MOSES LAKE — Juli Rasmussen said she wanted to pay back the kindness and support she received when she opened her business, and that she remembered from her youth in Moses Lake.

Rasmussen was the recipient of a “One in a Million” award from the Multiplying Good Foundation (formerly the Jefferson Awards). The foundation promotes community service as a way of helping individuals improve their lives.

The COVID-19 outbreak prompted Rasmussen to start a series of projects to encourage people and provide support in the age of coronavirus.

She said the projects all reflect the influence of her mom. “Everything that she taught us growing up was, ‘It doesn’t matter what you have, it’s what you can offer of what you have,’” she said.

She had posters printed with hashtags of encouragement, and distributed them to local businesses to display in the windows. “Just so that somebody can see that there is hope, and that we still have compassion, and we are strong together and we are better together and we are a community – all of the different words that I picked. And it was so well received,” she said.

“So simple, yet powerful,” she said. And that prompted her to keep going.

Using grants from Country Financial (the parent company of her business), she opened a tab for first responders and front-line health workers at the Dream Maker coffee stand at Samaritan Hospital, and the Bella Vita Coffee Company in Moses Lake. She also opened a tab at a local food truck.

But there were other people whose businesses were affected – sometimes severely – by the outbreak. So she expanded the coffee tab to include beauticians and nail technicians, barbers and massage therapists. Then Rasmussen and the coffee stand owners opted to treat the Moses Lake High School class of 2020 to a cup of coffee.

She worked with a couple of local bakeries to make and donate cupcakes to businesses and people who needed encouragement. The “Sweet Treats” program dates back a few years, and this year she worked with a couple of local bakeries to provide cupcakes and cakes to local residents. “A cupcake hug,” she said.

“I just wanted to make people know that somebody cared, is really what it was,” she said.

She was impressed with women she’s met who run their own businesses, particularly women who work from home. “They are very proud of what they do. They’ve educated themselves on their product and the histories of their companies. They deserve to be recognized,” she said. Rasmussen thought those women should have a network of other businesswomen to provide advice and support.

So Rasmussen started the Women in Networking group, based on a similar organization in the Country Financial network, designed to support those women. “We are all in the same story. Just different chapters,” she said.

“To me, it honestly is just about being kind,” she said. “I just don’t think kindness can hurt the situation.”

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].