Treehouse, a local nonprofit organization serving youth in foster care, has rebranded the the organization, including a new visual identity and program expansion focusing on improving education outcomes for foster youth.
Treehouse’s goal for 2017 that foster youth in King County graduate high school at the same rate as their peers.
“After 25 years, Treehouse is growing up and embarking on its most important work yet,” said Treehouse CEO Janis Avery. “In setting our 2017 graduation goal we are taking an ownership interest in ensuring that all King County foster youth get the essential education supports, basic material needs, and important childhood experiences that they equally deserve and that will enable them to graduate high school and become productive members of our community.”
According to a recent study published by the Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WISPP), the average graduation rate for foster students in King County is approximately half the rate of their peers and fewer than two percent will earn a college degree.
To create a change in the graduation rate of this magnitude, Treehouse will double the number of youth it serves to more than 800 middle and high school students in 17 school districts by 2017.
As part of the rebrand supporting the graduation goal, Treehouse has developed a new, user-friendly website to enable the community to access detailed program information and engage with or help support the organization. In addition, Treehouse has also developed a new logo.
The new visual identity and program expansion was announced at Treehouse’s largest annual fundraising event, the Champions for Foster Kids Luncheon, where the organization’s patrons donated more than $1 million in support of the graduation goal.
“We are delighted and extremely grateful that our generous supporters are partnering with us to invest in the education and future of children in foster care,” Avery said. “We as a community have a special responsibility to kids in foster care and Treehouse is fiercely committed to improving the outcomes for these youth.”
Since early 2011, Treehouse has secured more than $500,000 in investments from corporate and foundation partners in support of its goal to achieve graduation equity for foster students in King County – a vision that is estimated to require a $12.5 million increase in operating revenue over the next five years.
In 2011, Regence BlueShield announced a multi-year commitment totaling $200,000, in addition to a $250,000 commitment from the One Eighty Foundation.
