Bridging The Gap
KidVantage
Strengthened families, resilient kids, reduced inequities, stronger communities
More than 1 in 4 Washington families cannot afford basic needs on their own
According to the Self Sufficiency Standard, 28% of Washington families cannot afford their basic needs without assistance. This standard, developed by the University of Washington, takes a realistic approach to examining economic security among families with children in Washington versus the federally accepted Official Poverty Measure (OPM). The Self Sufficiency Standard is calculated by including all major budget items (food, housing, childcare, medical care, clothing, transportation, and other essentials by region) to determine what a household's income needs to be in order to afford living in a region without public or private assistance. The OPM is based off a 1960's food budget, assuming food is 33% of a family's expenses. For each person in the household, the food expense is multiplied by 3 to account for all remaining expenses.
The OPM changes based on inflation and increases in food costs, but changes in expenses, like childcare (which has increased 171% in WA since 2001), are not reflected. Uncounted expenses misrepresent a family's economic security, creating a gap between what families can actually afford and what families need.
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You can help KidVantage bridge gaps for families...
KidVantage is distributing the largest amount of essential goods in our 30 years of service. Since the pandemic, we've seen need increase across all counties we serve as families try to make ends meet. This means we're reaching new children, making sure kids are warm this winter with coats or have bedding for a good night's sleep, but it also means we're going through inventory at an extremely fast rate.
For KidVantage to keep bridging gaps for families, we need to bridge our own gap, and that starts with our community! Donations of children's goods keep our shelves stocked, so no child or mother has to go without because we couldn't fill their request. Financial gifts allow us to have purchasing power to give families a full diaper supply to keep their babies clean, dry, and healthy.
Last year we filled 97% of requests for essential goods, making KidVantage a reliable and steady resource for the community. What you give to KidVantage, we give to kids and families so that they have what they need, when they need it most.