Fund For The Needy: How your donations help the community

All money raised through The Seattle Times Fund For The Needy go directly to helping people in our community. Here are some of the ways the organizations served the people of King County last year.

 Wellspring Family Services: Helped 4,509 children and families across the region with services ranging from safe housing to early childhood learning. Families completed 2,254 shopping trips at Wellspring’s free Baby Boutique, which offers clothes for kids up to age 18.

Childhaven: Helped 326 children, up to 6 years old, gain critical skills to be able to start kindergarten. Childhaven offers early learning, developmental therapy and mental-health services.

ABOUT THIS SERIES

Each year, The Seattle Times Fund For The Needy raises money for 12 charities that help children, families and senior citizens. Throughout the season, The Times is telling how the organizations make a difference in the lives of thousands, and the impact donors can have. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to the Fund For The Needy.

The Salvation Army: Provided more than 64,000 boxes of food to people across King County, and provided safe sleeping shelters for more than 600 people experiencing homelessness. Salvation Army also helped nearly 500 children at after-school homework programs.

Kindering: Helped 4,455 infants and children with services including developmental assessments, mental-health therapy, special education and parent education. In 2017, 99 percent of the infants and toddlers in Kindering’s early-intervention program made progress in two or more skill areas.

Atlantic Street Center: Served 167 children and their caregivers through the Parent Child Home Program, which gives low-income families skills for parenting and school readiness. Provided 56 parents and their children with skills to maintain positive relationships in the Teen As Parents Program.

Treehouse: Served 7,500 kids in foster care, helping them with school, holiday gifts and childhood activities. Treehouse youth in the Graduation Success program had an 89 percent high-school graduation rate.

Hopelink: Served 63,000 people with a wide range of programs, including food banks, utility bill assistance and finding housing.

Sound Generations (previously Senior Services): Provided meals, caregiver support, shuttles to appointments and other services to 5,000 seniors and adults with disabilities.

Kent Youth and Family Services: Provided after-school programming, homelessness prevention services and mental health services to at-risk youth. Served 5,498 summer lunches to kids in partnership with the Kent School District, and gave away more than 180 backpacks.

Youth Eastside Services: Provided nearly 7,000 kids, teens and family members with mental health counseling and substance abuse services. Helped more than 200 children and their parents and caregivers with behavioral health programs.

Big Brothers Big Sisters: Provided children facing adversity with one-on-one mentoring relationships to increase trust in parents, improve grades in school and avoid risky activities.

Asian Counseling and Referral Service: Helped 570 immigrant and refugee jobseekers get training and search for jobs. Served 1,125 youth with programs including multilingual counselors, after-school programs and leadership classes.