Seattle, WA. Mary’s Place has exceeded a two million dollar campaign goal, despite the present economic impacts, with more than 6,000 individuals and over 200 local businesses generous contributions. As a result, Mary’s Place – the region’s largest family emergency shelter provider was able to create a Rapid Response Fund ahead of the eviction moratorium end date, to bring families inside into safe shelters and provide permanent housing beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.
To celebrate the end of the campaign, captured in the feature image, Mary’s Place released the following video:
Marty Hartman, Mary’s Place Executive Director expressed her heartfelt thanks, “We are so grateful to our community for this incredible outpouring of support. When the eviction moratorium comes to an end, we know that many families who are struggling will face homelessness. The new Rapid Response Fund will help us meet the increasing need and keep families housed by providing flexible funding solutions.”
With help from the community, Mary’s Place provides shelter and housing to families through the successful campaign.
In previous years, several festive events and activities had been celebrated during the campaign. This year, observing Covid-19 related safety measures, events were held virtually and included the following: a weekend at-home scavenger hunt, a game night, an online concert by the Amazon Symphony Orchestra, and Dick’s Drive-In Burger Box “virtual” Bingo. Continuing its ongoing commitment to the issue of family homelessness, the campaign kicked-off with a 250,000 dollar contribution from The Starbucks Foundation.
Mary’s Place exceeded the campaign goal to protect families.
To hear more and view updates from Mary’s Place visit the Facebook page at:
Mary’s Place believes that no one’s child should sleep outside. They provide safe and inclusive shelter and resources for women, children and families on their journey out of homelessness. Mary’s Place currently operates five crisis response family shelters providing refuge and community for 500 family members experiencing homelessness. To learn more about this organization and get involved, visit Mary’s Place Seattle
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.
Seattle, WA. Mary’s Place is offering the same services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic as it did before the virus. These services include emergency family shelter, meals, clothing, medical services, housing specialists, and many more programs and resources. Nevertheless, COVID-19 has shifted how many of these offerings are administered. Specifically, protocols have been put in place to protect guests, staff, and volunteers from the virus. Chief Communications Officer Linda Mitchell says that Mary’s Place is still “making changes every day.” Health and safety protocols include requiring all staff, guests, and visitors to wear masks in common areas and regularly wash hands. Mary’s Place is also conducting daily health assessments of guests and staff, increasing cleaning schedules and protocols, and identifying isolation areas should someone exhibit COVID-19 symptoms. For more information about Mary’s Place’s commitment to health and safety, people may visit the organization’s COVID-19 page on its website.
Watch the video below to learn about Mary’s Place’s goal of giving children, and their families, a place to stay while they work on getting housing.
Another significant change Mary’s Place has made is how its food programming is carried out. According to Mitchell, “a lot more people have been in [Mary’s Place shelters] and eating meals” which has led to a need to “increase food supply.” Before the pandemic, Mary’s Place relied on food recovery services to provide meals for guests, but these services have been hit hard due to COVID-19. To remedy this, Mitchell shares that Mary’s Place has “gotten creative with corporate partners” and “partnered with local restaurants” to obtain food for the influx of guests. Since local restaurants shut down earlier this year in light of the virus, many have turned to local organizations like Mary’s Place to provide meals for those in need. Some corporations are also buying food from local restaurants to deliver to Mary’s Place.
As far as volunteers go, Mitchell reports that Mary’s Place has paused its in-person volunteer program as a result of COVID-19. Thus, Mary’s Place has adapted how volunteers assist with programs at the organization, particularly those related to children and education. Groups of students at Mary’s Place receive virtual tutoring through Zoom, and some engage in “talk time” in which they work with volunteers to improve their English skills. Since school is starting up again, Mary’s Place is also working to keep children connected to educational resources, get their necessary equipment set up, and provide general support for students as they begin online schoolwork. Click here to see the ways you may safely volunteer and support Mary’s Place.
Children at Mary’s Place preparing to go to school. Through Mary’s Place’s services, children receive all kinds of school-related support from staff and volunteers.
Since 1999, Mary’s Place has aided hundreds of women and families in moving out of homelessness and into more secure living situations. Mary’s Place currently has six family centers across King County, as well as a Women’s Day Center in downtown Seattle. Across its shelters, Mary’s Place provides 680 beds for those in need of shelter. On average, Mary’s Place helps families move into stable housing in just 90 days.
In addition to food, shelter, clothing, and medical services, Mary’s Place possesses additional resources. The Baby’s Best Start program allows moms with newborns to recover and bond with children in a private and nurturing environment. Popsicle Place provides care for medically fragile children and their families. Housing specialists work with families to create and achieve housing and financial goals. And while parents work with housing specialists, the Kids Club provides children with age-appropriate activities, homework assistance, and more. People may learn more about these programs and others on Mary’s Place’s website.
Children reading at Mary’s Place. Through the Kids Club, children receive age-appropriate activities and homework assistance.
Looking ahead, a big event coming up at Mary’s Place is its SHINE Virtual Gala on October 23. The gala will feature a live singing competition, live and silent auction, and the opportunity to order meal packages from local restaurants. Registration for the SHINE Virtual Gala is available now, click here to learn more.
From Mary’s Place:
To support Mary’s Place, people can make financial donations, donate items off of its Amazon Charity List, or make face masks to donate. Mary’s Place also accepts donations of medical supplies and clothing, particularly underwear at the moment. While volunteer opportunities are currently limited, people may volunteer by creating inspirational cards or setting up Zoom meetings with guests. People can learn more about volunteer opportunities here.
Mary’s Place provides safe, inclusive shelter and services that support women, children, and families on their journey out of homelessness.
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