Celebrate! - Renton Regional Community Foundation

WE CELEBRATE!

Thanks to all who joined us on May 14, 2026 to Celebrate the Love of Community! The evening invited us to choose each other in love.

Our inspiring panelists from Afghan Health Initiative, Black Equality Coalition, and Colectiva Legal del Pueblo shared how they do this every day for South King County communities. We are so thankful to them for sharing their experience and are proud to be a partner in their work, because two are stronger than one.

With more than 300 people present at Celebrate, our collective strength was incredible. You helped us raise over $150,000 for the CARE Together Fund and RRCF–now better known as the Double R-C-F!

As the South King County Choir sang, “May our love be greater than our fear.” Know that we are profoundly grateful for all the ways that you choose love every day.

Enjoy another look at the video mosaic of voices we shared at the event as they speak to the many ways we find joy and connection in South King County.

Weren’t able to make a gift at the event? There’s still time to contribute to the CARE Together Fund.

Donate to CARE Together Fund

Thank you to our Community Partners!

AMPLIFY!

THRIVE!

FLOURISH!

ENGAGE!

CONNECT!

Peter Aiau & Susan Ormbrek

Angelina Benedetti

Rajib & Neeti Choudhury

Robert and Mary Cugini Charitable Fund

Quint Family Charitable Fund

The 2025 Event

On Thursday, May 15, 2025, more than 250 people gathered to celebrate an evening of joy, connection, and community. Amidst the profound challenges currently facing our region, we were encouraged and inspired by wise words of leaders from the Ukrainian Community Center of Washington, UTOPIA Washington, and New Beginnings Christian Fellowship; by beautiful music from members of Songs of Black Folk; by invitations to take action locally from ten nonprofit partners on-hand to educate and inform; and by choosing to embrace hope and work together to move mountains! Collectively we raised more than $150,000 for RRCF and the CARE Together Fund!

Watch the What We Love about South King County Video.

The 2024 Event

On May 9th, 2024, we celebrated 25 years of the Renton Regional Community Foundation igniting the power of philanthropy to support and engage communities in South King County and beyond. With over 250 guests in attendance, Celebrate! 2024 raised an impressive $135,000 to support RRCF and the CARE Together Fund, empowering grassroots organizations to address urgent needs in the region.

The evening included inspiring stories from local leaders, a wonderful performance by Baile Dior Studios, heartfelt remarks, and a spotlight on the power of collective giving, unity, and partnerships through this video, Harnessing the Power of Us.

We are incredibly grateful for the generosity and commitment of our supporters, sponsors, and non-profit partners.

20240509_RRCF_CELEBRATE_2024_0045_Print (1)

20240509_RRCF_CELEBRATE_2024_0053_Print (1)

The 2023 Event

On May 4, 2023, over 250 people gathered at the Renton Pavilion for Celebrate! 2023, marking our first in-person event in years. The evening began with a beautiful dance performance by the Ubumwe Rwandese Women Dance and a moving song by the Abacunguwe Choir, setting the tone with messages of unity and gratitude. We then celebrated the remarkable contributions of local leaders and organizations, including a powerful panel of South King County changemakers who shared their insights on fostering equity and empowerment.

The highlight of the evening was the launch of the South King County: Cultivating What’s to Come initiative. This three-year effort is inspired by the belief that thriving communities need nurturing environments. Our focus is on strengthening the resources, capacity, and connections that make our region resilient and inclusive. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our attendees, we raised nearly $90,000 to bring this vision to life.

The 2022 Event

Our annual Celebrate! the Love of Community event on February 24, 2022 was a fun, joyful evening. While we were virtual, guests were able to hop from table to table and get to know each other as well as learn about local organizations.

Below you can find links to parts of the program or watch the full program!

This Joy song and montage – We asked community members to submit photos and videos to intersperse in this video. Some of you participated – thank you!

Donor Video – a two minute video featuring John Hansen and Caleb and Derek Andres-Berndt

Remarks by Executive Director LeAnne Moss and Community Voices – This is about 6 minutes long and at the end features a really great montage of community members saying what they love about the community. Again, thank you to those of you who participated!

Afghan Health Initiative and Health Commons collaborative – A short video highlighting a partnership that resulted in Afghan refugees getting access to vaccines.

Derek Nguyen a student from our non-profit partner, Key to Change, who performed for us.

And if you want to sit back and watch the full 42 minutes in the program flow, here is that link.

The 2021 Event

Obviously our 2021 event was different. However, even in a virtual space, we were able to create a sense of community and connection and celebrate the good work in our area. You can go here to view our whole program, or click on the programmatic links below:

Intergenerational Conversation

Listen to this connecting conversation between RRCF Founder and community leader, Char Baker, and Ryan Quigtar, executive director of Renton Innovation Zone Partnership. They have differences in age and life experiences, but they share common values around community and connection.

Inspiring Non-profits

These three organizations received funding from RRCF either through our CARE Together Fund or through our fund advisors (or both!).

Centro Rendu

Babies of Homelessness

UTOPIA of WA

The 2020 Event

In 2020 we were so fortunate that we had our Celebrate event the week before COVID-19 hit – on Thursday, February 27th. Little did we know what was about to happen and this would be the last time we could gather as a large community for months. It was a wonderful evening, as you will see from the photos.

We honored the following community members as League of Extraordinary Givers:

Public Spirit Award: Robin Abel

Patrons of the Year Award: Tom and Karen Easton

Lifetime of Giving Award: Lani Cavit, Ted Rodriguez, and Judi Schafer

Rising Star Award: Winter Cashman-Crane

We also were blessed by dancing from the Ubumwe Rwandese Women Dance group and music from Analisa Ruiz, a student with Key to Change. Several of our grantee partners also had tables during the reception where they connected with guests.

The 2019 Event

We had a great night on February 6th as we celebrated our 20th anniversary and inducted new community members into the League of Extraordinary Givers. Here are some photos from the celebration. Thanks to all who came out in the cold and joined us!

Celebrate Event