Homeless teen with backpack

We provide support for homeless and foster children

Student Support is an Assistance League of Bellingham program that supports two populations;
homeless youth who are enrolled in school (grades kindergarten through 12th grades), and
foster children. Students are identified by the homeless liaison coordinators in each school
district in Whatcom County. We also provide vouchers for homeless teens who are enrolled in
the Whatcom Intergeneration High School which is a charter school in the county, and
Northwest Youth Services, who provides shelter and assistance to homeless youth enrolled in
School.

The students are given a voucher to shop on their own or with a school district employee at
Fred Meyer Lakeway. Customer Service employees have been trained to allow the student to
purchase only school appropriate clothing, using ALB guidelines.

We also have a relationship with Skookum Kids. Skookum Kids receives children who are
removed from their homes by Child Protective Services or the police. They stay at Skookum
Kids until a more permanent foster placement is assigned. This provides more stability for the
children. These children often arrive with only the clothing they are wearing. We provide
vouchers to Fred Meyer for the Skookum Kids staff or the foster parent to purchase clothing for
the child.

46
homeless school students redeemed vouchers
$150
needed to clothe one homeless child
$13,000
 spent on the Student Support program in 2023-24

What's happening in your community

Sock Drive for Whatcom County Kids in Need, Jan 14 – 24

Support our Sock Drive for Whatcom County kids in need. Assistance League of Bellingham is collecting new socks in all sizes at our Thrift & Gift Shop from Wednesday, January 14 – Saturday, January 24 . Drop NEW socks in our big “sock trunk” at the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Operation School Bell: Local Volunteers and JCPenney Team Up for Students

When the community and a nonprofit work together, great things happen. As local schools face budget cuts and families struggle, it is inspiring to see this partnership in action. Assistance League of Bellingham’s Operation School Bell program is providing more than 2,000 gift cards this year to students in eight Whatcom County school districts, giving […]

Operation School Bell Sign-up at Districtwide Back-to-School Family Block Party

On Saturday, August 23, Bellingham Public Schools hosted the annual BACK-TO-SCHOOL FAMILY BLOCK PARTY, a resource fair for all district families. School and community partnered tables provided important resources for starting the school year. The community event included signups for Operation School Bell, a program of Assistance League of Bellingham that provides new school clothes […]