Supporting Students through Health Advocacy
Ting Anthes
Consumer Loan Advisor
Walla Walla, WA
Ting Anthes first got involved with The Health Center in 2022 as a way to give her time and service in the community. But it didn’t take long before the nonprofit organization also captured her heart. The Health Center provides free primary medical, mental health therapy, and social-support referral services through four school- based clinics for students in the Walla Walla School District — an intervention Ting had not realized was so critical until she had a seat at the table.
“I remember hearing a report from our executive director who was talking about kids hanging around after school. They would stay to chat and just spend time at school. I wondered, ‘Why not just go home?’” she recalls. “Then they told me, ‘You know, Ting, sometimes this feels safer, and it’s more comfortable hanging around with our staff than going home. Maybe it’s a safe place or just a good place.”
That reality is different from the one she knew growing up and the one she provides as a parent. But should her own child ever need such support, she wants it to be in place. “The main goal is to build a sustainable future for The Health Center so we can reach out and help more students,” she says.
An employee at Baker Boyer since 2015, Ting works as a Consumer Loan Advisor at Baker Boyer’s Walla Walla branch. She advocates for local homebuyers, helping them understand financing options and other consumer loan needs. In her role as treasurer for The Health Center, she works with fellow board members to develop and implement strategic planning and fundraising strategies, establish policies, approve a financial budget, and ensure a financial future for the program.
Baker Boyer’s support helps make it possible to serve, she says. The Bank’s work to give back to its communities inspires her as an employee. With up to eight “volunteer hours” provided to each employee, she can budget some of her time for The Health Center’s board meetings.
“The Bank is very generous,” she says. “Baker Boyer provides so many ways for the employees to serve our community, and we’re always focused on that. It’s very meaningful and important to me to be involved with such wonderful organizations.”
