History
Jennifer Beach Foundation’s History

Jennifer Beach
Jennifer Beach was born in Kansas in 1974, and moved with her family to Redmond, Washington in 1978. She was an honor student and played softball at Redmond High School, was an active member of her church, and involved in many community activities. Jennifer died in an auto accident in 1991 at the age of 17.
Although Jennifer had a love and a flare for fashion design and merchandising she had planned on pursuing a career in law. She hoped to be a voice for those in social situations that needed help from someone who cared.
Prior to her death Jennifer wrote a poem that was submitted to meet the requirements of an 11th grade English assignment. Jennifer had encountered a situation that touched upon one of life’s tragedies, child abuse. Upon noticing a young girl that had apparent signs of abuse Jennifer contacted the authorities but was told that nothing could be done unless the abuser was caught “in the act” or that there had to be more evidence provided than mere marks and bruises. Unable to deliver any further evidence of the crime she was forced to live with the frustration of not being able to help beyond watching and wondering what else might be going behind closed doors. The assignment provided an outlet for this frustration.
The Jennifer Beach Foundation was formed in December 2001. Our initial intention was to share the words of the poem written by Jennifer. Since then, the Jennifer Beach Foundation has branched into many other ways to help survivors of child abuse and domestic violence.

Jeff
Jeff Beach was born in Kirkland, WA, in 1978. He graduated from Auburn Riverside High School in 1996 where he played varsity baseball in his junior and senior years. He attended Washington State University for a short time before starting a career in distribution and production. During his time at an Office Depot Distribution Center, Starbucks Roasting Plant and Food Services of America, he held several leadership positions and was respected by everyone he touched. Because of his kind and caring manner, Jeff developed friendships with all his co-workers that lasted throughout his life. Jeff’s favorite pastime was playing softball, fully enjoying the camaraderie and competition with and amongst his longtime friends and teammates.
Above all, Jeff was a Samaritan. On July 4, 2015, while in Long Beach attending a softball tournament, Jeff was attacked and killed in a senseless act of unprovoked violence while lending help to a friend.
Jeff grew up playing baseball, football and basketball in organized leagues. This was an important part of his leadership development using his skill to work easily with others. He was a mentor for everyone he came across, always willing to help as opportunities presented. The Jennifer Beach Foundation wants to honor Jeff in a manner respecting the essence of who Jeff is – by helping children who need equipment or other resources to participate in extracurricular activities through “Jeff’s Sports Bag.” Our hope is that this program will help kids participate in activities, where maybe they otherwise would not have been able to, by providing some small token of assistance – symbolic of Jeff reaching out to lend a helping hand as Jeff so often did in life.