Mary’s Place Kicks-off 7th Annual No Child Sleeps Outside Crowdfunding Campaign 

Seattle, WA. This fall hundreds of families and children are sleeping outside in cars, tents, and other uninhabitable spaces. The weather has turned cold, wet, and dark, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, these families have no safe place to sleep this winter. In response to this crisis, and despite facing economic uncertainly, Seattle’s business community has come together for the seventh year with the goal of raising $2 million to help Mary’s Place address this untenable situation with its annual crowdfunding campaign: No Child Sleeps Outside. Here’s a video about the effort:

During last year’s successful No Child Sleeps Outside campaign, local businesses, and the community came together to raise just over $3 million, making it possible for Mary’s Place to bring more than 1,000 moms, dads, and kids inside to a new downtown shelter. That shelter, inside the Amazon headquarters with eight floors of wide-open spaces and private rooms, opened in March, just as the pandemic hit.

But even with that success, there are still hundreds of children and families sleeping outside. Today, as the weather gets colder and this pandemic worsens, Mary’s Place is only able to provide shelter to just about half of the families calling, looking for a safe, warm place to come inside. Families staying in shelters are anxious to move into their own homes, and those who recently moved into housing worry about their ability to pay rent when the temporary eviction moratorium ends.

The No Child Sleeps Outside campaign begins on November 17 and runs through December 31. Anyone can help ensure that No Child Sleeps Outside this winter just by going to the crowdfunding site at NoChildSleepsOutside.org to make a donation or start a fundraising team.

From the No Child Sleeps Outside Campaign:

Experiencing homelessness is traumatic for families and children, and during this pandemic, it’s more important than ever to keep families safe and housed. This year’s campaign will provide funding for Mary’s Place to create a Rapid Response Fund to help families move quickly into housing – or keep their hard-won homes – opening more shelter space for families this winter. Reaching the $2 million goal will help over 650 families, more than 2,300 moms, dads, and kids, achieve their housing goals. 

“Before this pandemic hit, we were very close to reaching our goal of bringing every child inside from cars and tents. Today, with social distancing and other health measures, we’ve had to close several smaller shelters and have lost 300 beds for families,” said Marty Hartman, Mary’s Place Executive Director. “Things are changing, and we’re changing how we meet the need by providing resources to help unsheltered families find housing quickly and keep families in their hard-won homes. We know that it will take our entire community to solve this crisis, but together, we know we can get through this, and we can bring every child inside to warmth, safety, and stability.”

 “Since 2016, Starbucks has been a proud supporter of the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign, recognizing that the rising homelessness crisis among Seattle-area families in our hometown is our most urgent issue to face,” said Virginia Tenpenny, vice president, global social impact at Starbucks and executive director of The Starbucks Foundation. “The COVID-19 pandemic has not made it any easier for families experiencing homelessness, and we are so proud to partner with Mary’s Place and their work to bring and keep more unsheltered moms, dads and kids inside. The safest place for a family to be is in their own home – especially during this pandemic.”

In addition to Starbucks, other sponsors and partners include 2A Consulting, Amazon, Brides for a Cause, Coldstream Wealth Management, Comcast NBCUniversal, Darigold, Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants, Dunn Lumber, Enchant Christmas, Forsberg & Umlauf, P.S., Frontdoor, G3 builders, Google, Hempler Foods Group, H.D. Fowler Company, HNN Associates, LLC, KeyBank, Lease Crutcher Lewis, Lighthouse Roasters, LMC A Lennar Company, Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Murraysmith, Nestlé Coffee Partners, PRIME Electric, PwC, Russell Investments, SAP Concur, Seattle Chocolate, Smart Foodservice, The Billing Associates Group, Theo Chocolate, Tinte Cellars, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Windermere Foundation, and Zillow Group – with more to come!

As always, there will be lots of fun ways to participate in the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign, including these virtual events:

• The No Child Sleeps Outside “Game Night In” on Tuesday, November 24, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm is a fun series of challenges for you and your team (event hosts will place you into groups). Some games are scavenger-hunt inspired, some are trivia inspired, some may be more guessing-game style, and some may be more skill-based. There’s something for everyone! Attendance is limited, and tickets are available now for $30 per person. More information is available atnochildsleepsoutside.org. 
• The No Child Sleeps Outside Virtual Scavenger Hunt takes place over the weekend of Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13. All you’ll need is your phone, an internet connection, your team (family members or friends), and your home. The interactive Let’s Roam app presents players with a series of challenges and questions ranging in difficulty and point value. The first team to complete the challenge will win a fabulous grand prize! The cost to play is $50 per team. More information is available atnochildsleepsoutside.org. 
• Other fun events, including Dick’s Drive-in Burger Box Bingo to benefit the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign, will be announced soon!

About Mary’s Place: 

Mary’s Place believes that no one’s child should sleep outside. They provide safe, inclusive shelter and services to support women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness. The organization focuses on an innovative strategy of combining flexible funding, emergency shelter, and resources for transition into housing to bring families out of homelessness. Visit MarysPlaceSeattle.org to learn more.