Stepping up to meet new challenges 1

Stepping up to meet new challenges

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McClain Insurance reached their goal of 500 votes + shares, but they didn’t stop there. They donated an additional $5,000 donation to Cocoon House, on top of the $10,000 donation awarded by Liberty Mutual and Safeco to further their mission of providing shelter for teens in Snohomish County, Washington. See their feature on page 34 of The Charity Issue of Insurance Journal.

Every night, up to 400 teens in Snohomish County, Washington, are homeless—and for 30 years, Cocoon House has been the only organization in the area that exclusively serves them.

Cocoon House programs, including street outreach, a drop-in center, and housing solutions throughout the county, provided assistance to more than 2,500 youth ages 12-24 and their families in 2019.

In 2020, though, the pandemic changed everything—forcing significant operational changes at the same time the need for services was growing. And longtime supporters like McClain Insurance Services in Everett, Washington, rose to the occasion.

Stepping up to meet new challenges 6
Christina Cuenca, corporate and foundation partnerships manager for Cocoon House, meets McClain outside Cocoon House to accept one of the many meals made possible by the agency.

“Cocoon House serves an incredibly vulnerable population in our community, one that’s important to both our team and our clients,” said agency founder Claudia McClain. “We know people who have been impacted by homelessness, and we wanted to do everything we could to help.”

Stepping up to meet new challenges 3
McClain Insurance Vice President, Nick Pembroke (center) waits outside Cocoon House to deliver a meal for the residents.

Delivering dinners

One immediate need was food; COVID-related restrictions meant the organization could no longer accept the weekly home-cooked meals that community and church groups had been providing for teens. So as part of the Food for Our Future program, the McClain team—along with agency partners and clients—purchased and delivered meals from local restaurants every week for seven months, including holiday feasts for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

Stepping up to meet new challenges 9
Residents of Cocoon House didn't miss out on Thanksgiving 2020. McClain and partners provided the food and cozy atmosphere for the teens.

“We have been humbled by our clients’ ongoing support throughout the pandemic,” McClain said. “Food for Our Future allowed us to not only pay it forward to Cocoon House, but also help local restaurants stay afloat.”

‘We know people who have been impacted by homelessness, and we wanted to do everything we could to help.’

—Claudia McClain, founder of McClain Insurance Services

Stepping up to meet new challenges 2Nick Pembroke with K Fresh owners Kenji and Yeonhee. Supporting local small businesses in Everett was an added benefit to how McClain provided meals to Cocoon House.

Much more than meals

That’s just a small taste of how McClain Insurance Services has supported Cocoon House, however. The agency has been involved since 2010, and began sponsoring the organization’s “An Evening in SILK” annual fundraising event in 2015. In addition, they invested in Cocoon House’s $13.7 million capital campaign for a new 32,000-square-foot complex, which opened in 2019 offering housing, day care, and more.

“We couldn’t have weathered the impacts of the pandemic without the support of our longtime partners at McClain Insurance,” said Christina Cuenca, corporate and foundation partnerships manager for Cocoon House. “The Food for Our Future project did so much more than provide much-needed meals—it also freed up our staff time to better serve these young people.”

Stepping up to meet new challenges 5
The McClain Insurance team has been Silver Sponsors of Cocoon House’s An Evening in SILK Dinner and Auction since 2015, ensuring that every dollar raised at the event goes directly to Cocoon House’s vital youth outreach, housing and prevention programs.

A 2021 Make More Happen Award will help on that front, too. The award includes a donation of up to $10,000 from Liberty Mutual and Safeco on behalf of McClain Insurance Services—and that amount could provide 20 weeks of long-term housing for a young person, 133 meals at the Cocoon House drop-in center, or 67 nights of emergency shelter.

Stepping up to meet new challenges 4
A collection of toys and supplies for the McClain Insurance 2019 holiday drive to benefit Cocoon House.

Continuing impact

The donation also will help with the launch of a new Host Home program. Cocoon House is recruiting families throughout the county to provide a safe, stable environment for young people as they reconnect with family, re-engage with the education system, and make decisions about longer-term housing options.

“After a year filled with so much change, we know more is still ahead for everyone—our organization, those we serve, and our partners, too,” Cuenca said. “But we know that whatever lies ahead, Claudia and her team will be there for us and the community.”

Vote for this story by using the social media share buttons to add it to your feed, or simply leave a comment below to cheer them on. Then head over to their websites to learn more about Cocoon House and McClain Insurance.

Stepping up to meet new challenges 1
The McClain Insurance and Alpine Cleaning and Restoration teams deliver Thanksgiving dinner and dessert for the teens living at Cocoon House as part of Food For Our Future, their initiative to purchase and deliver weekly dinners to Cocoon House during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
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Sherri Walling
2 years ago

McClain Insurance has my vote! Keep up the great work with Cocoon House!

ANGELA KEMP
2 years ago

Thank you for your community support!! 🙂

Skyler
2 years ago

Thank you for caring.

Heidi Granken
2 years ago

Great read and so inspiring! Thank you

Siri Schwabe
2 years ago

Thank you!

Nataya
2 years ago

Snohomish County and Cocoon House are so lucky to have awesome community partners like this. Thanks for all you do to support youth and young adults experiencing homelessness!

Andy Rathbun
2 years ago

This was such a great idea—a way to provide meals to those in need, while also helping keep local restaurants afloat during the pandemic. A big thank you to everyone at McClain for their hard work and creative thinking during a difficult year.

Ginny
2 years ago

Thank you for supporting such good community work!

Jennifer Harvey
2 years ago

The Cocoon house is such an important asset to our community. Thank you!

Melinda Hale
2 years ago

Thank you for all your doing!

Melinda Bargreen
2 years ago

Such an inspiring way to contribute to the community and the health of its vulnerable young people!

Shana Weydert
2 years ago

Go Team!!

Hannah Sladek
2 years ago

Cocoon house is such an amazing organization! So happy to see such strong community support 🙂

Kathi
2 years ago

Great job helping those in need in our community!!! Many blessings to all!!!

Teri
2 years ago

Appreciate everything you do!

Teri
2 years ago

Thank you!

Mike Seely
2 years ago

Such a worth cause and such an awesome company. Go Ann, Nick, Claudia & Co.!

Florenda J Perkins
2 years ago

We have been with McClain Insurance for quite a few years. They are always helpful in any insurance situation with us. Everyone in the office is friendly and willing to help in any way.

Dave Meyer
2 years ago

I’m glad to see such great companies work together!

Scotty Carlton
2 years ago

We’re rooting for you, Cocoon House! Thank you, Claudia and team for bringing awareness to such a deserving organization. Good luck!

Charlie Carlton
2 years ago

We wholly support the Cocoon House’s mission and really appreciate the ongoing support of McClain Insurance and their generous partners in this grant. It will help so many deserving kids.

Alyse
2 years ago

Great work supporting an important cause!

Kristena Matthews
2 years ago

Thank you!

Cathy Waner
2 years ago

Cocoon House also leads the way for the Snohomish Task Force for Anti-trafficking Resources. They are a good investment!

Julie Reese
2 years ago

What an amazing organization.

Nadia
2 years ago

Go cocoon house

Greg Meyer
2 years ago

Appreciate all the work Cocoon House is doing

Bob Cunningham
2 years ago

Hope you reach your goal for the good of others!!!

J Sasaki
2 years ago

Yet another deserving cause helped by McClain Insurance Group. Claudia and her team have helped so many in the community for decades now. Thank you!!!

Kim Hanson
2 years ago

Thank you for giving to the youth in the community.

Kimberly Hanson
2 years ago

This is so great! Way to support the youth in the community!

Glen Hanson
2 years ago

Way to support our youth!

Dorothy Carlton
2 years ago

May God Bless all of you for such wonderful support of those in need.

Divya
2 years ago

Thank you for the incredible work you do for the community!!

E Smith
2 years ago

This is so amazing, thank you for all your hard work!!

S Smith
2 years ago

Thank you everyone!!

Shawn
2 years ago

Amazing way to support Cocoon House!

N Smith
2 years ago

This is so awesome! Keep voting everyone!!

Ray Liaw
2 years ago

Thank you McClain for supporting such an important investment in our future!

Loren Shea
2 years ago

Cocoon House is such a wonderful organization!

Zoe Haverstein
2 years ago

Go Cocoon House!

Brad Haverstein
2 years ago

Thank you!

Asa Irwin
2 years ago

Cocoon House is a critically important community resource and partnerships like this help ensure opportunities for stability for so many.

Rajni Sood Laurent
2 years ago

This is incredible work! Keep it up!

Toraya Miller
2 years ago

This is amazing! Thank you so much for the opportunity! 🙂

Collette Moffett
2 years ago

Cocoon House is an awesome organization making positive changes!!

PaulW
2 years ago

You are all a great bunch people, helping people. Totally awesome!!

Melissa Cardillo
2 years ago

Thank you for helping the community!!

Adriana Cuenca
2 years ago

Very nice innitiative. To give and to serve should be goals in everyone’s lifes

Nick Butcher
2 years ago

Thank you McClain Insurance and Alpine!!!

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