About the Nonprofit
Visit Our Website 1. Snacks for the bus ride home provides small food bags daily for the 147 McKinney Vento students that ride one of the 13 dedicated district school buses. Washington Kids holds community fundraisers and invites local organizations to host food drives and packing parties. Community groups pack the food into small bags. Each bag contains a granola bar, crackers and cheese and a fruit cup. Bins are picked up by local bus drivers. Food is distributed on the bus. The drivers know which kids just need a snack for the ride home, or need extra food for dinner. We provide additional bins of food containing macaroni and cheese, cup of soups, ravioli. etc. for children needing additional food In the 2014/2015 school year we distributed 15,000 small bags of food to homeless children in the Edmonds School District.
2. Emergency Closets is our newest program. The closets are located at the schools and provide emergency products for the 447 homeless students that currently attend school in the Edmonds School District. Closets contain 2 family size grab and go food bags for emergency situations, granola bars, protein packs, cheese sticks, fruit cups, hygiene kits, sanitary supplies, socks, underwear, t-shirts, calculators, batteries, gift cards to local restaurants and grocery stores and basic school supplies. Items are dispersed by the onsite social worker as needed. Social workers may also call us for individual student needs. For example, this year we supplied one high school student a pair of shoes. His shoes were secured by duct tape. We supplied another family a tent and several students t-shirts, pants and undergarments. In the 2014/2015 school year, we supported 6 closets at 2 high schools, 2 middle schools and 2 elementary schools. Prior to our closet installation, teachers and social workers would often provide emergency supplies from their own pockets. Our goal is to open an addition 13 closets in the 2015/2016 school year.
3. Emergency Motel Vouchers. Families who receive a one week motel voucher must have children enrolled in the transition program through the district and be referred by the district homeless liaison. Families of domestic violence or catastrophic emergencies are given a one week motel stay including a care package with food and toiletries. This gives families a chance to breathe, to connect to local, state and federal housing resources and gives the children of the family an opportunity to continue going to school during the transition period because McKinney Vento busses can pick them up directly at the motel. The majority of the families that we assist are single moms escaping domestic violence situations. This year, we were able to help 7 families stay together. Your donations will help us continue this program into the next school year.
