Kindness Week & Personal Care Drive: May 7th-11th
Happy Valley is partnering with Bellingham School District Family Resource Center to collect items to support the families, children and youth in our community.
*Volunteers are needed Wednesday, May 9th from 10am-12:20pm, to assist students create kindness cards for the residents of Rosewood Villa assisted living community!
Please CLICK HERE to help if you can!
Please bring personal care items to Happy Valley May 7-11th and place in the collection boxes located at the front doors.
Personal Care Items Needed Include:
Toothbrushes & toothpaste
Shampoo & conditioner
Laundry soap, bar soap, dish soap
Deodorant (men's and women's)
Toilet paper
Diapers (sizes: newborn, 1,2,3,4,5,6)
Baby wipes
These items will go to support the BSD Family Resource Center's work in providing support for families, students and youth in our community. Here are some important statistics regarding our students and families (Bellingham Public Schools):
35% of our students are living in poverty distictwide
In 2015/2016 we had 559 students experiencing homelessness:
186 were unaccompanied (not in the physical custody of a parent or legal guardian)
146 lived in a shelter
328 were double up due to economic hardship
35 were unsheltered (tent/car/streets)
52 lived in a motel
#1 need for families experiencing homelessness (besides housing) is food
#1 need for unaccompanied high school students (besides housing) is food/clothing/jobs/legal help
Approximately 50% of our homeless seniors graduate on time
Of our 33 *GRADS students, approximately 50% are experiencing homelessness
*GRADS (Graduation, Reality And Dual-role Skills) is a program for pregnant and parenting students that provides the academic and childcare support necessary to stay in high school and graduate.