Spokane-based nonprofit Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington is striking a balance between professional business networking and meaningful community impact with monthly membership meetings and annual activities that directly support Spokane’s senior demographic.

Founded in 2011, Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington is comprised of a group of business owners and individuals dedicated to enhancing the lives of seniors through business development, often driven by referrals, and services. 

“It really goes seniors (first), and what we are doing for them, and then networking,” says board member Leslie Luedtke, who works at Spokane-based Love in Home Senior Care. “Our priority is the seniors.”

The organization, Luedtke says, was inspired by a member's visit with a similar organization in Olympia, Washington, also called Senior Action Network.

The nonprofit has over 100 members operating in a variety of industries. Its core membership includes skilled nursing centers, home health companies, and senior retirement communities, she says.

“When you work in this industry, the first thing someone will tell you is, 'You need to join (Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington),' because that’s where you’re going to get to know the people in your neighborhood, and these people who provide every service you can imagine," says board member Tracy Helling, who works full-time for Mercer Island, Washington-based CarePartners Senior Living, which has a network of senior care communities, including in Spokane. "And when you’re a senior in need, any kind of need, you have this wealth of experience and knowledge about what systems interact.”

Referrals are important, adds Helling, “But part of that is relationships... It’s really helpful that we develop relationships. You serve alongside each other so that we know who to turn to for whatever services a senior might need.”

The organization's members include Realtors, funeral directors, and senior handyman services, says Luedtke. “There’s cemeteries, there’s lawyers, and anybody who has a connection with seniors in this community,” she say.

The organization meets on the third Tuesday of each month at the Riverview Retirement Community campus, at 2117 E. North Crescent. Annual membership dues are $70.

What unites the diverse group at Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington is the shared commitment to Spokane’s senior population, Luedtke explains.

“It only takes really one experience of rolling up your sleeves and digging in the dirt, or doing one of our activities, that you get to know people on a different level,” she says. “The face of a senior, when they go out to their new courtyard, or they open a present, or they have something that’s given to them by (Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington), that’s why you do it.”

Annual events, projects

Aside from facilitating business connections, the organization hosts several annual community service events that directly benefit seniors throughout the year, especially those who are low-income, isolated, or without family support, says Luedtke.

Every spring, members come together for a beautification project at a senior community in need, where teams work to revitalize outdoor or indoor spaces. Many beautification projects include painting, planting, and laying down pavers.

“We’ve done indoor projects where we’ve painted and added games and things for an activity space. And we’ve done that yearly for the last decade or more,” Luedtke says.

Additionally, for years, the organization has hosted Cooking for a Cause, a culinary competition and gala, where participating chefs — often from local senior living communities — competed for various awards.

“It started off very small, like a little lasagna dinner delivery,” Luedtke says. “And it’s just grown and grown and grown.” 

The group’s leadership raised over $40,000 for Meals on Wheels in its final year hosting the event — it was turned over to Meals on Wheels Greater Spokane County this year. 

Though the gala is no longer under Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington's umbrella, the organization is exploring new fall fundraising projects.  

“We recently turned that over to Meals on Wheels because it just got so big that we couldn’t do it,” Helling says. “We’re all volunteer based. And we did Meals on Wheels so often as our beneficiary because dollar for dollar, you cannot provide that large of a reach with one dollar than you can with Meals on Wheels.”

In the fall, the network's members also organize Rake N’ Run, a day dedicated to raking leaves for seniors across the region. Meals on Wheels often suggests the names of seniors who could benefit from the event, and the effort includes seniors in homes, apartments, and assisted living communities.

Each December, Senior Action Network of Eastern Washington coordinates a gifting initiative for seniors. Members collect and distribute gifts, now often in the form of $10 gift cards, to seniors in low-income communities. Members dress up as Santa and elves to deliver the packages, which have reached more than 800 recipients.

“We had one senior who wouldn’t open her gift,” Helling recalls. “When I asked her why, she said, 'I want to wait until Christmas morning, so I have something to open.'”

Luedtke says the group places importance on the "Action" part of its name.

"We want to be not only a networking community for our fellow colleagues to be able to safely refer folks, but we want to make sure that we are always committed and engaged with the seniors of our community and helping to give back and provide little pockets of need where we really see the resources need to go," Luedtke says.

According to Helling and Luedtke, the best part of participating in the organization is the way it merges business with compassion. Everyone in the organization shares a united compassion for seniors, Luedtke adds.

"It's a matter of the heart," she says. "We're a special little bubble, the senior health care industry in Spokane. Everybody has a heart for people. And if you don't, you won't last long."