Project Cool for Back-to-School

The Coalition Current: December 2025

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Kids helping kids succeed Crystal has eight-year-old triplets. “Which is an adventure.” Crystal’s family—her three triplets, Noah and Carter and Simone, and her husband, Dominic—volunteered for Project Cool for the first time this year. Crystal knew about the Coalition thanks to her work. She’s an Endowed Associate Professor at the UW’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance. Now that their children are old enough, Crystal and her husband were looking for kid-friendly volunteer opportunities to get their whole family engaged with their community. They adopted a street about a year ago and do neighborhood cleanups every month or so. She heard about Project Cool from a friend who has been trying to find ways for people to engage and educate themselves, “and do what we can” in this time of federal upheavals, Crystal explained. Project Cool was a great opportunity for their family, Crystal said. She talked to her kids about who gets the backpacks and why they need them. She explained that they were going to be helping other kids. “Kids that are like them.” Homelessness has come up with her children before, Crystal said. “Just being out in the world,” she said, “we all see that a lot.” When people were living in tents next to the triplets’ preschool, Crystal and Dominic would talk to them about what theysaw on their walk to school. One of the kids thought the people were camping. Crystal and her husband explained: “It’s not what it’s like when we go camping.” For Crystal and her husband, Project Cool was a chance to say to their children: “This is a small thing that we can do to help in our community because we can’t help everyone. We can’t fix this problem on our own, but this is a way that we can …

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Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 – August 21, 2025

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Our Helping Homeless Students 2025 training included an overview of the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, how to access rights and services granted by that law, how to locate a McKinney-Vento liaison, and a virtual resource fair featuring service providers in King County that specifically serve students and families. Thank you to Kayla Blau for presenting this training. Kayla is the Strategic Advisor of Housing and Education at Building Changes. She has more than 15 years of experience working with youth that have experienced complex trauma in King County. An Overview of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act Educational Rights The main purpose of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is to protect the educational rights of students experiencing homelessness so that they have the same level of academic support as their housed peers. Rights of students under McKinney-Vento include: A student’s “school or origin” is the school they were attending before they became homeless. For example, if a student was attending school in Issaquah and then they and their family moved to a shelter in Seattle, the student’s school of origin is their school in Issaquah. Continuing their education at their school of origin is important for a student’s academic success and social-emotional development. Immediate enrollment means a student has the right to enroll in a school “without delay” even if: Appropriate and adequate transportation to the student’s school of origin can look like many things. It doesn’t necessarily mean a school bus. It can be transit passes, gas reimbursement for family members to drive a student to/from school, or using a service like HopSkipDrive. Ensuring a student can participate in the same programs as other students could look like waiving fees to participate in a science lab or a field trip. Eligibility Students are considered homeless under the McKinney-Vento Act …

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General Membership Meeting – July 17, 2025

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During our July 17 General Membership Meeting we shared some great program updates, heard from the Seattle Disabilities Commission, and learned resources for tenants in Washington from Kasey Burton of Catholic Community Services’ Tenant Law Center. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Upcoming at the Coalition Welcome Meghan! The Coalition brought on a Summer Programs Associate, Meghan Piotrowski, to assist with our two big summer initiatives, Project Cool and voter registration. If anyone has a program they think would benefit through voter education and registration, please contact vote[at]homelessinfo[.]org to talk about scheduling a visit by the Coalition and our team of trained volunteers. If you’re looking for voter education resources, check out our webpage with our You Don’t Need a House to be a Voter guide.  Our Project Cool needs a few more helping hands for July 29 & July 30. These are days when program coordinators from our member orgs will come pick up their backpacks orders. All volunteer days are hosted at the Bryn Mawr Methodist Church (8016 S 116th St, Seattle, WA 98178): Sign up for a volunteer shift here and email contact[at]homelessinfo[.]org if you have any questions. Next up at the Coalition In place of our August General Membership Meeting, we are hosting a training on Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 on Thursday, August 21. This two-hour training will provide case managers the tools they need to understand and use the federal McKinney Vento Assistance Act, which allows certain rights to students and families experiencing homelessness so they can maintain their public school education. If you or someone you know works with families experiencing homelessness, you can register for that …

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General Membership Meeting – June 12, 2025

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During our June 12 General Membership Meeting, we shared upcoming opportunities and trainings at the Coalition, heard from DSHS about Washington state’s summer EBT program for K-12 students (SUN Bucks), talked to the Anti-Hunger and Nutrition Coalition about the recent state legislative session and federal threats to SNAP, met the Coalition’s Board of Directors new members, and shared ways our community is celebrating Juneteenth and Pride this month. If this wealth of information is something you want to share with others or access again, please subscribe to the Coalition’s YouTube channel, where our membership meetings and trainings are collected. Upcoming at the Coalition Support for K-12 students experiencing homelessness For more than 33 years, the Coalition on Homelessness has helped students and families prepare for the start of a new school year with new backpacks, school supplies, books, and dental hygiene supplies. This effort, our Project Cool for Back-to-School, will support 1,800 students in 2025. We are currently looking for volunteers to help us stuff and distribute backpacks in July. We would love to have you join us! All volunteer days are hosted at the Bryn Mawr Methodist Church (8016 S 116th St, Seattle, WA 98178): Sign up for a volunteer shift here and email projectcool[at]homelessinfo[.]org if you have any questions. The Coalition supports K-12 students experiencing homelessness year-round by providing a training on the educational rights of students in public schools as defined in the McKinney-Vento Education of Homeless Children and Youth Assistance Act. This training is for any case manager or provider working with students and families experiencing homelessness. The training will cover: Sign up for this year’s Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 training on Thursday, August 21 from 9-11 a.m. over Zoom. Please note that this training will take the place of our August General Membership …

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Helping Homeless Students: McKinney Vento 101 Info & Resource Session for Homeless Service Providers

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Thank you to everyone who attended our Helping Homeless Students: McKinney-Vento 101 Information and Resource Session on Thursday September 3. A huge thank you to Kayla Blau, Mehret Tekle-Awarun, Samie Iverson, Oliver Alexander-Adams, Karen Pillar, Sharonne Navas and Jessyca Murphy for sharing their knowledge and passion with us. We appreciate the lively conversation had in the chat box and out loud during the workshop. You can review some of the tools and resources discussed at the information session below. If you have questions or wish to provide additional materials to this collection, please email your questions to Jason. Read about Education Rights for Homeless and Unstably Housed Students, which includes our updated 2020-2021 King County McKinney Vento Liaison list. Building Changes Click here to view Building Changes’ PowerPoint presentation. Mehret Tekle-Awarun and Samie Iverson shared information about Schoolhouse Washington, a project of Building Changes. In partnership with the Raikes Foundation, they have created the Washington State Student and Youth Homelessness COVID-19 Response Fund to augment existing public dollars that will be used to support students, youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Building Changes will distribute funds to help organizations, schools, and local tribes meet needs that may otherwise be difficult to fulfill or sustain without additional assistance.  Student Needs Survey: To identify homeless students most immediate needs, Schoolhouse Washington also surveyed McKinney-Vento liaisons across the state who work directly with highly mobile students and their families. In return, they received responses from liaisons in 74 school districts across 32 counties who collectively serve nearly 17,000 students experiencing homelessness in Washington State. Click here to review the findings of their study. The top five needs identified by survey respondents were: food, mobile hotspots/internet access, devices (e.g. laptops, tablets, computers, phones), hygiene supplies, and rental assistance. Narrative responses shed light on what school districts are doing …

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Introducing Maggie Malone, the Coalition’s Summer Intern

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Hi all, My name is Maggie Malone, current summer intern at the Coalition on Homelessness, primarily working with Project Cool. I am extremely excited to be a part of the team and hope I can use the knowledge I gain through this experience to better support and advocate for people who are homeless in King County. I am currently entering my Sophomore year at Gonzaga University, where I intend to earn a bachelors degree in Human Physiology. I like music, travelling, hanging out with friends, running, and playing with my dog. I am originally from Seattle and it is very important to me that I take care of my home. I first heard of the Coalition through a family friend who volunteers for Project Cool each year with his coworkers. Project Cool especially sparked my interest because I saw it as a hands-on opportunity to give homeless students the preparedness and confidence to be able to get an education, which I wanted to be a part of. There is so much more to Project Cool than filling up backpacks. The form of advocacy that Project Cool exhibits, allows education to flourish and expands the horizon of support systems. I wanted to join the Coalition because it provides the chance to support a vulnerable population and enlighten others on how they can participate. This summer, I will be coordinating Project Cool donation drop-off/pick-up sites, managing volunteer events, and providing general support for the Coalition’s database, website, social media, and fundraisers.   If you would like to get involved with Project Cool, here is what you can do: Register to volunteer. Backpack filling days are July 14-21. Host a school supply drive or fundraiser. Email us at projectcool@homelessinfo.org for tips and suggestions, or take a look at our 2017 Wish List Donate to Project Cool securely online. Tell your friends!  

Volunteer Days are over for 2016, but you can help make back-to-school cool throughout the year!

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These are Katherine’s reflections on Project Cool 2016: Last Wednesday, a volunteer placed the final Project Cool backpack into a case manager’s van and I began to reflect on this year’s Project Cool Volunteer Days. As we transition to the next phase of Project Cool, I am able to appreciate Project’s Cool full year cycle and the breadth of people and communities the program touches. We have enjoyed each Project Cool volunteer day, and I feel lucky to have organized, packed and inventoried supplies alongside such fantastic volunteers! As we look forward to the next few months and connecting to community members through supply drives (want to host one where you work or play? Contact Hillary – hillary[at]homelessinfo[dot]org), we know that 1,417 colorful backpacks will enter the first days of school swung over the shoulders of students ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade. Having only joined the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness a few weeks ago, I entered my first volunteer day with enthusiasm, excitement, and a bit of nervous anticipation of the amount of work to be accomplished in just a week. I could not wait to see the weeks of donation and volunteer coordination I had supported, as well as the year-long effort Hillary and Julia contributed to Project Cool, come to bloom! My expectations were surpassed and my qualms eased by the awesome volunteers that arrived with enthusiasm for each shift. I feel hopeful for the future of the children that Project Cool serves after discussing many volunteers’ commitment to ending homelessness. Over the past week I learned more fully how raising a child can require mobilization from an entire community. Participants demonstrated how volunteering quickly builds community amongst initial strangers. Participants bonded over their passion for service to form productive, fun work teams. For many of …

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Recap: Families with Children Meeting – KidsPlus Training and Coordinated Entry for All – June 22, 2016

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Big thanks to all who were able to join us for last month’s Families with Children committee meeting. As always, it was great to see a room full of familiar and new faces! We were joined by Mary Dunbar from Kids Plus (Public Health – Seattle & King County), who offered a training on working with guests to address their mental health needs. Danielle Winslow (All Home) provided timely Coordinated Entry for All updates with the group. Highlights and resources from these two folks are below: A list of mental health services available for children can be found here. The YMCA also operates the Children’s Crisis Outreach Response System (CCORS), which offers urgent crisis outreach as well as short-term stabilization resources to children and youth in King County, as well as their families. King County Mental Health’s wraparound services offer additional supports to children to help stabilize them in the community. More information and application processes for this program can be found on the King County website. Adults and folks of all ages can access mental health services at the locations listed on this document. The Crisis Clinic is an excellent resource for folks to call if in need of immediate crisis help, and they also provide information about suicide warning signs and crisis intervention strategies. King County Crisis and Commitment Services are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide initial outreach services to folks not already accessing outpatient care in King County as well as evaluation of people with mental disorders for possible involuntary detention in psychiatric facilities according to the mental illness law in the State of Washington. Throughout King County and the state of Washington, low-cost and free clinics are available for folks to access mental and physical healthcare needs. Mary suggests looking into Consejo, Cornerstone, and Project Access Northwest …

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Recap: General Meeting and Street Drugs 101 Case Manager Training – June 18,2015

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What a meeting!  Among the friendly faces were representatives from SHARE, YWCA, Plymouth Housing Group, Housing Development Consortium, Child Care Resources, Compass Housing Alliance, Housing Justice Project, Hopelink, REACH/Evergreen Treatment Services, North Helpline, Catholic Community Services, Recovery Cafe, Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, Jewish Family Services, Aridell Mitchell Home (Goodwill Development Association), Washington Family Counseling Service, ROOTS, YouthCare, El Centro de la Raza, Multi-Service Center, Year Up, and 2-1-1. Following the General Meeting, representatives from even more organizations and community members joined us for our Street Drugs 101 + Naloxone + Related Laws training. Both were informative meetings – Here’s a brief recap . . .  [Psssst! Don’t miss out in the future — add our General Meeting dates to your calendar.] June 18, 2015 General Membership Meeting Report-back Smoking Ban update – On Thursday, May 28, the Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously (8-0) to pass a smoking ban in Seattle Parks. This ban will take effect 30 days after the vote, likely beginning in July. While this is still a disappointing outcome, it’s important to remember the impact of our collective action. By speaking up with many community members and organizations, we were able to influence the removal of the $27 citation, ensure a “Right to Dispute” be made available, and see to it that there is oversight of enforcement. An emphasis of education is also a feature of this policy. Read the Seattle Parks and Recreation’s release about the new smoking ban.  Now, we all have continued work to do to ensure that what is “in writing” is put into action, and that whatever plays out is brought to light. This means we need you, your colleagues, your friends and family, and, certainly, the people you serve who are (likely) most impacted by this policy to keep us informed about how the implementation and enactment of …

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Recap: Coalition’s General Membership Meeting — May 21, 2015

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You packed the room at our May 21 General Membership Meeting. Among the friendly faces were folks from Farestart, Sound Mental Health, Community Lunch on Capitol Hill, Harborview, City of Redmond, Housing Development Consortium, Hopelink, 2-1-1, Solid Ground, Seattle Community Law Center, Compass Housing Alliance, ROOTS, Catholic Community Services – Aloha Inn, Jewish Family Services, YearUp, Lake City Taskforce on Homelessness, Real Change, Global to Local, City of Seattle Human Services Department, Seattle Parks Department, resident of Pioneer Square, UW Center for Pediatric Dentistry, 45th Street Youth Clinic (Neighborcare), Low Income Housing Institute, REACH, UW Law School, YWCA Landlord Liaison Project. This broad representation from our member organizations and community as a whole helped facilitate important, timely dialogue with Seattle Human Services Department Director and Deputy Director as well as Acting Parks Superintendent. Here’s a brief recap . . .  [Psssst! Don’t miss out in the future — add our General Meeting dates to your calendar.] I. Discussion with Director Catherine Lester & Deputy Directors Heidi Albritton Catherine stared by sharing her background, starting at age 4, to help us understand her motivations, perspective, and reasons why she does what she does. She has five over-arching focuses/goals for HSD: Results. Generate results that are measurable, and that increase equity and decrease disparity. Measures vary, and need to be properly applied (e.g., quality vs performance vs outcome). Public Stewardship. HSD has had audit findings each year for the last four years. This isn’t good for many reasons, two of which are: 1) calls the question about whether HSD can do the job, and 2) risks money that flows to providers. Preferred Employer. Create a working environment that is positive and productive. This absolutely includes ensuring that providers have better, positive experiences working with HSD staff. Innovation.(Let’s continue to honor innovations that already exist.) Spoke specifically towards …

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