Speaking about Spokane
After three weeks on the ground in Washington, the Project:Camp team wrapped up operations having provided more than 6,000 hours of free, trauma-informed childcare for families who lost homes, were evacuated, and otherwise impacted by the three wildfires that ringed the city of Spokane.
What stood out most to us as we closed the chapter on this response was the community collaboration we saw. From the moment our advance team touched down, we found local partners who were eager to ensure kids had safe supportive spaces to play and process.
There are too many individuals to thank properly, but everyone at Spokane Public Schools, 9 Mile School District, the local YMCA and Boys & Girls Club chapters, and Suncrest Worship stepped up in incredible ways to help support their community.
We also had amazing responses from national partners who stepped up in so many ways. Sesame Workshops flew out Abby Cadabby to help uplift our kiddos; United Airlines and Airlink got us on the ground; Airbnb.org helped house our team; Walmart provided gift cards; and Save the Children, Morgan Stanley and Farmers Insurance came through with critical funding to cover some of our costs to run camp. It was a true team effort.
But we also need your support to help offset the full cost of this camp – and to be ready to run camp the next time a disaster strikes.
Bulletin Board
Our Co-Founder and Deputy Director Ozzie Baron was thrilled to participate in a roundtable discussion earlier this month hosted by the Boys & Girls Club of America on how to help kids impacted by disasters. We were joined by several other close partners including our fave Greta from Save the Children in a terrific panel with dozens of local clubs. Can’t wait to continue the conversations!
Check out a really cool feature our partners at Good360 did for International Youth Day looking at our combined efforts to help kids in Kentucky earlier this summer. It really highlights how a whole community response can help children heal and what our partnerships bring to the table. Special thanks to Jade and Lauren from Good360 who came out to Kentucky with us and helped bring smiles to these kids’ faces!
