At any time in Washington state, there are between 4,000 and 5,000 children and youth in foster care. Treehouse, founded in 1988, is a leading nonprofit that addresses the academic and other essential support needs of those youth. They make the holidays better and brighter for thousands of kids.
Donation drive and how to get started
Holiday donation drives are essential to Treehouse’s mission of giving youth in foster care both a childhood and a future. These drives raise money to fund extracurricular activities like sports or music lessons for kids and ensure that Treehouse is stocked with gifts and essential items during the holiday season.
Any organization, individual or family can host a holiday donation drive. Treehouse will provide you with a toolkit, materials and guidance to make sure you have a successful drive. Here’s what you do:
- Fill out the fundraiser drive sign-up form.
- Check your email for a link to your generated fundraiser drive page.
- Log in to your fundraiser drive page. (You may need to reset the password to your page in order to sign in.)
- Click the “Manage” button in the top right corner of the page.
- Personalize your fundraiser drive page.
- Choose your strategy! Will your drive focus on collecting a single item from the Supply Needs list or will you collect a variety of items on the Supply Needs list?
- Promote your fundraiser drive using our Fundraiser Drive Toolkit!
- Once your drive is complete, schedule a drop-off.
Treehouse suggests setting a $500 goal, but it can be adjusted to fit any size group. Support for in-kind donation drives focused on clothing and other essential items also is available.
Need ideas?
Here are a few fundraiser ideas that other parents have coordinated to help youth in foster care:
- Celebrate your baby’s first year—or any birthday—with a birthday party asking guests to bring clothes, toys, and school supplies to be donated to Treehouse.
- What do you do with a rock thrown through your window? One local are gallery put googly eyes on two rocks thrown that crashed through their class and then put the pair of Rocks of Destruction up for sale for the to benefit Treehouse.
- While shopping for clothes, asks your kids to also pick an outfit to donate to Treehouse. Parents who have done it say it’s a great way to help their kids understand that not everyone has the same resources.
- One local grandmother is hosting a treehouse fundraiser for her 70th birthday, which is just a few days before Christmas. She included a QR code to donate to Treehouse in the invitation with an “in lieu of gifts” message. At the party, she plans to have a large QR code on display to catch any guests who missed the message.
- Organize a neighborhood donation drive and make it competition between houses to see who can raise the most for kids in foster care.
- Belong to a PEPS or other parenting group? Host a group fundraiser.
To get started, visit the Treehouse website to sign up. Any individual or organization interested in hosting a holiday donation drive can also contact the office number 206-767-7000 or store (206-267-5185) or email [email protected].
Read more:
Give thanks and give back: Seattle-area volunteering opportunities for the holiday season
