to Holiday Support.
“They make the decisions on who it is they know in their schools that need the care,” said McIntosh. “The counselors know these families really well because they’re at the schools with them.”
Heather Washington, who is a counselor at Lake Grove Elementary School, works with McIntosh to connect families in need with Holiday Support.
“Wendy is so awesome, and giving, and caring, and has been nothing but wonderful to work with,” said Washington.
Holiday Support has been a relief to many of the families of the children she works with, Washington said.
“So many families feel appreciated, and feel like otherwise, it would be very hard to make ends meet,” said Washington.
“Families are barely getting by, and so the holidays can be so overwhelming, trying to provide for your kids and give them a nice holiday season,” Washington said. “Holiday Support has been a huge blessing.”
Donations of gifts for kids up to age 18 for Holiday Support can be made at all Federal Way fire stations, at City Hall and at some business in Federal Way.
This year’s Holiday Support event will take place Dec. 17 at Lakota Middle School.
Shelby Mang is a student at the University of Washington in the News Lab program.
