What’s Happening Caring for Kids!
This has been a very busy year for our all-volunteer organization! With help from our volunteers and the community we continue to grow and support our kids in need.
Since the first day of school we have delivered 443 clothing bank orders, 1,123 school supply bank orders and 260 emergency food orders. We have supplied the Early Learning Program with almost 500 toothbrush kits.
Our Holiday Fair, plus last minutes emergencies, helped 664 families in need. In Clover Park School District alone 74% of the kids are on free and reduced lunch.
Springbrook has been a targeted area for us. We work with Springbrook Connect to support them and their community events. At the Food Connection food truck on theSaturday before Christmas, we provided chili and gifts for everyone. Food truck support goes on year round.
Caring for Kids works directly with the schools in Clover Park, Steilacoom and University Place School Districts, but most of the work is in Clover Park. On a daily basis we provide basic needs which are delivered directly to the schools.
Caring for Kids supports the Lakewood WIC, Greater Lakes Mental Health, LASA, Fish Food Banks, Tillicum Community Center, Springbrook Connect, Communities and Schools after school programs, the Methodist Church Friday dinners with everything from clothes to school supplies, hygiene products, emergency food, new books and color books and crayons.
We are gearing up for our major fundraiser the“Happy Hearts” Dinner Auction on February 6, 2016 at the Clover Park Technical College McGavick Center. We are looking for Live Auction Donations. Please come and bring your friends and family!
Question? carekids@comcast.net or 253-279-9777
Help at Holiday Fair
Caring for Kids Needs Help 12-11 and 12/12
We need your help!
Following is a list of tasks and the starting time that we need volunteers to help us with:
Friday, December 11:
Setup Team – Arrive at Hudtloff Middle School at 1:30 p.m. Hudtloff is located at 8102 Phillips Road SW, Lakewood, WA, 98498. Help is needed to set up the tables.
Loading Team– Arrive at Spare Space Storage at 2:00 p.m. We need trucks, large vehicles, and people to load. The trucks will take the Holiday Fair items to Hudtloff.Spare Space is located at 3030 – 68th Avenue West. Entrance is on 69th Ave. West on 27th Ave West across from the post office. Go straight, through the gate and we are the second right turn #C18. For more detailed directions carekids@comcast.net.
Display Team – Arrive at Hudtloff Middle School at 3:00 p.m. Help is needed to place the items on the tables in a neat and orderly manner to make it easy for the shoppers when they arrive on Saturday. This includes separating items by gender and size.
Saturday, December 12:
- Shoppers – Arrive at Hudtloff Middle School at 7:30 a.m. You will receive a list with the children’s name, gender, age, and sizes on it to use to select items for their Christmas. You will also receive a sheet with instructions on how many and what types of items to select for each child. You will place these items in a plastic bag and carry it to the checkers.
- Sorters/Runners – Arrive at Hudtloff Middle School at 7:30 a.m. Help is needed to take the bags full of toys and clothes to the hallways for pickup by the families, and to retrieve them when the families arrive at 11:00 a.m.
- Loading Team – Arrive at Hudtloff Middle School at 1:00 p.m. We need trucks, large vehicles, and people to load the leftover items and take them to the Caring for Kids Center or Spare Space Storage and unload.
Video – Volunteers at the Stuff the Bus Event
Stuff the Bus is this Saturday
Stuff the Bus for Kids!
Caring for Kids is holding its annual “Stuff the Bus” event at Clover Park High School and along Gravelly Lake Drive on Saturday, November 7th from 9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P. M. We will be collecting new toys and cash donations for the Caring for Kids Holiday Fair in December. Rain or shine we will be out with volunteers from all the middle schools and high schools.
Caring for Kids helps over 2,000 kids in need in our community with clothing, gifts and food at the Fair. Even though the Holiday Fair is the focus, you can also drop off color books and crayons for the food bank distribution in December. Our goal is to collect 3,000 color books to be distributed at our local food bank, so all of our kids in need receive something for the holidays. This will be the fifth year of the color book distribution. Questions email carekids@comcast.net or Diane at 253-279-9777.
Caring for Kids is an all-volunteer organization, so please help us help kids!
Ready to Learn Fair this August
Kids get a good start with school from the Ready to Learn Fair which provides them with good used clothing, school supplies, hair cuts, immunizations, eye screening, hygiene products, books to read, food and a host of other small services.
It’s August 8, 2015 from 9am to 1pm at Lochburn Middle School.
For more info look for the Ready to Learn Fair link under Events, or just click here.
Retired School Bus Driver’s Clothing Bank Helps Low-Income Students
Story at NEAtoday by Angela Harvey
During her years as a school bus driver, it upset Diane Formoso to see some children without coats or proper shoes shivering in the chilly morning air as they waited for her bus. She reached out to several of these students, buying them jackets, shoes, or Christmas presents. Her actions quickly grew into a clothing bank that Formoso opened at an elementary school.
Welcome to Caring for Kids
Caring for Kids is an all volunteer organization helping kids in need in Lakewood, Joint Base Lewis McChord, Steilacoom and University Place. All of the money we raise goes directly to help our kids, as we work through our local schools and community organizations. We provide school supplies, clothing, hygiene and dental products, food, books, ready to learn materials and holiday gifts. In addition we also collaborate with the Methodist Church Friday Dinners, the Fish Food Bank and the Food Connection Food Truck in Springbrook. Caring for Kids now has their own 501©3. All donations are tax deductible.
Caring for Kids Projects
Each year the Holiday Fair helps more than 2,000 kids and their families with food gift baskets for the holidays.
Held in mid-August, Ready to Learn Fair is an annual event which provides over 1800 students with new and good used clothing, new school supplies, immunizations, vision and hearing screening, dental screenings, free haircuts, $6 bike helmets, hygiene and dental products, books to read and a free lunch. Free sports physicals were provided to secondary students.
CFK Food Bank supplies immediate emergency food to families through the schools and community partners.
Emergency Food Packets are supplied to schools and after school programs. These packets contain a canned meal (chili, ravioli, chicken and noodles, etc.), a can of fruit and a cup of soup. This program meets the immediate needs of hungry kids.
The CFK Clothing Bank was established to provide free clothing to kids in need and their families. The clothing bank runs year-round.
The School Supply bank also runs year round . In addition to pens, notebooks, etc., deodorant, toothpaste, flosses and toothbrushes are also accessible through the school supply bank. The Life Skills Class at Lakes High School manages the CFK School Supply Bank as part of their work-training program.
We provide Dental Care Kits to our kids in need. Each kit includes a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss with a loving reminder to brush and floss in the morning and at bed time.
In celebration of the NEA sponsored Read Across America on March 2nd, a 1,000 New Books are distributed to Headstart and ECEAP (at-risk preschoolers) and some of the needier kindergarten students. Our purpose is to encourage parents and students to read at home and to put a new book in the hands of our kids in need. We purchase the books for thirty-five cents through the national organization First Books.
Barbara Smith, Clover Park Homeless Liaison coordinator, ” I work daily with over 300 homeless students that our district has identified. If not for the generosity of CFK, these children would have nowhere to turn for clothing and school supplies.”
Each year approximately 500 Growing Up Is Fun Bags are assembled and distributed to low income preschool parents. Each bag provides instructional materials and supplies to help parents prepare their kids for school.
CFK “Kids Helping Kids” Work Team is composed of special needs students from the Alfaretta House, Clover Park H.S. and Lakes H.S. The Alfaretta House runs the Kids Helping Kids Balloon Bouquets business,assembles ABC necklaces for the Growing Up Is Fun Bags, assembles toothbrush kits, collects ink cartridges and cell phones, prepares books for distribution and fills bags for the weekend backpack program. Lakes and Clover Park run the school supply bank and work at packing baby clothes and organizing the warehouse.
Baby Clothes Packets are prepared by the Caring for Kids work team. Used clothing is processed and packed into bags (6 outfits per bag ) and distributed through the clothing bank and WIC ( Women, Infants and Children Program)
In collaboration with Northwest Harvest we provide Weekend Bags of Food. Caring for Kids provides the bags and the work team processes and delivers the food to four elementary schools. Approximately 100 kids a weekend.
List of Needs
Money to purchase socks, shoes, school supplies, pants, underwear, and hygiene products for the Clothing Bank.
Holiday Fair donations of new clothing, gifts and money
New or good used children’s and young adult clothing.
New or good used toys, stuffed animals and games
New School supplies
New or good used books
Non-perishable food (especially meals in a can (chili. ravioli, etc), fruit, peanut butter, tuna, etc.) for our emergency food packets and the food closet.
Hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and dental floss (unused hotel amenities too)
Household goods blankets, silverware, plates, etc
Glasses and hearing aides (for the Lion’s)
Auction items for our February auction – a major fundraiser
How Caring for Kids Spends Money
Click Here: newsjune2008
Caring for Kids and Diane are in the HUFFINGTON POST!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-cardinali/loving-relationships-and-_b_1402834.html
“When you discover how to connect with young people, you unleash their potential and allow them to heal the wounds that they carry and take hold of their lives. Why would I want to do anything else?” – Diane Formoso
Caring for Kids 