Spring Cleaning Can Support Families!

Moving into a new home is a prideful accomplishment for the families who come to First Place!

We have some great news today – a high number of our families have been moving into transitional housing from shelters or shared housing. This is definitely a reason to celebrate!

Along with these great successes, First Place currently has a great need for household items to help these families turn an empty apartment into their home. We are looking for new and gently used household items.

If you’ve been spring cleaning, some of these items may be in your donate pile:

• Kitchen items such as: plates, bowls, silverware, mugs, pots & pans, baking pans, colanders, cutting boards, serving utensils—and anything you find is essential in the kitchen!
• Dish towels, bath towels, washcloths and laundry detergent
• Pillows, comforters, blankets and sheet sets
• Lamps with lightbulbs
• Plastic Hangers

We currently are not able to accept furniture donations to pass on to families. We would like to encourage donation of gift certificates to places parents can purchase furniture and other household items. Gift certificates starting at $50 for these stores are greatly appreciated: Goodwill, Ikea, Value village, Target, JC Penney, and Fred Meyer.

More helpful ideas:

• Purchase some of these items on Amazon.com and have them shipped directly to First Place. When you use the Amazon School Rewards link here, a percentage of your order is donated back to First Place.
• Forward this blog to your friends and neighbors, or post it in your office break room.
• Donate the proceeds of your spring garage sale to First Place.
• Link to this blog from your Facebook page. Challenge your friends to get involved.
• Ask your work department to each pick something off this list to donate.

For more information or to set up a time to deliver a donation contact Lisa Foss at (206) 323 6715.

Idea 23: Honor the Ones You Love

As we have been telling you on this blog, presents to others don’t always have to be wrapped with a pretty bow. Now is also a good time to give a gift to those who can no longer be with us this holiday season. Many First Place donors make gifts in honor of their friends and relatives to support our programs.

Earlier this year, we had a very special donation from Charles Palmer. Mr. Palmer had just lost his wife of many years, but before she died they decided to dedicate funds to remember her spirit as a teacher and someone to loved and cared for children. After looking at several organizations the Palmers chose First Place. After his wife’s death, Mr. Palmer made a gift to create the Lynn Palmer Scholarship Fund.

Many of the Palmers friends and relations made gifts (both large and small) to celebrate Lynn’s life. Mr. Palmer was surprised to get gifts from all over the country and some from people he never knew but knew his wife.

“I think making those donations helped Mr. Palmer in his grieving process, “ said Chris Cooper, First Place’s Director of Marketing and Development. “Losing someone you love is hard, but celebrating their life by making a gift is easy.”

Funds from the Lynn Palmer Scholarship Fund were used to pay teachers and instructional aides, provide supplies to classrooms and provide field excursion to help our children explore their world.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Idea 12: Donate a Gift Card

Gift Cards (especially in increments of $25) are one of the most versatile gifts you can give to First Place. Here are examples of how we use gift cards during the holidays and throughout the year.

• Gift cards to Safeway and Grocery Outlet are handed to families to help them through weeks where they might be struggling with their budget until the next payday.
• The Clothing Bank uses gift cards to Target, Amazon.com or Fred Meyer to buy new underwear and socks, and also purchase clothing for missing sizes.
• Great Clips and Super Cuts are great places for kids and families to get haircuts - especially if mom has a job interview.
• Teachers love gift certificates to Staples, Lakeshore Learning Center and booksellers like Barnes and Noble so they can purchase classroom supplies.
• During the holidays, we sometimes need to fill in the gaps with presents that are donated to students and families with trips to Target or Fred Meyer.
• Bus tickets are used to give to parents to get to their jobs and appointments around town.
• Office supplies can be purchased through gift cards, helping us keep our costs low and put more money into our programs.
• Costco gift cards are great for buying snacks for our After School Program.
• Other ideas for gift cards: Subway, McDonald's, Gas Stations, Visa Gift Cards, and even Baskin Robbins because who doesn't love a treat?
  

What's great about Gift Cards is that now you can buy many different kinds from your local Safeway without having to travel around to different stores.

Gift cards can be sent to First Place through the mail, through email at (lfoss@firstplaceschool.org) or dropped off in person. As always, call us with questions!

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Be a Secret Santa for a Child
Donate Office Supplies
Collect Box Tops for Education
Tour First Place

Idea 10: Collect Box Tops for Education

Did you know items at your local grocery store and local Staples have little coupons on them that look like this.

And each little coupon is worth money. Along the same lines as soup can labels and yogurt tops, these coupons add up to raise hundreds of dollars towards school supplies and learning materials for our teachers and students.

This fall when we first asked people to look in their cupboards and clip Box Tops for us, local mom blogger and social media/marketing expert Peggy Dolane jumped on board. She asked for a proposal to her PTA to donate one month of their Box Tops to First Place.

We get the feeling that the PTA couldn’t say no because Peggy brought us a gallon Ziploc bag stuffed with Box Tops coupons. (You can even clip a Box Tops coupon from the Ziploc box!) check out this picture of our new mound of Box Tops!


Box Tops for Education tabs can be found on hundreds of items you buy at the grocery store like Cherrios, Hefty, Kleenex, Huggies, Cottonelle, and more. (See a full list of items here.)

In addition to clipping Box Tops at home, here are some ideas on how you can help:

Ask your workplace, neighbors or book club to collect Box Tops.

• Put a message out on Facebook and/or Twitter with a link to this blog posting.
• If you already collect Box Tops for another school, consider splitting your collection and sending half to First Place.
• You can even sign up for special deal and news alerts from the Box Tops For Education website.

Once you start collecting, all you need to do is mail the Box Tops to:
First Place
Attn: Development Office
PO Box 22536
Seattle, WA 98122

Or drop them off and take a tour.

Peggy, thank you for championing First Place to your networks. We are so grateful!

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Be a Secret Santa for a Child
Donate Office Supplies
Offer Your Talent
Shop Amazon.com Using School Rewards
Volunteer in a Classroom

Idea 8: Shop Amazon.com Using School Rewards

Attention Shoppers!

You can support First Place through Amazon’s School Rewards program. Just click on the Amazon School Rewards program icon in this blog posting or on the First Place homepage, then purchase items on Amazon and First Place will receive up to 10% of your purchase. Yes, just by making purchases that you were already planning to make you can help support a great cause! This is an easy way to impact the lives of children and families.

Remember, your Amazon session needs to start by linking from this blog posting or the First Place homepage in order for the sale to count toward our goal.

This is a great and easy way to support First Place and to ask your friends, family, co-workers and everyone in your social circle to get on board!

In less than two months we’ve raised about $140 through this program. So keep shopping!

Oh, and don’t forget to buy yourself something nice. You’ve earned it!

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Write a Review on GreatNonprofits.org
Be a Secret Santa for a Child
Donate Office Supplies
Offer Your Talent

Idea 4: Make a Birthday Wish on Facebook

Happy Birthday to you! When your day comes, your Facebook page is letting your friends and family know exactly when to send you a special note.

Did you know that your Facebook page can also be used to make a difference in your community? By using the “Make a Birthday Wish for Charity” application on Facebook, you can have your Facebook community invest in organizations you care about, such as First Place.

So just how simple is it to add this application to your Facebook page? Just follow these steps:

1. Download Facebook's Causes Application if you haven't already.

2. You’ll then be directed to the Birthday Wish setup page. Step 3 on this page ("Select Your Birthday Cause")will allow you to add your cause, and don’t forget to search for and select "First Place”.

3. After you've completed these steps, help promote your Birthday Wish page to your friends using Facebook's suggestions! Here are some additional ways you can encourage friends and family to support First Place through your Birthday Wish by informing them that:

• First Place educates and nurtures children whose families struggle with the risk or reality of homelessness, where we offer housing, culturally relevant education and support services.
• Children can attend First Place School where they receive specialized attention, help catching up in school, plus meals, free bus transportation, counseling and health care services.
• Family Homelessness is often invisible. Families with children often sleep in cars, motels, emergency shelters and in the spare bedroom of a friend or relative. Many are single parents escaping domestic violence and working to keep their children safe.

If you decide to use this application, we’d love to hear from you. And of course, don’t forget to Facebook friend us and join our Cause.


Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Idea a Day Intro
Adopt a Classroom for the Holidays
Write a Review on GreatNonprofits.org
Be a Secret Santa for a Child

Idea 3: Be “Secret Santa” for a Child

The holidays are an especially hard time for families struggling with homelessness. Parents desperately want to help their children feel the magic of the holidays, and children understand that they probably can’t expect a special gift when their family needs a home, and food, and clothes first.

At First Place we believe in making the holidays special for our children and families. Every year we match a donor (or a group of donors) to EVERY family at First Place in our Adopt a Family program. The First Place family makes their wish list, and the donor makes the family’s dreams come true by selecting some or all of the items to buy.

Parents positively melt with gratitude when they pick up the gifts for their children—and themselves. In spite of all the hardships the family has had this year, there will be a magical holiday, all because some generous donor cared so much about a family they didn’t even know.

Could you be that donor this year?

As of today, we have 12 families that need to be adopted.

Please consider helping, either on your own or with your Church group, book group, knitting group, bowling team—whatever group you might belong to.

Contact Lisa at lfoss@firstplaceschool.org, or call 206-323-6715 extension 1109 if you are interested in adopting a family.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas!

Previous Idea a Day Posts:
Idea a Day Intro
Adopt a Classroom for the Holidays
Write a Review on GreatNonprofits.org

Idea a Day 1: Adopt a Classroom for the Holidays

Over the holidays we have great success with our Adopt a Family program which provides gifts for families for the holidays, but we don’t get as much support for our teachers and classrooms.

We’ve asked all of our teachers, and our programs such as Mentoring/Tutoring program, Library, After School program, and even Technology and Marketing, to come up with their own wish list in the hopes that someone will adopt their program.

In-kind gifts for classrooms and programs have a direct impact on the children who attend First Place.


When a mentor spends an hour with a student, they choose a board game, a puzzle, a jewelry making kit or an art project from the volunteer room and those short weekly interactions have huge impacts on the rest of their life. A study by Big Brothers Big Sisters of America shows that children who have mentors are 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs.

Tutors use books in our library to help students with their reading. Many children enter First Place up to 3 grade levels behind their peers. In a classroom of 30 children sometimes special needs are overlooked. At First Place, each child has an individual learning plan which helps them get back up to grade level.

Our After School Program provides arts and enrichment activities that our students may not otherwise have access to. Going to the local swimming pool and learning how to swim is just one example. First Place provides a towel, swimsuit, goggles and swim caps for each child at First Place that they can keep at the end of the program, but right now we’re running short on supplies.

2nd/3rd Grade Teacher Ms. Kristy uses pedometers to help her students measure distances and learn math.

When you adopt one of our classrooms or programs, you’re not just buying a pencil or a packet of paper, you are touching the life of a child.

To view Holiday Wish Lists and for more information about Adopting a Classroom or Program, please visit our Holiday Giving page.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Previous Idea a Day:
Idea a Day Intro Post

Idea a Day to Support First Place

What can you do today to make a positive impact in your community?

Especially around the holiday season we get a lot of phone calls asking us “What can we do to contribute to First Place?”

From now through January 1, 2010, our team will post an Idea a Day which will describe how you can support First Place through the holidays, and year round.

We also want to highlight the many generous volunteers and donors that help make our work possible. Our hope is that these ideas will spark something in you to take action.

Please send us your story telling us how your company, family, social club, girl scout troop or book club came together to support First Place and we’ll post it on here our blog.

It is our sincere wish that you will forward and share these ideas with your friends and coworkers.

Thank you for all of your support of our programs thus far. And remember to check back for daily updates and ideas! If you have any questions about the Idea a Day postings, please email Melissa Collett, Marketing & Events Manager.

Amazon.com School Rewards Program

You can now raise money for First Place when you purchase items on Amazon.com.

All you need to do is click on the banner below from this blog or the First Place website before you make your purchases and First Place will receive up to 10% of your purchase price. It's that easy!

Two Ways To Support First Place At The Grocery Store

We're really excited about two ways you can help support First Place right now -- by shopping at Safeway and by collecting Box Tops For Education.

Right now, if you shop at Safeway, check your receipts for the section titled "10% Back-To-Schools". It looks exactly like this:

First Place will receive 10% of your total if you follow the instructions listed on your receipt! Safeway will stop printing this offer on October 9 and then you will have until October 13 to go online and enter the code. All you have to do is go to the website www.backtoschools.escrip.com and click "Enter Receipts". Then you choose First Place as your school, or enter ID 5000012903. Then continue following instructions.

The great news is, you only have to do it once, and it tracks your purchases!

Now Collecting: Box Tops For Education!

Box Tops for Education tabs can be found on hundreds of items you buy at the grocery store like Cherrios, Hefty, Kleenex, Huggies, Cottonelle, and more. (See a full list of items here.)

Collecting Box Tops and sending them to First Place has the potential to raise thousands of dollars towards school supplies and learning materials for our teachers and students.

We want as many people as possible to get in the habit of collecting Box Tops For Education and mailing them in to First Place.

Here are some ideas on how you can help us:

• Ask your workplace, neighbors or book club to collect box tops.
• Put a message out on Facebook and/or Twitter with a link to this blog posting.
• If you already collect Box Tops for another school, consider splitting your collection and sending half to First Place.
  
• You can even sign up for special deal and news alerts from the Box Tops For Education website.
  

Once you start collecting, all you need to do is mail the Box Tops to:
First Place
Attn: Development Office
PO Box 22536
Seattle, WA 98122

We will be mailing a package out about every other month.

A Musical Extravaganza - benefit for First Place

This Saturday, September 12, join us for a benefit show for First Place at Tost in Fremont. The event features artists performing jazz, African drumming, folk, soul and more. You can listen to many of the artists by clicking on their links below.

Event Details: A Musical Extravaganza for a Great Cause

Saturday, September 12, 2009
Tost Lounge, 513 N. 36th St., Seattle, WA. View Google Map.
Doors: 6pm, 21+
Cost: $5 - $15 donation at the door

Proceeds benefit First Place.

Evening line-up:
6:30 p.m. - Steve Treseler Trio (Jazz) - http://www.myspace.com/stevetres
7:30 p.m. - Goat (Greg Sinabaldi, Zach Stewart and Byron Vannoy) - (Experimental Jazz)
8:30 p.m. - Colin Higgins Solo Set (Singer/Songwriter/Guitar) - http://www.myspace.com/colinhigginsmusic
9:15 p.m. - Thione Diop and Yeke Yeke (West African Drumming and Dance Music) - http://www.myspace.com/thionediop
10:15 p.m. - Andy Sells/ Forrest Giberson/ Michael Stegner (Americana Soul) - http://www.myspace.com/michaelstegner
10:50 p.m. - Michael Shrieve Group (Legendary Drummer from Santana) - http://www.myspace.com/michaelshrieve
11:50 p.m. - Byron Vannoy/ Thione Diop/ Hans Teuber/ Michael Stegner (A Fusion of Dance, World, Hip Hop and Jazz) - http://www.myspace.com/michaelstegner

A huge THANK YOU Michael Stegner of Creative Music Adventures in Wallingford who is hosting the benefit for First Place.

View the Facebook Invite.

New to First Place - How to Get Involved

We are meeting new people every day who are interested in learning more about First Place. We are the only agency in the State of Washington providing high quality education to children whose families are homeless in addition to providing wrap-around support services to parents.

For everyone just learning about our mission, we invite you to get involved. Our current opportunities include:

Tours. We offer tours almost every Friday at 11am for individuals, families and groups. This is the perfect time to learn about volunteer opportunities. Each tour group gets to hear firsthand a story from a parent who has been a part of our program. To sign-up email tours@firstplaceschool.org.

Back to School Donation Drive. Students start their year at First Place up to 3 grade levels behind their peers. They need the right supplies in their backpacks, in the classroom and at home. We are actively seeking classroom donations. Learn more.

Join our Email List. We send short monthly email update as well as success stories.

Connect with us online through Facebook and Twitter.

Surprise Shoe Donation!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone at Waypoint Outdoor who last week brought us 33 brand new pairs of shoes!
We're excited to use these at the start of our next school year in September!

Upcoming Event: MXD Championships!

MXD Championships is a mixed doubles tennis tournament held each July at the Bellevue Club. The tournament hosts a player party with a raffle and auction which is a benefit for First Place.

In the past four years, this events has raised over $100,000 for First Place! This year's tournament will be held July 24-26 at the Bellevue Club. Each team is guaranteed two matches. The player party includes food, drinks and a tennis exhibition.
If you are interested in playing in the tournament, you can register online. You can also view photos from last year on our Facebook page.

First Place is also seeking volunteers to help us at the party. Volunteers are needed 5pm-11pm on Saturday July 25, 2009 to help with a raffle and small auction. We are also interested in a volunteer photographer. Email Tammie Conder for more info: tconder@firstplaceschool.org.

Updated Wish List for Spring

New Wish Lists have been uploaded for the last month of school and to serve families throughout the summer.

Our Top Needs and Downloadable wish lists can be found here.

Our Development Team also has their minds on next fall for Back to School! We are looking for individuals, clubs, schools, PTA groups, churches and everything in between to consider hosting a donation drive for First Place for Back to School.

Contact Melissa Collett (206-323-6715 or mcollett [at] firstplaceschool.org) if you are interested!