NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER
In This Issue:
2017 FUNDRAISING BREAKFAST

YOU'RE INVITED!
Join us on April 28th at the Federal Way Community Center, for our Annual Fundraising Breakfast and help us surround students with a COMMUNITY of support.  Registration opens at 7:00 AM, breakfast service starts at 7:15 AM, and program begins promptly at 7:30 AM. 


 
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Federal Way High School

Michael S., a Senior at Federal Way High School wrote a mock cover letter as part of his Master Portfolio required for graduation.  He chose to write his cover letter to Communities In Schools because he would like to one day work in a position similar to our School Outreach Coordinators.  Michael has received services from Communities In Schools that have helped him overcome many barriers to his success, including living in poverty and being homeless.  Michael's goal is to one day be able to give back and help others in the way that Communities In Schools has been able to help him.

 
ENRICHMENT FIELD TRIP
STEM Exploration

Our School Outreach Coordinators from Illahee and Lakota Middle Schools took 45 students to attend the Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace Program at the Museum of Flight. Federal Way students represented the largest group of participants for the day.

The Michael P. Anderson Memorial Aerospace Program teaches students from under-served communities about science, engineering, flight dynamics and navigation in hands-on, state-of-the-art labs and simulators. Additionally, students are mentored by aerospace professionals including Alaska Airlines pilots, military aviators, Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), Tuskegee Airmen, and Museum of Flight staff-taking them to new places, exposing them to new opportunities and creating dreams many had never even considered before.

  Learn More Here.

BAG, WEEKEND FEEDING PROGRAM
Rotary Raises $58,000

Each year the Federal Way Rotary chooses a project in the community to raise money for during their annual fundraising event.  This year, the Rotary chose the Bridging A Gap (BAG) Weekend Feeding Program to be featured as this years Fund-A-Need item.  At the event, the Federal Way community rallied around this cause and raised $58,000, all of which will go to expand the BAG program into more schools in Federal Way.  BAG currently partners with Communities In Schools at Sacajawea Middle School, and Federal Way and Todd Beamer High Schools.  

BAG was started in 2014 by St. Luke's Lutheran Church at Mirror Lake Elementary.  Since then, the program has expanded into 6 schools, thanks to 6 partner organizations and churches, who are matched with a school and provide the volunteers and food donations that it takes each week to fill backpacks full of easy to prepare meals for students to take home on the weekends, and during holiday breaks. The partner organizations collect and/or purchase the food, their volunteers stuff the backpacks and bring them to the schools each week, and the schools distribute them to the students who are most in-need.  

The goal of BAG, is to be able to provide the program at every school in the Federal Way School District, and the money raised by the Federal Way Rotary is a huge step in making that happen! The next step is finding more community organizations, businesses and churches who would like to partner with a school and implement the program for a minimum of one school year.  

If you would like to learn more about the BAG program and how to get involved you can attend Advancing Leadership Youth's "BAG it Up!" Event on Saturday, March 25th at Overcomer Covenant Church from 10:00 am-1:00 pm.  This year's ALY class chose the BAG program as their community partner for their team project.  This event will showcase the BAG program, and host several organizations that support BAG in a vendor-style setting. There will be food, entertainment by local high school students, and activities for all ages.
 

Contact us to learn more.
STUDENTS IN ACTION
Thomas Jefferson High School

The Black Student Union at Thomas Jefferson High School held a canned food drive and donated all of the   food they collected to Communities In Schools to benefit their peers in need! 

Our School Outreach Coordinators each stock their offices with snacks for students who come to school hungry for a variety of reasons, as well as easy to prepare meals, like canned soups, for students to take home.  So far this year, they have given out over 7,000 snacks to students in need!

You can join these Thomas Jefferson High School students and donate easy to prepare food and/or snacks to Communities In Schools.  

Click here to find out how to help. 

Communities In Schools of Federal Way
1825 S. 316th St. #101
Federal Way, WA 98003
253-529-7440

Surrounding students with a community of support, 
empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.

Connect. Donate. Volunteer.