EVERGREEN CHILDREN'S ASSOCIATION, dba Kids Co.

Kids Co. provides uninterrupted care in the form of tuition assistance for families experiencing financial hardship.

At Kid Co., we engage our kids in exciting activities every day! The kids experience field trips (Columbia Tower or Pacific Science Center), guest teachers (from the Pratt Fine Arts Center or the Woodland Park Zoo), learn how to cook, read new and classic children’s books, experiment with microscopes, create handmade rugs like Eddie, and much more.

Play and imagination are far more than just a way to fill a kid’s free time. Play is one of the main ways they learn from the world and the people around them. Kids Co. kids creates curriculums which emphasize exploration and discovery-based learning. This requires providing lots of multi-sensory, hands-on activities and plenty of time scheduled for play. Our dedicated teachers design lesson plans which help stimulate the kids’ learning and form connections in their growing brains.

We aspire to build environments where ALL kids can create lasting friendships, safely explore the world of play and imagination, and nurture their many gifts and talents. Parents want the best for their children - so do we! Our commitment to best practices in childcare is uncompromising which is why we seek funding to support the intensive training and coaching program that was designed for Kids Co. by the UW Haring Center to train staff to work with kids who have extreme behavior challenges.

Our core clientele are working families, many of whom live on a low-income budget and struggle to put meals on the table and keep their children fed. Kids Co. at Graham Hill’s program manager shared recently that she has students who come to the center with nothing more than soda crackers for lunch. Without a second glance, she supplements these types of meal deficiencies with items that round out a complete meal. We want her, and each of our staff, to have the ability to provide this service for all the kids in our care who don’t have enough to eat. Hunger should never threaten our children’s present or future! In addition, hunger not only creates physical problems, it also has negative effects on academic performance, social skills and relationship building. With the existing problems that food insecurity creates, it can also be challenging for a student to reap the benefits available through before- or after-school care.

HELP US BUILD OUR DISASTER KITS!
The mission of this fundraiser is to raise enough money to enhance our disaster preparedness kits in all 15 of our child care centers (1,400 children). We currently have enough for a
3-day supply but Washington State recommends enough for 7-days!