Max Higbee Center update

Max Higbee Center’s New Facility: Program Growth and Serving an Isolated Population through a Pandemic

As a major funder of Max Higbee Center’s capital campaign, Rotary Club of Bellingham has helped shape a better future for Max Higbee Center’s programs and participants. After successfully remodeling 5,000 square feet at 1400 N. State Street in downtown Bellingham, Max Higbee Center has achieved a welcoming, accessible, safe, comfortable, and beautiful facility for teens and adults with developmental disabilities. In this space, the Center has grown and started serving individuals who have been on the waiting list for 2+ years, inviting them to join in the fun and friendship of programs. The completion of this project opened new doors and possibilities for program activities, increased the Center’s visibility in the community, and improved the Center’s ability to support and welcome individuals with disabilities.

Not only did this project allow for the growth and transformation of Max Higbee Center’s programs and services, but it also allowed the organization to support a historically underserved population through the pandemic. Many Max Higbee Center members and their families experienced – and continue to experience - heightened isolation and loneliness through the pandemic. Max Higbee Center’s social and recreation programs are needed now more than ever, creating opportunities for connection and a sense of community.