Korean Women’s Association holds office grand opening ceremony

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Korean Women’s Association (KWA), in conjunction with Greater Grays Harbor, Inc., (GGHI) held a grand opening ceremony complete with a ribbon cutting and authentic Korean food at their new in-home care office on Sumner Avenue in Aberdeen last Friday.

Mayor of Aberdeen Douglas Orr handled ribbon cutting duties. The new office will house caregivers who provide a variety of services.

Several KWA and community leaders were on hand for the event including KWA Board of Trustees Chair Myung Lae Park, Executive Director Peter Ansara, Director of the In-Home Care Department Gregory Schaffer, Community Liaison Sung-Woon Hong, along with Aberdeen City Administrator Ruth Clemens and councilor Liz Ellis, representatives of the Aberdeen Police Department including Chief Dale Green, Grays Harbor County Administrator Sam Kim, and many more. Miss Grays Harbor Dalma Ashby was also on hand.

According to the KWA’s official website, the mission of the organization’s in-home care efforts is “to (provide) services that allow seniors to age in place, and give those with disabilities support to remain as independent as possible.” The KWA, which was established in 1972, has offices in 15 counties in Western Washington. The Grays Harbor office was located at 301 N Broadway Suite 3 in Aberdeen before the KWA purchased the new location in February for $375,000.

KWA Board of Trustees Chair Myung Lae Park addressed the assembled guests and welcomed everyone to the open house for the first KWA-owned facility in Aberdeen.

“KWA was started 52 years ago with 10 women who immigrated. They realized that there are many other people who need language help and other support. We have 10 mighty women who started,” Park said. “After 52 years I want you to know that we are serving more than 40 different languages. We have close to 1,800 staff. We are so excited to expand our services in Aberdeen. Our mission is clear. It is to support and care for people, especially seniors and people who need help at home.”

Ansara said that the opening of this new office building presents a new opportunity for KWA in the region.

“This moment represents more than just the opening of a building, it marks really and truly a committed relationship and deepening our roots in Western Washington,” Ansara said. “We’ve been in Aberdeen for some time, but it represents a new chapter because we’ve purchased this building. It means we’re going to be here for a long time. We’re here to serve and support the community and those that we provide services to.”

Mayor Orr spoke about how the lack of care and services drives people away from Aberdeen.

“I think Aberdeen is a wonderful place and since I’ve been the mayor, one of the things that I thought that we lack is senior housing, senior care,” Mayor Orr said. “Our population is aging, most of them move out of our area and go to Olympia or places where the opportunities you folks are going to provide here exist. Quality of life is really important. Any way the city can help you with this effort we’re onboard 100%.”

While guests enjoyed a smorgasbord of Korean food including bulgoki, dumplings and rice with shrimp, Park said in-home care services are just part of what KWA does.

“This facility is our first step to reach out to the seniors who need service at home. It’s in-home care service. In-home care service is one part of our service, we do provide affordable housing as well. Seniors are aging but we want them to live healthy,” Park said. “To live healthier and longer you need to eat well and connect with people.”

The KWA also provides social services, domestic violence assistance, community and behavioral health, and offers classes through its ​​Lifelong Learning Center.

Park and Ansara also mentioned that the new office will create jobs for caregivers as KWA expands their service offerings. “For every 100 clients we create a minimum of three-to-four staff (positions),” Park said.

Grays Harbor County Administrator Sam Kim, who is Korean, said that he is impressed with KWA’s commitment to the community.

“I was blown away that they purchased this building. Korean Women’s Association, they are here to stay,” Kim said. “For me to realize they are serving the entire community as the Korean Women’s Association, isn’t that what we’re about? Whether we’re in the county or the city, government and public employees, we are here to serve the people. I think the Korean Women’s Association epitomizes what we as government employees and service to the community should be doing.”

Mayor Orr then cut the ribbon officially opening the new Korean Women’s Association Home Care office.