Basic Needs
Belonging
Community
Education
EnrichmentBelieve in Me 2025 Impact Report
Community care in action.
Across Washington, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and community partners helped turn generosity into practical support: warm clothing, food, family baskets, college-readiness help, STEM mentoring, art classes, adaptive sports, camp, and safe places to belong.
The year in view
A year of support you can see.
The strongest annual report numbers are more than totals. They are signals of community action: meals shared, supplies delivered, students guided, volunteers showing up, and partners creating the conditions young people need to keep moving forward.
A support system, not a single moment
Community care moves through many hands.
A young person may encounter Believe in Me’s mission through a community partner, a volunteer, a sponsor, an educational program, a care kit, a creative class, or a safe activity. The model works because each piece strengthens the next.
Young people meet real barriers.
Transportation, housing, food, supplies, trust, and guidance can all shape whether the next step feels possible.
Donors bring resources.
Generosity becomes more useful when it is connected to partners who understand what young people and families need.
Volunteers bring capacity.
Time, talent, expertise, and practical help make community support more visible and more personal.
Sponsors bring momentum.
Business and civic support can widen the circle of people investing in youth opportunity.
Five Pillars of Caring
Five ways community support becomes visible.
The Five Pillars do not compete with one another. They work together because young people’s lives are connected: stability, belonging, trusted support, education, and enrichment all matter.
Basic Human Needs
Food, hygiene supplies, winter clothing, shelter-related support, and stability resources protect dignity.
Love & Belonging
Family support, encouragement, connection, and consistent care help young people feel seen and valued.
Community Support
Trusted partners, sponsors, volunteers, and local relationships help support reach the right places.
Education
College readiness, financial-aid help, STEM mentoring, and future planning open practical next steps.
Enrichment
Art, sports, camp, music, culture, and play give young people room to create, explore, and lead.
The model
One framework. Many kinds of care.
The Five Pillars help Believe in Me connect individual generosity with whole-person support: essentials, belonging, community support, education, and enrichment.
The reach
Local relationships make the work more useful.
From Spokane to the Palouse to Puget Sound, community support works best when it is shaped close to the people and programs it is meant to serve.
Partner results
Real numbers. Real examples. Real community work.
The following highlights show how community investments became practical support across the Five Pillars: hygiene supplies, winter clothing, food, case management, family baskets, FAFSA help, college tours, STEM mentoring, art classes, outdoor camp, adaptive sports, and artist residency programming.
Basic Human Needs
ROOTS Young Adult Shelter
Practical support helped young adults experiencing homelessness connect with care, stability, and voluntary case management.
Basic Human Needs
Spokane Youth for Christ
Health, safety, food, and clothing support helped students and families access tangible resources when they were needed.
Love & Belonging
Spokane Angels
Love Box® support helped children, youth, and families experience steady, personal care.
Love & Belonging
Partners with Families & Children: Spokane
Support for children and families experiencing trauma included comfort, connection, and practical care.
Education
Palouse Pathways
College Within Reach helped students and families make post-secondary planning more concrete.
Education
Washington Alliance for Better Schools
STEM4Good connected Spokane youth with STEM learning, volunteers, and industry mentorship.
Education
Kids In Concert
A college tour helped make the idea of what comes next more visible.
Enrichment
Crossroads Carnegie Art Center
ArtSpeak gave students access to creative learning, materials, classes, and teaching artists.
Enrichment
The Bronze Chapter
Samish Island Nature and Adventure Camp offered outdoor, cultural, and multigenerational connection.
Enrichment
Seattle Adaptive Sports
Youth sled hockey created a place for young athletes with physical disabilities to play and belong.
Enrichment
Arts Corps
Artist residency programming gave middle-school students time, instruction, and a public creative showcase.
Storyline
Joy belongs in serious youth work.
Annual reports often focus only on hardship. Believe in Me’s Five Pillars keep joy, creativity, movement, culture, and discovery in the picture because young people deserve more than crisis response. They deserve opportunities to explore who they are becoming.
“The Five Pillars of Caring give us a clear way to support young people as whole people: with essentials, belonging, community, education, and enrichment.”
Julie Wukelic, MBA, CEO, Believe in Me
Why partnerships matter
Community partnerships make the Five Pillars stronger.
Believe in Me’s model reflects a practical truth: young people are shaped by the conditions, relationships, places, and opportunities around them. Community partnerships help those supports work together instead of standing alone.
Connected supports reduce friction.
Research on community schools emphasizes integrated student supports, expanded learning, family and community engagement, and collaborative leadership. That same logic supports Believe in Me’s partnership-centered approach. Read the Learning Policy Institute brief.
Conditions around young people matter.
The CDC describes social determinants of health as the conditions where people are born, grow, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age. The Five Pillars help organize support around those real-life conditions. Explore the CDC framework.
Relationships are part of the impact.
Search Institute’s developmental relationships work underscores the power of relationships that express care, challenge growth, provide support, share power, and expand possibilities. See the developmental relationships framework.
Trust grows through follow-through
Annual impact is built in everyday choices.
Community support becomes meaningful when people keep showing up: the donor who gives, the business that sponsors, the volunteer who brings expertise, the partner who understands local needs, and the young person who receives support with dignity.
That is the story behind the numbers. Not a single program. A stronger circle of care.
Join the work
Help keep the circle of support growing.
When you give, sponsor, volunteer, or share Believe in Me with someone who cares about young people, you help expand the network of support around community partners and the young people they serve.
FAQ
Questions people often ask about Believe in Me’s impact.
A quick guide for donors, sponsors, volunteers, community partners, and supporters who want to understand the work and get involved.
What does Believe in Me do?
Believe in Me mobilizes donors, sponsors, volunteers, and community partners to support marginalized young people through the Five Pillars of Caring: Basic Human Needs, Love & Belonging, Community Support, Education, and Enrichment. Learn more about the model on the Youth Empowerment page.
Why does Believe in Me work through community partners?
Community partners are closest to the young people, families, neighborhoods, schools, and programs doing the work every day. Partnership helps Believe in Me connect resources with real needs in a practical, respectful, and locally informed way.
How do the Five Pillars work together?
The pillars are connected because young people’s lives are connected. A young person may need basic resources, a sense of belonging, trusted community support, help with education, and enrichment opportunities at the same time.
What kinds of support did Believe in Me help make possible in 2025?
Examples included hygiene supplies, winter clothing, food support, case management, family baskets, courthouse facility dog supportive services, FAFSA help, college tours, STEM mentoring, youth art classes, camp, adaptive sports, and artist residency programming.
How can my company support Believe in Me?
Companies can support through sponsorship, corporate giving, visibility, employee engagement, professional expertise, and community connections. Start with the Corporate Giving Sponsorships page.
How can I volunteer?
Believe in Me welcomes skilled volunteers who can contribute time, talent, professional expertise, and community support. Visit the Donate Your Expertise page to learn more.
Where can I donate?
You can donate through the current Believe in Me GiveButter campaign or learn more through the donation information page.
Are donations tax-deductible?
Believe in Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Donations are generally tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Donors should consult their own tax advisor for guidance specific to their circumstances.
The bottom line
In 2025, Believe in Me helped community support become visible: a warm coat, a college tour, a mentor, a family basket, a safe place to create, a volunteer hour, and the steady reminder that young people do not have to navigate every next step alone.
