Tenino-based nonprofit organization Raise for Rowyn will celebrate its decennial anniversary in 2025 as the effort to help grieving families who have lost a child will reach 10 years.
Angela Longnecker, organization president, told the Nisqually Valley News on Monday, Dec. 23, that Raise for Rowyn has assisted 143 families in 2024 and helped a total of 825 families since 2015.
“We help families with financial support and emotional support after the loss of a child. Financial support typically looks like funeral expenses or afterlife expenses, whatever the family chooses to do with that,” Longnecker said. “That’s how we usually make connections with the families. After we help them with the financial piece, they qualify for our emotional support program.”
Raise for Rowyn honors the life of 17-month old Rowyn Johnson, who tragically passed away in an accident in her family’s driveway on Sept. 16, 2014.
“There’s consistent emotional support options that we offer, but we’re always open if families have specific requests or needs for that as well,” Longnecker said. “It’s God’s work.”
She said that Raise for Rowyn will help any grieving family west of the Mississippi, as there are certain guidelines whom the organization can assist.
“We do help a lot of families locally within Washington state, Oregon and Idaho. The more our organization grows, the more exposure we’ve had, and so we’ve got more requests over the last several years,” Longnecker said. “It’s a sad way to connect with people, but they are very grateful. All of the situations are different because sometimes it’s sudden. Sometimes it’s an illness. We’ve helped suicides. We’ve helped murders, drownings — those are all sudden. We just want to be an organization that a family can lean on in a time of grief, however that looks like for them.”
Longnecker added that families who have lost a child can reach out for assistance at the beginning of their grieving, or they can reach out for assistance years down the road. Raise for Rowyn also stays connected with the families it has worked with should the family so choose. Longnecker said Raise for Rowyn will host two major fundraising events in 2025 including its annual auction event, which she described as the organization’s largest fundraiser of the year. The event is set for Saturday, April 26, at the Great Wolf Lodge in Centralia. More details will be announced at the conclusion of the holiday season, Longnecker said.
“Most of our funds are raised at this event. It’s going to be really fun. It’s disco themed this year, and it’s going to be a great night. Everybody loves to dress up and enjoy themselves,” she said. “Even though it’s a really sad thing we do, because emotionally it can be draining, we like to make this upbeat and fun in honor of the angels and families we’ve helped.”
The organization’s second big event of 2025 will be its annual golf tournament. The event is set for Friday, May 30. Longnecker anticipates tickets for the golf tournament, along with April’s auction tickets, to go on sale early in 2025.
Longnecker said though she didn’t know Rowyn Johnson or her parents, Brynn and Cody, she knew members of the Johnson family and wanted to be available to help in any capacity after Rowyn passed away in 2014.
“Initially, we donated to their GoFundMe they had. The very first auction, Brynn reached out to me for some procurement items and was wondering if I’d be willing to donate anything. They were looking for some items that were more male-driven, and of course I said yes,” Longnecker said. “When I met with her in person, she’s just a beautiful person inside and out. I loved that she was turning her pain into a purpose and wanting to help other families that had experienced a loss like she had.”
Longnecker said she felt instantly drawn to the Raise for Rowyn organization and initially began helping out with procurement and the grant-funding committee, on which she served for over a year.
Through the grant-funding committee, Longnecker and committee members oversaw requests that came into the organization before sending them to the committee to review and a vote. She said the committee had to consider different criteria like budgets and location of the requesting families.
She later joined the advisory committee, which was formed of professionals in the region who would gather quarterly and share ideas. Longnecker said this was a great networking opportunity for local businesses and community members who wanted to help and give back.
In 2016, however, Longnecker was drawn even more to the Raise for Rowyn organization after her cousin Stacia Adderley suddenly passed away in a single-car rollover, which Longnecker said was very shocking and tragic to her family.
“Because of my connection with Raise for Rowyn, I filled out a grant request on behalf of my aunt and uncle. It was a blurb, but that organization helped us and helped me with a lot of things where we didn’t know what to do,” Longnecker said. “My family became recipients of a grant from Raise for Rowyn, and my cousin Stacia became an angel. Ever since then, I was really touched by their generosity and their support to my family. Ever since then, I dedicated my time and efforts to whatever the organization needed.”
Eventually, Longnecker was asked to join the executive board, and since joining, she’s served as secretary, vice president and is entering her second year as Raise for Rowyn’s president in 2025.
“My reason why to be as involved as I am is to honor my family and to honor my cousin who passed away but also to help other grieving families that have experienced tragedy like this. To ease their pain a little bit feels rewarding and purposeful,” Longnecker said. “Like I said, it’s God’s work. We’re here honoring him and giving him all the glory by taking care of these families.”
Those interested in supporting the nonprofit organization financially can text “Rowyn” at 53-555 or call its office at 360-264-7676. For more information about Raise for Rowyn, visit the organization’s website at www.Raise4Rowyn.org.
“If people are interested in our organization or want to help or learn more about us, there’s a lot of different ways to volunteer and help out. We know the community has a lot of different gifts and talents, and if someone is looking to share those gifts or talents with our organization we’re always wanting and accepting help,” Longnecker said. “We’re always looking for support financially so we are able to help as many families and requests that come in. We also want the community to know how grateful we are for their support over the last 10 years. We really could not have helped as many families as we have without the support of the amazing community sponsors and businesses. We’re so grateful for everyone that’s been involved.”
