Summer Survival Buckets Provided to Students Experiencing Homelessness

Posted Date: 6/17/24 (10:04 AM)

Pictured: Nadine Cushway and Paula Kestenbaum of the Families in Transition Program stand with buckets filled with summer survival items for students.

Oak Harbor Public Schools' Families in Transition Program serves over 340 students who are considered homeless within the McKinney-Vento Act. McKinney-Vento aims to remove all barriers to enrollment, participation, and learning in education. Every student identified as McKinney-Vento is entitled to free food, transportation, all fees waived, and immediate enrollment, among other rights. The goal is to ensure these students can participate in academic and extracurricular activities and successfully graduate despite their living conditions, or locations, due to economic hardship.

Student Support Specialists for the program, Nadine Cushway and Paula Kestenbaum help provide this support for students within Oak Harbor Public Schools. They provide basic toiletries, clothing, food, and school supplies. They also connect students and families to community resources for help in housing, substance abuse, shelters, food banks, and more.

"We know that the needs of these students do not end over the summer," said Nadine. "So we decided to give students and families a little relief by creating Summer Survival Buckets."

Nadine and Paula spent many hours coordinating, collecting, and purchasing items, and assembling the materials.

The team reached out to several local businesses specializing in "summer fun" and they were overwhelmed by the response from the community to provide activities and experiences.

Home Depot donated 50 Home Depot buckets
The Blue Fox Drive-In provided free movie gift certificates
Papa Murphy's Pizza provided free pizzas
Nerf Arena of Oak Harbor provided free day camp gift certificates
The Roller Barn provided free roller skating

Island Thrift, Sno-Isle Libraries, I Support the Girls, and OHPS Food Services also included information about free programs and activities.

"Our community continues to step up," Student Support Specialist Paula Kestenbaum said. "I Support The Girls has especially been an ongoing and constant support for not only McKinney-Vento students, but any family or individual going through some form of hardship."

Each bucket contains deodorant, soap, razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, brushes, combs, dental floss, mouthwash, shampoo and conditioner, and Bombas socks for every student, donated by I Support The Girls. Young girls also received period packs in a toiletry case. The team also included snacks, and small activities and toys based on the ages of the individuals receiving a bucket.

"We want to make the summer months a bit easier on the families and students but also, maybe most importantly, to make sure they are able to have some well-deserved fun," said Nadine. "We are very proud of this and hope that it will be received with pride and will be something that will continue for our students and families in need."

For more information visit the McKinney-Vento resources page on the Oak Harbor Public Schools website.