We are fortunate to live in a community with many resources available to help families in need of assistance. Below is a resource list for local free meals and food stability options. Hopefully this list will be a help both for people in need as well as those who may be interested in giving back to the community during this holiday season.
Community Meals in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
Food Stability Resources & Food Banks in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
(ID and proof of residence required at all locations)
Northshore Nourishing Networks offers regularly updated printable lists for community meals and food stability resources (food banks) on their website: www.nourishingnetworks.net/networks/northshore/.
 Core to every PTA's mission is the overarching vision to make every child's potential a reality. Every child has needs that extend beyond the classroom and sometimes families might need additional supports in order to meet those needs. Helping to connect families with resources available in their community can be a wonderful way for local PTAs to offer their support.  Crystal Springs PTA printed a brochure titled, "Emergency Food & Housing Resources," and made it available in their school's main office. Crystal Springs PTA has taken this idea to heart and developed a great tool for their families. It is a brochure titled, "Emergency Food & Housing Resources." They have compiled a listing of community resources that families can reference in times of need and have put it all together in a handy brochure. Included are food stability resources, emergency housing options, and more, with details and contact information for each. Crystal Springs PTA printed the brochure and then partnered with their school office to ensure that the brochures are available and can be shared with interested families. The brochure they have created is available for download below. In addition, Crystal Springs PTA has shared the original MS Publisher file. It is editable so that your PTA can easily customize it for use in your community.
This is a wonderful way to help families who may be in need! Crystal Springs PTA's thoughtful approach to serving their community and their sharing spirit are great examples of what makes us #PTAProud!
 Preparedness for emergencies and disasters, as well as the prevention of accidents is a serious concern of those who care for children in the home, at school, and in the community. Activities to promote safety/injury prevention can be incorporated in all PTSA/PTA interests. To help inform our communities about the value and importance of emergency preparedness (e-prep), Northshore Council PTSA E-Prep co-Chairs Robin McKenzie and Tracy Jokisch have compiled some sample blurbs that local PTA/PTSAs can customize and include in their communications. See some examples below (scroll all the way to the bottom for an easy, downloadable version!). Be Prepared, Not Scared Did you feel our 4.6 earthquake near Monroe in July? Are you prepared at home for an emergency or a disaster? Here are 12 ways you can get ready (click on the picture):  The Great Washington Shake Out: October 17th On October 17, at 10:17am, [school name] will be participating in the Great Washington Shake Out, an earthquake preparedness drill. Participating is a great way for your family or organization to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes– wherever you live, work, or travel. Remember to drop, cover and hold during an earthquake! Stay where you are for several minutes afterward, bracing for possible aftershocks. Click on the picture for more information.  Northshore School District Emergency Reunification The Northshore School District has created a standard Emergency Reunification process for all schools and conducted a drill in May 2019. For information on the process (Click Here) . [School Name] Family Reunification Do you know what to do in the case of an emergency or crisis during school hours? Do not rush to school to pick up your child. Our school is in an area where the additional traffic may impede needed emergency vehicles or personnel from arriving. If a school evacuation is ordered, your presence at the site could delay evacuation and reunification. When the situation is under control, students and parents will be reunited in a safe, orderly, and timely manner.
Please take this opportunity to update the emergency contacts in ParentVueOpens a New Window. and consider including trusted neighbors or others that can respond to the reunification sites in case your response is delayed by other emergencies happening in our region. How Can you Help? Please remind your emergency contacts that when picking up a student during an emergency, everyone must have picture identification. These additional contacts will be critical if you cannot pick up your student.
Emergency Supplies Did you know…. that the supplies used in an emergency by the students and staff of [School Name] are funded by the [school name] PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association)! Parents thank you for your donations to our PTSA! [insert Picture of School E-Prep Container] Download them in Word format (.docx) so that they are easy to edit and copy and paste as needed: 
How do you share information about e-prep in your community? What ideas do you have about building e-prep awareness? We'd love to hear from you! Email Robin and Tracy with your ideas.
 Threads & Treads provides Northshore families free, quality donated clothing for school age youth, teens, young adults and parents. Clothing items include: school-appropriate clothing for the school day and special events, sportswear, shoes, and accessories. All NSD families in need of clothing assistance are welcome to shop each month for 3 outfits and school event attire. They are open weekly each Wednesday afternoon from 3-6pm. **NEW in 2019-2020** Starting Saturday, October 5th, Threads & Treads will also be open one Saturday a month from 9-12pm. Please consider helping to spread the word about this Northshore community resource via your PTA communication channels! Download a poster or suggested write-ups that you can share via social media and/or your website. Or consider printing a poster that you can hang at your school (check with your office administration regarding poster guidelines at your school).
 Threads & Treads Needs Donations!
Threads & Treads Needs Volunteers! Visit this link to sign-up today: https://cpptsa.org/ways-to-help/volunteer-sign-ups/
Threads & Treads donation wishes:
If you have any questions or would like information to provide to your school, please feel free to contact Kelly Hennessey. Thank you for your help in supporting this vital community resource! THIS PROGRAM IS COORDINATED AND SUPPORTED BY CANYON PARK MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA.
This amazing community resource is available to our community thanks to Canyon Park Middle School PTSA in partnership with the school district and Bothell United Methodist Church. It is a huge responsibility to operate a resource like this and it is a testament to the dedication of CPMS PTSA and the many caring volunteers who make the time to operate this resource for Northshore families. At Northshore Council PTSA's general meeting on September 16, 2019, Threads & Treads Coordinator Kelly Hennessey briefly spoke to the work that they do and the families they serve and invited Northshore PTAs to contribute their support either by budgeting an annual financial donation or by volunteering. She also shared that at the during this year's NSD Back to School Fair, they provided outfits to more than 100 people, and in just the first few weeks of school, they have been averaging 50 people a week who visit and take home clothing. And they are working to help broaden their impact by offering Saturday shopping hours once a month. The importance and relevance of Threads & Treads in our Northshore community cannot be understated. And CPMS PTSA and the Threads & Treads volunteer leaders are working hard to make that known! Through email campaigns, social media, and by sharing their story with local PTAs and community leaders at our Northshore Council general meeting, they are already seeing successes and gaining additional support. Seeing the work CPMS PTSA and their dedicated volunteers are doing to not only operate Threads & Treads-- but also to help it grow and become an even stronger resource in our Northshore community-- makes us PTA Proud!  Visit the Threads & Treads website for more information about donating, volunteering, making financial contributions, or arranging a clothing drive. If your PTA is interested in learning more about out how it can offer support, please contact Threads & Treads Coordinator Kelly Hennessey.
 The Washington State PTA Standards of Affiliation Agreement Checklist 2019-2020 is now available! If you are looking for it from the home page, navigation is as follows: This checklist is a tool to help your PTA keep up with its legal requirements, both as a non-profit and as a PTA. The requirements come from the IRS, the State of Washington, your insurance company, and WSPTA. What your PTA needs to do:
New this year on the Standards of Affiliation Checklist is to update IRS Form 8822-B. The IRS added this requirement in 2018 for security reasons. Form 8822-B should be filed when the PTA’s mailing address changes or the identity of the “responsible party” as listed on the IRS Form 990 changes. The "responsible party" for a PTA should be a principal officer (usually the president or treasurer). There is no penalty for late filing, but it is important that records with the IRS are up to date. Do it as soon as you can! Because this form requires that the responsible party include his/her Social Security Number, the suggested best practice is that the outgoing responsible party should make sure that this form is filled out by an incoming responsible party during transition, to ensure their personal information is not left on this account. This video from WSPTA offers a great overview of SOA and what it means for your PTA: In addition, WSPTA offers a number of tools to help support your PTA in completing the SOA checklist, including: Remember that sharing the progress of your SOA with your members also lets others know about how your PTA operates and shows the work that goes on, often behind the scenes, to keep your PTA legal, safe and operating within the very best practices of our state. Questions? Council is here to help!
 Northshore Council PTSA's 2019-2020 calendar is now available: Be sure to save the date and mark your calendars for this year's Northshore Council PTSA General Membership Meetings:
All meetings start with a Meet & Greet beginning at 6:30pm followed by the official Call to Order at 7:00pm. Each PTA may send up to 4 voting representatives-- but we welcome ALL who are interested to attend. Council meetings will build your PTA knowledge, give you the opportunity to network with other PTA, school district and community leaders, and they can be a lot of fun, too. We look forward to seeing you there! Some other 2019-2020 calendar planning tools: Northshore School District Calendar 2019-2020 OSPI Calendar of Common Religous and U.S. Public Holidays, 2019-20 Education-related recognition event dates, 2019-20:
 The start of the 2019-20 school year is about a month away and it is time to start thinking about heading back to school! According to Huntington Bank's 13th Annual Backpack Index, the average back-to-school costs adds up to $1,017 for elementary students and over $1,600 for high school students for school supplies, extracurricular fees, and technology (this includes the cost of a laptop and internet access at home, which are often needed for school work). Thankfully, there are resources available for Northshore families who may need some support for preparing for back-to-school. Events: Northshore School District Back-to-School Fair - August 16, 2019 - 4-6:30pm - Canyon Park Middle School This is a FREE community event for children of all ages and includes children's ID cards, haircuts, activities, school and community resource information, entertainment and more.  Back2School Event - August 17, 2019 - 10am-3pm - Woodinville, WA Babies of Homelessness hosts this event which offers free school supplies, kids K-5 essentials, services and activities. Back2School was created to ease the heavy financial burden that back-to-school shopping creates for low income and homeless families. For the past 2 years, through the Back2School event, 170+ volunteers have equipped 783 students for success in school. Also, many Northshore schools and local PTA/PTSAs host welcome or back-to-school events for their school communities. These events often offer opportunities to meet teachers, connect with classmates, and learn about programs and resources available at each school site. Check the websites for your school and your PTA/PTSA for information about upcoming events. Community Resources: Northshore School Foundation Backpacks for Kids - Northshore families can request a backpack filled with school supplies using this link https://bit.ly/2GkFhmp. Backpacks & supplies will be available in your child's school office by August 27th. Students in grades 6-12 can pick up supplies at their offsite location - 22107 23rd Drive SE, Bothell, WA 98021- on August 23rd from 11am to 1pm and from 5-7pm. Threads & Treads - Threads & Treads is a free clothing store for families in the Northshore School District located at Located at Canyon Park Middle School. Families can choose 3 outfits for each family member each month. In the weeks leading up to the start of the new school year, there will be some special dates/times for families to shop, including 8/16, 8/21 and 8/28. More information... NSD Resources: Northshore School District School Supply Lists -
School supplies are requested but not required. If purchasing school supplies creates a financial hardship, please contact your school's office manager and supplies will be provided for you. Free and Reduced-Price Meals at School - Parents whose income falls within specified guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture should apply for free or reduced-price meals for their students. Families must re-apply every year for the school free and reduced-price meal program. Applications for Northshore School District for the 2019-20 school year are available on their website starting August 5, 2019. 
Nutritious free meals are available for children and teens, ages 18 and younger, at a number of locations in the Northshore area throughout the summer while school is out of session:
To find locations in other areas:
Other Food Resources:
Community Meals in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
Food Stability Resources & Food Banks in North King/South Snohomish Counties:
(ID and proof of residence required at all locations)
Northshore Nourishing Networks offers regularly updated printable lists for community meals and food stability resources (food banks) on their website: www.nourishingnetworks.net/networks/northshore/.
 Each month this year, Washington State PTA posted a checklist on their blog to help local PTA leaders run their PTA. The posts offered at-a-glance lists of important to-dos, key dates, as well as regular reminders about ongoing tasks. With their June post, they suggested compiling the checklists and sharing them as a "gift" for incoming board members. We thought that was such a great idea, we've done the work for you so this resource can be shared easily! It is available as a .pdf or as a Word document (in case you want to customize it for your PTA!). Below, download your copy of: Checklist for Running Your PTA: A Month-By-Month Board To-Do List!
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