07.03.2019

New Names for Growing Treehouse Programs

By Janis Avery, Treehouse CEO

As Treehouse expands statewide, we are updating some of our legacy program names to make them more intuitive and inclusive by using functional names.

The Wearhouse is now simply the “Treehouse Store.” Little Wishes has been a part of Treehouse since the beginning more than 30 years ago. Our history is important to us. That said, Little Wishes has outgrown its name and isn’t just for little kids now.

Regardless of age, everyone deserves to have their evolving needs met—from music lessons, extracurriculars and summer camps, to skills training, certification classes and whatever else is necessary as they work toward high school graduation and ultimately launch into adulthood. Little Wishes also has evolved to provide clothing and other essentials to youth in areas not served by our physical store. With all of that in mind, the program has been renamed “Just-in-Time Funding.”

All programs related to essentials and experiences are now grouped on our website and in all materials under the aptly named “Essentials & Experiences.” Another new name, “Fostering Futures,” includes all current and future academic and career-related programs.

Visit the “Our Services” page on our website to see how we’ve simplified and enhanced how we present our programs.

Back-to-School Season

By the way, we’re entering one of my favorite times of the year—back-to-school season. Any individual, group or organization can host a drive to collect backpacks, shoes and financial contributions so youth in foster care start the school year off with confidence.

There are about 9,000 youth in care across the state, and Treehouse works with more than 7,000 of them. All monetary donations fund a variety of extracurricular activities and services through Just-in-Time Funding, from gymnastics and piano lessons to haircuts.

Visit treehouseforkids.org/bts to sign up. With our drive host toolkit, you’ll get everything you need to rally your community.

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About the Author

As Treehouse CEO, Janis Avery devotes her time to promoting educational equity for youth in foster care through advocacy for systems change, ensuring integrated strategy and accountability, maximizing community collaboration and resource development. Janis holds a Master of Social Work and Certificate in Human Services Management from the University of Washington. She is a former social worker and an adoptive parent of two children from foster care.


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