Give Big 2024! Empowering every student!

The Principal's Emergency Fund (PEF) allows principals, counselors, teachers and other school staff to immediately address systemic barriers their students face so they can reach their potential -- and feel successful -- in school and life. 

School staff utilize funds every day from the PEF to support students' urgent basic needs, such as clothing and shoes that keep them warm and dry, eyeglasses that allow them to read their school assignments, and toiletries that keep them clean, so far this school year the two most common PEF expenses are for housing -- either rental or move-in assistance -- and groceries.

Between inflation and the fact that the cost of living in Thurston County is at an all-time high, this shouldn't come as a surprise. And yet, we were not prepared for such a spike in requests for help with housing: Since the start of the school year, between September and March of 2024 alone, more than $32,000, or 40 percent, of PEF funds have gone toward housing. By comparison, $24,000 of PEF funds went toward housing during the entire school year last year (between September 2022 and June 2023).

Grocery vouchers, which are provided mainly to families whose students meet the federal definition of poverty and who rely on free breakfasts and lunches to sustain them during the school week, also continue to prove invaluable. They have accounted for nearly 27 percent of PEF expenses so far this year, and are up $7,000 more than they were last year at this time.

Your support during Give Big will not only help ensure that we can continue to keep students in their homes, and fresh and nourishing food in their bellies outside of school. It also means that students will keep attending their classes, learning from their teachers, and experiencing friendships with their peers. And that they will reach their potential to become ...