01.22.2020

Sisters Partner with Treehouse to Plan for the Future

By Catherine Krummey, Treehouse Marketing & Social Media Manager

Lily, 15, and Yvette, 17, have been enrolled in Treehouse’s Graduation Success program since they started high school.

Yvette, who is a junior, said she doesn’t always have the time and space to talk about how she feels about things, and her weekly meetings with Treehouse staff fill that void.

“It’s not like a meeting,” said Lily, a sophomore. “It’s more of a place where we can be open.”

They have been working with Treehouse Education Specialist Jennifer Huynh for a few months, and she is always impressed by how open the two sisters are in their weekly meetings. She meets with them back-to-back, and sometimes they overlap so they can talk things through as a group.

“It’s never hard to talk to them,” Jennifer said. “Every time I call them in, they’ve been honest about what they need.”

In addition to our Graduation Success program, Lily and Yvette have shopped in the Treehouse Store and used our Just-in-Time Funding program to pay for things such as volleyball camp, film camp and school dance tickets.

Lily is really into volleyball and was excited about the opportunity to play the sport in an environment outside of school leagues at volleyball camp.

“I’ve always had a really big passion for volleyball,” she said. “When I found this camp, I wanted to go, but I knew my family couldn’t afford it. So I was excited when my education specialist said Treehouse could pay for it. It was really, really fun.”

“As a foster kid, you experience the struggle of not wanting to put a burden on the family who’s taking care of you,” Yvette added. “Treehouse carries that burden for the families. That gives so much relief not only to the caregivers but also the kids.”

Going to film camp was a big deal for Yvette, too, as she thinks more about what she wants to do after she graduates.

“Film is such a creative outlet, you can express things in a way that really connects with people,” she said.

Yvette is planning to pursue a career in film or journalism and is considering going to college out of state, possibly in California.

Meanwhile, her younger sister is hoping to attend Seattle University en route to a career as an English or history teacher. Lily and Yvette both credit Treehouse with making them think about the future in a different way.

“All of our lives, we’ve always felt like our past is going to be our future,” Lily said. “We learned through Treehouse that isn’t true. There’s a way for that to not be our future.”

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