Sage Fruit. sage-fruit-giving-back-to-the-community

Giving Back

Sage Fruit Company and its owner warehouses, Valley Fruit, Larson Fruit and Olympic Fruit, give back to the local community in many ways. This past year, we have supported various schools and school programs through apple donations and we have also been active in supporting local organizations that assist in the betterment of the Yakima Valley.

ACT! Get Up, Get Moving!
Sage Fruit is excited to announce that we have partnered with Memorial Hospital, the Yakima Valley YMCA and Pacific NW University to bring ACT! Get Up, Get Moving, to the local community. ACT! (Actively Changing Together) is a 12-week program for overweight children 8-14 years of age, as well as their parent or guardian. Children must be referred to the ACT! program by a local physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, and will have a BMI in the 85+ percentile for their age. Classes will take place in both English and Spanish, and they will aim to make permanent lifestyle changes within the entire family. As part of the program, Memorial Hospital has engaged a research team to study how effective the program is at truly helping people form new habits.

During the program:

Participants will attend weekly 90-minute classes
They will learn about healthy eating, and proper physical activity
Each family will receive a 6-month free membership to the YMCA
The families will discuss eating and activity habits, quality of life, self-confidence, and depression with the nutritionist and physical activity coach leading the program

Each holiday season, Sage Fruit chooses local families to help in their time of need. This year, through the YMCA’s ASPIRE program, Sage was able to provide food, clothing and toys for two families that were enrolled in the ASPIRE Christmas Assistance program.
The ASPIRE (Adult-Student Program to Inspire, Relate and Enrich) program itself is an opportunity for adults 21+ to make a difference in the lives of students 8-14 years of age. The goal is to bring adults and youth together in a lasting mentoring relationship. During the holidays, they seek out more community assistance in order to enrich the lives of the entire family.
http://www.yakimaymca.org/aspire/

United Way has been a long time recipient of the generosity of the entire Sage Fruit family employees and will continue to be so through the coming years. Sage Fruit has a long-term annual commitment to United Way and donates many boxes of apples to the United Way throughout the year. Our employees find donating weekly amounts from their paychecks to be an excellent way of giving to a community resource that supports so many needy programs that help our communities.
http://www.unitedway.org/

Children’s Wishes and Dreams has been selected as Valley Fruit’s newest beneficiary. Children’s Wishes and Dreams is a local-only charity that provides special trips, communication equipment or special medical equipment to help children who have special challenges or life-altering medical conditions that their families struggle to deal with alone.
http://www.childrenswishesanddreams.org/home.html

Valley Fruit conducted a food and clothing drive at the warehouse for Rod’s House, the neighborhood drop-in resource center for homeless youth. Rod’s House provides food, clothing, showers, and laundry facilities, along with mentoring and tutoring for those in need.
http://www.rodshouse.org/

The Yakima Family YMCA is a recipient of funding from Valley Fruit’s Ownership directed to the YMCA Partner with Youth Campaign.
http://www.yakimaymca.org

Northern Pacific Railway Museum is dedicated to preserving the PNW railway history. It restores, maintains and proudly displays vintage railway locomotives and cars such as the 1902 Northern Pacific engine #1364; a 1930's vintage freight train; as well as NP 2152, a Northern Pacific locomotive donated from the City of Auburn in 2006. Valley Fruit donates annually to the operational and restoration costs associated with the museum.
http://www.nprymuseum.org/

Noah’s Ark
Valley Fruit Company has also pledged their support to Noah’s Ark – a homeless shelter located in Wapato, WA (where Valley Fruit is located). Noah's Ark is a low-barrier shelter and drop-in center that offers hospitality and a "safe place" to those in need.
http://www.generatinghope.org/noah_s_ark

The Washington Apple Education Foundation
The Washington Apple Education Foundation was established in 1994 with the help of Sage Fruit owner Peter Verbrugge. Today, WAEF fosters educational opportunities, encourages academic excellence and promotes awareness of the values of Washington’s tree fruit industry.
Valley Fruit and Larson Fruit have both established funds with WAEF that sponsor scholarships each year for a Yakima Valley High School graduate to attend Yakima Valley Community College. Valley and Larson also contribute annually to the WAEF general donation fund and they each sponsor a golf tournament team for the WAEF fundraiser in the spring.
http://www.waef.org/

Valley Fruit has established a fund with the Yakima Valley Community Foundation that supports many needy organizations in the Yakima Valley.
http://www.yvcf.com/

Selah Community Days
Larson Fruit Company has been an active supporter of Selah Community Days for many years. Selah’s annual weekend of festivities includes fun for the whole family. Each year there is a Hobo feed, pancake breakfast, baked potato feed, community parade, and fair and food booths. Larson Fruit donates both time and resources for the event that runs Thursday through Sunday in mid-May.
http://www.selahdays.org/

Selah CAN
Selah Community Action Network is an organization dedicated to raising money in order to keep the local Youth Center open for teenagers. Larson Fruit Company is generous supporter of Selah CAN.

Larson Fruit is also active is supporting the local fire department in Selah, WA.
http://ci.selah.wa.us/inner/fire.html

Combat Veterans United
The Combat Veterans are comprised of members from all branches of the United States Armed Forces who ride motorcycles as a hobby. Their mission is to support and defend those who have defended our country and our freedoms. Their main focus is to help veteran care facilities provide a warm meal, clothing, shelter, and guidance, or simply to say "Thank You." and "Welcome Home." They sponsor and/or participate in many motorcycle-related charity events each year, and as a non-profit organization, donate to various veteran care facilities and veteran charities. Combat Veterans United is a near and dear organization to Larson Fruit Company.
http://www.combatvet.org/