IAM 751 Machinists Raise $263,000 for Guide Dogs of America

SEATTLE — Machinists Union District Lodge 751 was once again the top fundraiser on behalf of Guide Dogs of America in 2011, collecting cash contributions of $263,078.

Union District President Tom Wroblewski presented a check for that amount to Guide Dogs of America leaders during the California-based charity’s annual meeting in November.

“Our members do amazing things on the job every day, but the volunteer work they do in the community never ceases to impress me,” Wroblewski said. “Their contributions to Guide Dogs this year will directly improve the lives of people most of us will never meet.”

District 751 volunteers raised the money at a variety of events throughout the year, including:

• The district’s annual Guide Dogs of America golf tournament, held this year in Kirkland,
• The Puppy Putt motorcycle run from Marysville and Lacey to Seattle,
• The Flight for Sight fun run in Everett, and
• The Pacific Raceways drag-racing event in Kent;
• Local Lodge 751-A‘s annual Bill Baker Memorial Steel & Wheels Supershow in Everett;
• Local Lodge 751-E‘s annual horseshoe tournament in Maple Valley; and
• A prize raffle sponsored by Local lodges 86, 1123 and 1951 in Eastern Washington.

Guide Dogs of America provides guide dogs and instruction in their use free of charge to blind and visually impaired people from the United States and Canada.

Originally formed in 1935 to represent hourly workers at the Boeing Co., District Lodge 751 of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers now represents nearly 31,000 working men and women at 45 employers across Washington, Oregon and California. In 2011, members of the Machinists Volunteer Program built their 300th wheelchair ramp while other volunteers collected more than $263,000 for Guide Dogs of America, the union’s charity of choice.

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