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Prior to starting
With a Little Help, I worked with special needs populations and
had created several small businesses. In 1999 I was looking for
something different and became curious about the senior
industry. I went to work at a retirement community and was
surprised and excited to discover an intense core connection
with seniors. I experienced their immediate gratefulness for my
time and attention, and I was delighted to realize that we
mutually made each other feel good. I saw that many senior
citizens, no matter where they lived, spent far too many hours
alone, and simply receiving a bit of loving one-on-one attention
made an amazing difference in their day |
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I created With a Little Help to
encourage seniors and those with special needs to stay engaged
in life, to lessen their isolation, and to assist with tasks of
daily living. I was the company’s first caregiver and knew that
I wanted to hire people who would provide the same level of
detailed loving care that I was personally providing. This
meant finding mature, educated, compassionate individuals with
flexible schedules and who had an interest in being of service
to others. To attract caregivers who meet this profile, we
offer a wage that is higher than the norm in this industry.
Today, nearly ten years later, my dream continues to grow. We
currently have a staff of 81 and over 125 clients. The quality
of our staff truly sets us apart in the industry.
As passionate as I am about my
work, I have found an equal passion in my volunteer time. I
became connected with Habitat for Humanity’s Global Village
program, which fulfills my desire to both travel and to make a
contribution to people less fortunate than I am. I have had
amazing educational and cultural experiences while helping
fulfill Habitat’s mission of eliminating poverty housing. I
have built homes in Seattle, on a reservation in South Dakota,
in a township in South Africa, on the steppes of Mongolia, and
in Northern Thailand. I come home from these journeys
reinvigorated and happy to return to the work I love.
Our steady growth since the
Fall of 1999 has affirmed that I have been guided in the right
direction. I feel greatly blessed by this opportunity to be of
service to seniors and their families.
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With A Little Help
Administrative Staff
We believe this work is extremely
rewarding as we daily match loving caregivers to seniors in need
of “a little help”, and provide peace of mind to both
seniors and their families. |
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Jeanne Coeuille
Director
of Client Services
Jeanne has worked for With A Little Help since 2000. She
started as a caregiver and eventually moved to our
administrative office and became our office manager. Jeanne
was raised in Seattle and graduated from Seattle
University. She has always been attracted to jobs that
offered flexibility and a high level of one-on-one contact
with people.
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Shawn D'Amelio
Client
Assessment Specialist
Shawn has considered Redmond her home
for over 20 years. Shawn and her husband Chris are enjoying their “empty
nest”, while their only son is living in Seattle completing his studies at
the University of Washington.
Event Planning has
always been a passion for Shawn, but her career as a Personal Organizer
led her to a position as a Private Care Manager for a client with
Alzheimer’s disease where she recognized the need for imaginative
solutions as well as elder advocacy. Shawn enjoys the creativity of
bringing resources together and creating win-win solutions. She joins
With a Little Help with several years of management experience and the
desire to work with a team of caring professionals to enrich others lives |
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DAVY KIM
Care Coordinator Lead
Davy is the first woman in her family to
attend college. She majored in Sociology/Social work and minored in
French at Seattle University. She speaks Khmer, French,
and English fluently. Davy has worked much of her career as an advocate
for adults with developmental disabilities and mental illness. Prior to
joining the With a Little Help team, Davy worked as a behavioral
rehabilitation counselor with foster children. |
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 BARBARA
RICHARDS
Care Coordinator
An actual Seattle
native, Barb left town when only 5 weeks old (running from the law
is her story though there is absolutely no truth to it!) Being an
oil company brat led to living all over the country, settling in New
Jersey and returning to Seattle and the University of Washington in
1968. She graduated with a degree in Art. Always wanting to be a
“Jill-of-All-Trades”, Barb has done a variety of jobs but mostly
using food as the medium of art. She cooked professionally for 20
years, 15 with her own catering business, That Added Touch, Inc.,
where she matched people and foods. Barb came to caregiving and
With a Little Help in 2007 a few years after the exquisite
experience of being with her aunt and father at the end of their
lives. For Barb, it was seeing the Circle of Life. In her words,
“When we are born we are loved, supported, nurtured, given the
training wheels until we say (sometimes kicking and screaming) I’ll
do it myself! As lives circle around, we again have the opportunity
to take care of or be taken care of…sometimes kicking and
screaming.” Barb became a Care Coordinator in 2008. “What a
wonderful opportunity to match people and caregivers, to be part of
a team that supports, nurtures and celebrates these wonderful lives."
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JEREMY RICHARDS
Care Coordinator
Jeremy joined With
A Little Help after returning from three years of service in the
Peace Corps in rural Zambia teaching small-scale aquaculture and
working as a volunteer coordinator. He grew up in Edmonds and
started his career as a journalist at an outdoors magazine before
discovering he finds his greatest satisfaction helping people live
their lives to their fullest. When not in the office Jeremy enjoys
hiking, fishing and speaking chiBemba. |
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Jillian Graham
Human Resources Manager
Jillian began working as a caregiver for With a Little Help
and then joined the administrative staff in 2005. She grew
up in Northern Virginia and has been in Seattle since the
late 80's. She worked for years in the corporate world but
left wanting a simpler life style and meaningful work.
Jillian is delighted to work with the "best group of
co-workers and caregivers who daily inspire me with their
dedication, kindness and service." |
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 Haley
Green
Human Resources Assistant
Haley started at With A Little Help as a Caregiver and moved into our
Administrative Offices to do Human Resources support. With a Master's
Degree in Human & Organization Development, a Bachelor's in Business
Administration & Psychology and a Certification in Professional Coaching,
Haley offers a rich pallet of coaching, adult learning, expressive arts,
wellness, business administration and team-leadership development. She is
passionately committed to supporting people as they embody their most
authentic, balanced and fulfilling lives. |
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Carol Comer
Marketing Director
 Carol began working for With a Little Help in 2002.
Prior to that she worked 9 years as the Assistant Office
Manager at a non-profit organization that promoted independent
colleges in Washington. Carol was born and raised in
Rhode Island and has lived in Atlanta, San Francisco, New
York, Florida and points beyond. She attended Johnson
and Wales
University in Rhode Island before moving to New York City.
While in Atlanta, Carol worked several years with FEMA in the
early 90's and was employed by Neiman Marcus for 8 years.
Her volunteer work includes the Chicken Soup Brigade, Bread of
Life Mission and working with homeless women. Carol
became interested in working with seniors after caring for her
own mother who was a stroke victim. The stroke left her
mom dependent on others for all her needs. Carol found
that being one of her mother's caregivers gave her a warm
sense of fulfillment. After her mother's passing she
felt an emptiness that needed to be filled. With a
Little Help was the first step in that direction and has
continued since joining the organization. |
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Lacey Morris
Marketing and Administrative Support
Lacey joined With a Little Help in 2008 as a marketing and
administrative assistant. She is a Seattle native who graduated
from Santa Clara University and lived in San Francisco for a couple
of years before deciding that she truly missed Seattle and her
friends and family. She worked in retail when she first returned but
then chose to take a different path and work for With a Little Help.
She finds her work very interesting and her co-workers are “the best
in the world”. |
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Liz Mulligan
Project Manager
 Liz
has worked for With a Little Help, Inc., since May 2000. Over
the years, she has done a bit of everything from caregiving to
client assessments to care coordinating. Currently she works on
special projects in the office.
While assisting a With a Little Help client recover from
financial exploitation, she developed a special interest in
helping seniors who have been targeted by scammers.
In addition to her work at With a Little Help, she runs a
company called Fraud Resolution for Seniors, LLC.
Liz grew
up in Utah, graduated from Utah State University and retired
after 30 years of service at the University of Washington as a
manager of a health sciences department. When Liz’s mother had
a stroke in Utah, Liz took a 3-month leave from the University
to stay in Utah and help her parents. Her mother had to go into
a facility when Liz returned to Seattle. Frequent trips to Utah
and trying to help from Seattle gave her deep compassion for
family members who do not live near their aging parents.
According to Liz, “I love working for With a Little Help as I
know we make a tremendous difference in the lives of our clients
and their families. I find this very gratifying.” |
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BONNIE BOGARDUS, RN, BSN
Consulting Nurse
Bonnie graduated from Chico State University in California in 1973
with a Bachelors of Science in Health Education and a minor in
Nutrition. She later completed a second BS in Nursing, graduating
summa cum laude from Creighton University in 1985. She is a native
Californian who has lived in Seattle for over 30 years. Her
background as a Public Health Nurse brings a myriad of experiences
working with varying populations in home settings.
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deep interest in the older population blossomed while caring for her
own parents through their illness and death; she assisted in keeping
her mother at home with care for three years. This experience
allowed Bonnie to see the process of aging and illness from several
points of view: as the daughter of frail, aging parents, as the care
manager of caregivers in the home, and soon after, as a caregiver
herself (employed by With A Little Help before returning to nursing
full time). “I have the great blessing of having been on all sides
of the situation, having experienced the frustrations, fears, and
joys that are all part of caring for our elderly. I revel in the
amazing stories and history that comes with caring for them. I
connect deeply with this generation of elders. I simply love this
work.”
Bonnie runs
her own private nursing business, Home Nursing Care and Consult,
providing home nursing care, Washington State Assessments for Adult
Family Homes, Skilled Nursing Visits for long term care insurance,
and all manner of geriatric consulting. |
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CHARGER
Office Cat
 Charger
is Director of Napping and Well-Being at With a Little
Help. One of his primary duties is lying in the potted
plants (see photo). He feels this is beneficial to his job
performance and he does it as often as his schedule allows.
His other duties include researching sunny spots and
snuggling with Marcia on an “as needed” basis. He is known
for his steady and charismatic personality. Charger is,
himself, a senior so his insights into senior care are based
on personal experience. In Charger’s words, “Life is good
when there is lots of one-on-one caring attention.”
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With a
Little Help is a Washington Licensed Home Care Agency with caregivers
serving
seniors in Greater Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Mercer Island & King County.
We care for the ones you love the most.
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at
206.352.7399 or info@withalittlehelp.com