Letters to the editor

Published 1:30 am Monday, August 10, 2026

Invenergy donates to Back to School Marketplace

For the fifth consecutive year, Invenergy’s Grays Harbor Energy Center has donated every backpack distributed through the Back to School Marketplace, helping local students start the school year prepared for success.

Over the past five years, the partnership has provided more than 5,000 backpacks to children throughout Grays Harbor and north Pacific counties.

This year’s Back to School Marketplace expects to serve at least 1,300 students with free backpacks, school supplies, clothing, shoes and connections to community resources. By covering one of the organization’s largest annual expenses, Invenergy’s donation allows additional fundraising to focus on clothing, shoes, school supplies, and other essential items.

“Invenergy’s continued support demonstrates a shared commitment to helping every student succeed,” said Laney Mortimeyer, executive director of Back to School Marketplace. “Their partnership allows us to remove barriers to education while giving children the confidence, dignity, and hope they deserve as they begin a new school year.”

The nonprofit welcomes financial donations, new school supplies, new children’s clothing, shoes, volunteer support, and community donation drives. For more information about volunteering, donating, or this year’s event, visit BackToSchoolMarketplace.com.

Natalie Jensen

Hoquiam

Get out the vote

As the November elections approach, we are reminded that democracy depends on active participation. Voting is one of the most important ways citizens can make their voices heard and help shape the future of our country.

But civic engagement should not stop at casting our own ballots. Each of us can play an important role in motivating others to vote as well.

An effective way to do this is by sending postcards out to registered voters who don’t always participate in elections. An easy way to do this is by using Activate America to send post cards to prospective voters.

The Activate America website (https://activateamerica.vote) provides free of charge lists of names and addresses of prospective voters to send postcards to, and a short script to write on the post cards that encourages the receiver of the postcards to vote for candidates that will put the people of our country first, not corporations and the wealthy.

We all benefit when more citizens take part in the democratic process. Higher voter participation strengthens our communities and ensures that a broader range of voices are represented.

This November, let us encourage one another to stay informed, participate respectfully, and make voting a shared civic responsibility. Democracy works best when everyone has a chance to be heard.

Becky Green

Aberdeen