Executive Summary:
History: For 14 years now, Juanita High School’s DECA chapter has hosted an annual Hopelink Food drive to collect food and cash donations for the non-profit and Washington based Hopelink organization. It’s an event that promotes community involvement and supports Hopelink in their many branched efforts to support the homeless community in and around Seattle. Hopelink not only provides food to the less fortunate they also supply services such as, assistance filing taxes, finding affordable living, gaining access to adult and child education and helping those in need find and keep jobs. This year, under the leadership of Teagan Cramer and with the help of Angelina Lum and Grace Burt, Juanita’s DECA chapter led the food drive and held an all school competition to raise food, items, money and awareness for Hopelink. Although the food drive had been done before, it was missing a competitive incentive to get people excited about donating food or money. Our DECA chapter truly stepped up to make this project a success, helping families across the city. Our chapter recognized that winter and the holidays are the toughest for those in our community living in poverty and made sure they were provided with basic food items and hygienic products.
Introduction:
a. Historic Background of Hopelink
Founded in 1971, Hopelink’s vision is “a community free of poverty” and their mission is to “promote self-sufficiency for all members of our community; we help people make lasting change”. They do this by providing a series of programs and services that include adult education, emergency financial help, employment services, energy assistance, family development therapeutic sessions, financial literacy classes, food assistance, transitional housing and transportation. These programs and services are all designed to help people gain skills, knowledge and the resources they need to escape the chains of poverty forever.
Hopelink is a member of the Washington State Community Action Partners (WSCAP), which is “a network of 30 agencies serving low-income families and individuals in all 39 counties in Washington”. Hopelink is one of the largest nonprofits in Washington state and was voted one of the 10 most trusted nonprofit brands in Washington in 2011 by the Puget Sound Business Journal. It’s also been voted favorite local nonprofit by readers of 425 Magazine in 2012, 2013, and 2015-2017. This year Hopelink held their 23rd annual Reaching Out Benefit Luncheon in Seattle, Washington to raise funds and awareness of Hopelink’s projects occurring county-wide. Last year’s luncheon – with about 1,800 attendees – raised more than $1.2 million to provide food, shelter, transportation and job readiness for homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities. By utilizing every available resource, Hopelink has been able to provide necessary support to over 64,000 people in Washington every year, and are still growing. With five emergency service centers in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Shoreline and Carnation they span the majority of King County, the most populous county in Washington.
Hopelink is led by a 19-person executive board comprised of employees, community members, elected officials, and representatives of the community. As a nonprofit they also partner with businesses to provide their vital services. For instance, they partner with the Seattle Conservation Corp to “provide jobs and training for homeless and formerly troubled persons”. Also, Bank of America partnered with Hopelink and donated a $250,000 grant in October 2016. The funds purchased a truck and Hopelink Harvest was born to gather fresh fruits and vegetables for Hopelink’s food banks. Hopelink CEO Lauren Thomas said “Since 2006, Bank of America has partnered with Hopelink, providing us with nearly $400,000 in grants and sponsorships to support Hopelink programs and services. They have been an exceptionally generous partner for more than a decade, and this latest grant is another example of their commitment to helping Hopelink clients gain stability and a path out of poverty.” This is evidence that not only local, but also national businesses believe in the work that Hopelink does for King County and Washington state as a whole.
Hopelink also has numerous sponsors like Aetna, Town and Country Markets and Arcora for their annual End Summer Hunger Program. This original fundraising program helps ensure kids that usually receive free lunch at school don’t go hungry over summer while school isn’t in session. This program running from April to August and the donations received help to offset the increased demand at Hopelink’s 5 food banks during the summer months.
b. Description of Local DECA Chapter, School and Community
Juanita High School DECA Chapter
Juanita High School
Located in Kirkland Washington, Juanita High School has a population of about 1,500 students consisting of 53% male and 47% female students. The school colors are red, white and blue and the mascot is the “rebel”. There are about 80 full-time teachers on staff and a student to faculty ratio of about 19:1. Founded in 1971 (coincidently the same year as Hopelink) with the idea of “open concept” classrooms, essentially classrooms without walls to cultivate a feeling of inclusivity and a connected school community. Walls were constructed in 1984, but the idea of a “rebel family” stayed and has been a huge factor in keeping the original feeling of an inclusive community for all. The theme of a “rebel family” has also been instrumental in maintaining school spirit while under construction. In 2016, voters passed a $398 million bond measure to demolish and rebuild the entirety of Juanita High School since it had not been updated since the input of walls in 1984. With 219,000 square feet of rebuilt space and 33,000 square feet of new space being added, the new building will accommodate 1,800 students in 36 classrooms once complete.
Kirkland, Washington