Cinco de Mayo Fundraiser

“It’s a win, right?”

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Michele Chapman made the introduction, with a twist. SPiN Cafe’s Executive Director, full of gratitude and admiration, presented David Thorson, saying: “You can’t be The Morning Person without being a morning person.”

It sounds obvious, but it’s still impressive. Not everyone can pull off what David Thorson does, with the enthusiasm David brings with him every morning. And he’s so matter of fact when he describes arriving at SPiN daily at 6AM. Listen close, and you’ll hear the smile in his voice.

No doubt, there’s a smile behind that mask.

“I unlock, prepare SPiN for guests to arrive, get the coffee going, breakfast and snacks ready.” And most important, David says, “I’m there to make SPiN Cafe comfortable and safe for our guests. Especially safe. That means sometimes I have to go over our code of conduct with them, and when I do, it’s all about safety.”

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Compassion is Good Business

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The opening question comes in pretty soft.

Bryan and Carrie Stucky glance at each other in response, like they know their answers will be different. 

The question, for the record, was, “How did you get involved supporting SPiN Cafe?”

As a business owner considering a run for City Council last year, Bryan needed to learn more about the people of our town and the issues they face. He’s a board member at North Whidbey Help House, where he sees the business side but is a bit removed from the services they provide. So he started asking questions, and he connected with SPiN Executive Director Michele Chapman, who was happy to help him expand his knowledge.

“It was mostly from a practical perspective,” Bryan says. “It was about business. My wife Carrie looks at it with, I’d say, more compassion.”

Across the table, Carrie smiles and shakes her head. She’s not so sure she has more compassion than Bryan. “But it makes me so sad to see the lack of kindness and understanding in our community about homelessness and poverty.” 

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Harry keeps it rockin’

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We knew something good was coming.

We knew it when Harry Anderson smiled and took the mic at a recent SPiN event. His powerful words from that night are copied below. But first, a little context.

Harry writes the “Rockin’ a Hard Place” column for our local Whidbey News Times, a regular gift to readers that lifts up our unique island community with gentle humor and plain spoken truth.

But Harry got a little spicy that night.

Harry has volunteered for SPiN since the early years of the original location on Bayshore. Serving meals to SPiN guests got him hooked. He’s been a supporter with his time and dollars ever since.

The original SPiN location, where Harry first volunteered.
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Facing a cold-weather crisis, together

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It took a team to make it happen.

With local resources stretched thin for people living outside in freezing temperatures, SPiN Café stepped up along with Island County Human Services, The Haven, supportive churches, and individual community members to keep guests safe and warm. A Whidbey News Times article featured words from our own Michele Chapman, SPiN Executive Director. Take a look right here:

Agencies work together to provide shelter from the cold
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