InvestED RAISES OVER $1 MILLION OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
FOR STUDENTS DURING SHUTDOWN
RENTON, WA, May 7, 2020 – InvestED has raised an additional $1 million to support children impacted by the COVID-19 school shutdown. As one of the state’s leading education non-profits, InvestED is distributing 100% of the funds directly to school districts throughout Washington to support nutritional health and virtual learning opportunities for vulnerable students.
"InvestED has been an incredible partner to school districts across the state,” says Chris Reykdal, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. “They help to support services that are often challenging for districts to provide, especially in a complex moment like COVID-19."
“Nutritional needs and remote learning are key elements of helping students get through this difficult period. The state’s educators are doing a great job so we chose to enhance our efforts to do even more. That’s where we are stepping in to provide additional support”, says Joyce Walters, InvestED Executive Director.
“We have almost 60 years of experience serving students in our state. We are providing a way for individuals, foundations and corporations to join us and get resources out to students who desperately need our support.”
The newly raised $1 million is in addition to the annual support that InvestED gives to 660 schools throughout the state, providing more than 25,000 students with essential items such as college application fees, athletic equipment, tutoring, class fees and ASB cards. In the past five years, InvestED has donated $4.5 million to students in need.
Tammy Campbell, Superintendent of Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS) says, “InvestED’s support of FWPS at this time has been inspiring. It makes a real difference in the lives of our scholars!”
InvestED knows that districts will face many challenges until schools reopen in the fall, so it has decided to extend its timeline for the COVID-19 Student Fund to May 29, 2020, with the goal of raising a total of $2 million.
“It is absolutely critical that we continue this campaign,” says Walters. “The need is more urgent now than when we originally launched this effort six weeks ago. Over the summer, there are thousands of young people who will be struggling to get their next meal or fully engage in remote learning. We invite businesses, organizations and community members to join us in supporting kids. Keeping students on track for life after COVID-19 is so important."
For questions, please contact Joyce Walters: jwalters@invested.org or 206-779-7995.
Full Press Release
RENTON, WA, March 18, 2020 – InvestED, one of the state’s leading education non-profits, is taking immediate action to support students displaced and negatively affected by the COVID-19 school shutdown. The $250,000 will be allocated immediately among school districts statewide and used to meet the immediate needs of low-income students. Particular attention will be focused on nutritional health and enabling remote learning.
“InvestED will do everything we can to make sure children are supported statewide. Tens of thousands of students are going to suffer setbacks and hardships as a result of the school closures,” says Joyce Walters, InvestED Executive Director. “Our staff and the Board felt it was imperative that we step up promptly and roll out this initiative. We are immediately releasing an additional $250,000 to help kids get through these tough times so they can return to school without missing a beat.”
InvestED provides nearly $1 million to more than 600 secondary schools statewide, annually, and helps nearly 25,000 low-income students. The new InvestED COVID-19 Student Fund will be managed to support state and district leaders as they work to address (1) Nutrition and (2) Opportunities for Extended Learning. These are two urgent and critical areas that have been identified by the state where we can help, but educators will have flexibility on how to use the funds to best serve local students.
“InvestED appreciates the tremendous leadership that Governor Jay Inslee, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chris Reykdal, and local officials are providing to help navigate the road ahead,” says Walters. “Our goal is to disburse at least $500,000 across Washington over the coming weeks. To help scale this urgent initiative, we are asking generous individuals, corporate partners and foundations to join our efforts by contributing an additional $250,000 to the campaign. One hundred percent of all funds will be used to directly and equitably support vulnerable students in need.”
InvestED RAISES CAMPAIGN GOAL TO $1 MILLION
Updated April 7, 2020
On April 6, 2020, Gov. Jay Inslee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced the extension of school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. In light of this urgent announcement, and given the challenges that will continue to impact children in our state during this time, InvestED has raised our campaign goal from $500,000 to $1 million.
These additional funds will allow us to help even more students and enable more donors to participate in supporting young people who are being negatively impacted.
The need is more urgent now than before. For example, some schools are struggling to bring online learning to all their students and with the temporary closure of public libraries, many students simply do not have access to the internet. Also, due to rising unemployment numbers across our communities, we know that many families will be struggling to keep food on their tables.
As our Executive Director, Joyce Walters, expressed during a recent interview, "These are kids in our community that are quietly battling against odds. We should care, and we should step up." (Read the full article, The News Tribune, 3/31/20).
See the FAQ below for more information. For questions about the InvestED COVID-19 Student Fund, please contact Joyce Walters, jwalters@invested.org or 206-779-7995.