2010 Annual Report Now Available

Our 2010 Annual Report to the community is now available. Download as pdf.

Here are a few highlights of the students we served in 2010:

• 419 students served in 2010
• 4,017 direct service staff hours
• 116 students received $62,140.49 in scholarships
• 30% of SEA students complete a program of study *
• 14% completed an AA/AS or BA degree
• 100% received free academic advising and career counseling
• 74% are enrolled in school in good academic standing or have graduated
• 74% are 1^st generation college attendees
• 38% are 1^st generation High School/GED graduates
• 100% are low-income
• 82% have experienced homelessness
• 15% have been in foster care **
• 71% are people of color: 36% Black/African/AA; 29% White; 7% Asian; 16% Latino; 2% Native American; 8% Mixed Race; 2% Other/Unknown
• 22% are immigrants
• 34% are LGBTQ
• 30% are single parents (73 children total)
• 57% Female, 41% Male, 2% Transgender

Volunteer Hours in 2010:

• 40 Tutors volunteered 682 hours
• 10 Special Project Volunteers donated 100 total hours
• 24 Leadership Volunteers donated 940 total hours
• 74 Total Volunteers worked a total of 1,722 hours

*Longitudinal statistics based on students receiving scholarships or 5+ hours of direct service
** By partnering with agencies that specialize in serving former foster youth with have been able reduce the number of students served that can get comparable serves elsewhere.

Volunteer Profile: Charlie

Charlie is a graduate student at University of Washington, studying Science Education. She volunteers as a board member and Chair of the Resource and Outreach Community in SEA.

Charlie has a long history with SEA. She was once being a homeless and received care from SEA in 2003. SEA taught Charlie how to apply for college and meanwhile she also helped them with some daily work until she received scholarship in Evergreen State College and left Seattle.

Charlie worked full time for two years after receiving undergraduate degree and then came back to Seattle in 2009. She joined SEA again as a volunteer and now helps to build the resource center.

After 8 years’ association with SEA, Charlie really appreciates the benefit from this experience. “SEA is creating a community, where you can understand how hard it is for some kids to go to school yet how hard they desire for it. The community is there for social justice and education,” she said.  As the only student board member in the organization, Charlie is passionate to make better connections with the students in need and let their voice to be heard.

Check out our blog post ‘Looking for Doers and Helpers‘ to learn more about volunteering at SEA.

From Real Change: Why the state’s education “need grant” is failing the neediest students

Rebecca Wada, a student at the University of Washington and an intern at Seattle Education Access, recently wrote this editorial for Real Change newspaper. It was published today.

Why the state’s education “need grant” is failing the neediest students

By Rebecca Wada

The Washington State Need Grant helps undergraduate students in the lowest income brackets pursue degrees that will benefit their future. It supplements federal financial aid programs, which fail to allow for costs of living. These days, not everyone who needs the SNG is getting help from it.

Residents of Washington state who demonstrate a financial need, with a family income less than 70 percent of the state’s median (an increase from previous years) qualify for the SNG. Recipients must also submit an approved Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and be registered for three credits in an eligible program during their first undergraduate degree pursuit. The amount rewarded to the student depends on their school’s tuition and fees.

The most recent release of the annual report on state financial aid programs, “Keeping College Affordable” boasts a $122 million increase in funding for the SNG from the 2001-2002 school year to that of 2009-2010.

Impressive as it is, the number doesn’t tell the whole story. Steep hikes in tuition at public colleges and universities account for more than 70 percent of this increase. Income eligibility has also increased from previous years, allowing a significantly greater number of students to qualify for the grant.

This means that while more families are eligible to receive the grant, there’s not enough money to fund demand. As a result, those qualified are less likely than ever to receive aid. In recent years, some 22,000 people who qualified to receive the grant did not receive one. That’s a staggering 11 times more people left out than just three years ago.

The SNG is a critical step on the path out of poverty. For many people from low-income families, postsecondary education is not simply what is expected or normal once they graduate from high school. Higher education is an opportunity to gain knowledge and get a foot in the door at prospective employers. There is also a sense of accomplishment and pride in overcoming the adversity brought about by low-income realities.

The effects of a SNG don’t stop with the student who receives it. Higher education has a socioeconomic ripple effect that can span generations. While making more money is heavily weighted in the reasoning to get an education and a better job, many also hope to give their families — especially their children — better living conditions and a wider array of opportunities.

Under the threat of not receiving the SNG, students are forced to consider their options. Most devastating of these is not being able to attend college at all due to an inability to pay daily living expenses. In talking to students on this topic, it’s clear that trying to pay for school on their own would involve heavy loan debts, multiple jobs, little to no time with family and cutting back on the most basic resources like food and heat. As it is, some grant recipients have to scrape by to be able to pay for somewhere to live, and the grant means the difference between having a roof over their heads and homelessness.

What can be done? Becoming aware of the issues that are being discussed in the government’s plans is one of the best ways to become an intelligent voter and citizen. Concerned citizens should also get involved. There are several organizations working to help advocate for people from the low-income bracket trying to go to school. Two such organizations are Statewide Poverty Action Network and Seattle Education Access. SEA works to advocate for this population on an individual and collective basis. Lobbying to change policies like those that cut financial aid programs is an important part of the way they aim to help entire demographics find a voice. To find out more about SEA’s efforts and the SNG visit seattleeducationaccess.org and Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board at hecb.wa.gov.

Link to this story on the Real Change website.

Bold Goal: $20,000 and 200 new students

We are in the midst of our Spring Fund Drive here at Seattle Education Access. And we have a BOLD GOAL.  In the next year, we want to enroll an additional 200 students in our program – and we need your help.

We need to raise $20,000 by May 30 to help us realize this goal.

We are already on our way! Seattle Education Access just learned we will be receiving a grant from College Spark Washington which will help us hire a new staff person to work with the additional 200 students, and provide us with the tools we need to create more non-profit partnerships.

With those needs met, your gift will ensure that Seattle Education Access has the scholarships funds available to support all the additional students we will be enrolling.

Your gift could….

$1,308	Pay for 2 years of college, or an AA degree for 1 student.
$654	Keep a student in college for 1 year.
$218	Keep a student in college for 1 quarter.
$100	Pay for the fees and tests that get a student into college.

Please consider making a gift today. If you received our appeal in the mail, please return it today, or make a gift online.

Give By Mail: Make your check out to Seattle Education Access, Attn: Development, 6920 Roosevelt Way NE #355, Seattle, WA 98115. Please add the note “Spring Fund Drive”

You can also help by spreading the word. Our Spring Fund Drive webpage has recommended Facebook and Twitter status updates.

Looking for Doers and Helpers

We have some open volunteer positions at SEA – and we’re looking for doers and helpers.

Do you have a knack for finding great resources? Do you like researching?

Join the Resources & Outreach Committee — this is a group of volunteers and former students who will work together to find resources for our students who need a little extra support. There are three ways to participate: Join in on committee strategy sessions then research opportunities from  home to gather a broad variety of practical resources regarding scholarships, advocacy, housing, medical services and more. You can also volunteer in the SEA Student Resource Center center anytime on Monday-Friday, 12pm-3pm to assist students with finding resources, applying for scholarships, filling out paperwork/applications, creating a resume, connect to resources and other details that address a broad spectrum of barriers to higher education success. You can also provide mentorship to a specific student. Our students often need non-academic support, such as: finding an apartment, looking for a job, finding child care, getting their birth certificate or drivers license, and cheering them on as the work towards graduation. Read the full description.

Do you know how to fix or refurbish computers?

Seattle Education Access accepts donation of used computers then utilizes volunteers refurbish computers that we then award to students through our scholarship program. We are looking for a few dedicated volunteers who will refurbish computers, install software and troubleshoot problems.

Do you want to be a champion for education rights?

The Advocacy Committee of Seattle Education Access promotes college access and success for low income and marginalized communities through system change on the local, state, and federal levels. Annually we host a voter registration drive and a Lobby Day so that our students can meet with lawmakers in Olympia. We have volunteer opportunities ranging from small (e.g. emailing your elected officials) to large (coordinating a campaign). Low income college students are particularly invited join our committee and provide leadership around choosing which campaigns are most important to them. Some examples of past campaigns include support for the Dream Act, a public awareness campaign about how to get a Dependency Status Override, and support for the Washington State Need Grant. Upcoming campaigns include supporting Seattle’s education levy, opposing cuts to the Pell Grant program nationally, and a public awareness campaign about the dangers of for-profit colleges. We are looking for volunteers who care about grassroots politics and have good organizational and communication skills.

Do you like talking to people, making connections and strategizing?

Then the Development or Benefit Breakfast committees might be right for you.

The Development Committee oversees the fundraising and marketing activities ensuring the agency’s ability to meet goals and execute its mission. Some of the committee priorities in the next year will be to increase individual fundraising, create a targeted approach to raising scholarship funds, increasing the amount raised at the annual benefit event and improve agency marketing and communications. We are especially seeking individuals with background in: alumni fundraising, marketing and communications, sales/relationship building.

The Benefit Breakfast Committee produces the benefit event through recruiting table captains and sponsors, and taking care of a lot the hands on work such as event material production, planning the stage program and overseeing some of the logistics.

If you have questions or are interested in any of these positions contact Polly Trout at polly@seattleedcuationaccess.org, or call us at 206 523-6200.

SEA Board Hosts Two Recent Events

Here at SEA, we have a long history of working with Teen Feed, our neighbor in the University District of Seattle. Teen Feed serves a hot, nutritious meal every night of the year in the University District to homeless youth. SEA provides a meal team anytime there is a 5th Tuesday in the month. Teen Feed and SEA share a number of clients who access both services.

Our most recent Teen Feed night was March 29 and the SEA Board of Directors took the lead on creating a menu, purchasing, cooking and serving dinner. SEA served spaghetti with meat sauce (or vegetarian) , green salad, rolls, fruit and chocolate cake.

Board Member Matthew Cooking

Board Members Genn, Cristina and Matthew prepping dinner at Teen Feed

“We served about40 youth that night and we were graced with gorgeous piano-playing (Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and other pieces) during dinner by one of the young people, which was a treat,” said Board President Cristina Gonzalez.

Thank you to our Board Members who volunteered, Cristina Gonzalez, Genn Zentz and Matthew Norman for organization, and our other volunteers Ian, Gene and Barb.

INNER CHAPTERS EVENT

Our second event last week was an Open Mic Night on Thursday, March 31 at Inner Chapters bookstore in South Lake Union organized by Board Member Genn Zentz.

SEA had a donation jar and was able to collect over $200 in donations!  Thank you to Kristina Barnes, owner of Inner Chapters, for her support of SEA and for letting us be at the event.

Photos from the Open House

SEA held an Open House on March 15 in our Student Resource Center as a way to connect with our students, volunteers, partners and supporters. About 45 guests joined the staff and Board Members. One our current students spoke about what a college education means to her and shared a powerful message about how anything could be taken away from you except an education. Executive Director Anthon Smith also shared his recent experience testifying to the Washington State Legislative Committee for Higher Committee about developmental education in community colleges.

Thank you our friends who came from Teen Feed and PSKS, Seattle Public Libraries, Seattle Jobs Initiative,  Workforce Development Council of Seattle, and more. Here are a few pictures from the evening.

A huge thank you to Board Member Dr. Thomas Staiger for helping plan the event. Save the Date for our next event honoring the achievements of our students on June 5 at the Grand Illusion Cinema.