Hello,

My name is Gavin Kendal-Freedman and I am proud to be a second-year member of Giving Initiative for Teens Philanthropy Board at the Stroum Jewish Community Center. Last year we raised $7,000 to grant to non-profits that help people in the Greater Seattle Area who have mental illnesses. Many people who suffer from mental illness can end up being homeless, so I feel like we are building on what we learned last year.

Homelessness is one of the top issues that affects our region. With your help, we want to make an impact. We recognize that the lack of affordable housing makes it hard for many who are homeless to find housing.  We also know that many of the people who are homeless might be escaping domestic and/or sexual abuse, which can include children of all ages.

The great thing about donating to GIFT is that we as a group are doing research and investing the time to make sure that the money you donate will go to non-profits that have been carefully vetted.  We evaluate their grant requests with independent research and we also do site visits as a final check.  We are working hard to maximize the impact every dollar makes.

Thank you for considering this worthy cause.