Wally Webster is this year’s Janet G. Newell Award winner for community service. He is a strong advocate for Companis and exemplifies the humble “championing” that the Newell Award seeks to honor.
Wally is a resident of Lynnwood and active in a number of civic and cultural roles in both Snohomish and King counties. He’s currently leading the ACCESS Project (Association of Collective Community Engagement for Safety and Security) in Lynnwood. The project aims to address some of the root causes of youth violence. One of the project’s main goals is to increase communication among existing resources for youth in Snohomish County.
“I see many organizations working in silos. They’re good at what they do but they seldom work with other organizations. What I’ve tried to do is identify organizations in various sectors and ask how we can come together to solve problems in our community.”
Wally says when Companis Outreach Specialist, Cynthia Hunter, told him about Companis and how we connect people who want to volunteer with nonprofits that need them, he saw a natural fit for the Community Foundation of Snohomish County. That led Companis to submit a grant request to the Foundation in late 2020 which ultimately resulted in Companis receiving $100-thousand dollars to support nonprofit work in Snohomish County, as well as racial equity work. In 2023, 31 Companis placements are serving 20 nonprofits in the county.
Wally Webster and Companis Outreach Specialist, Cynthia Hunter
Thank you,Wally, for all that you do and for advocating for Companis.
The Janet G. Newell Award for Community Service was established in 2006, with the first annual award presented on October 22, 2006 to Janet G. Newell, the founder and director of the Companis Neighborhood Center housed in the Seattle First Baptist Church building in the 1980s and early ‘90s. Each year, the Companis Board of Directors selects an individual to receive the award. The annual recipient will have performed outstanding personal acts requiring exceptional commitment, talent and time that have positively impacted the lives of our neighbors and/or nonprofit agencies.