WHEREAS, Treehouse is a Washington State nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to working for children living in foster care; and
     WHEREAS, Treehouse has built an impressive organization with multiple programs striving to serve the physical, emotional, and educational needs of the over fifteen thousand children in King County with open case files through the Division of Children and Family Services; and
     WHEREAS, Treehouse was originated by a handful of Department of Social and Health Services caseworkers who were disheartened at seeing the foster kids on their caseloads go without birthday presents, without haircuts, without extracurricular activities, even without adequate clothing to make it through the winter; and
     WHEREAS, These caring state employees started their efforts in their spare time by organizing bake sales and book sales and collecting money in tin cans; and
     WHEREAS, Merely fifteen years after it began, Treehouse today sends nearly five hundred kids to summer camp each year, has fifteen tutors advocating for the needs of foster kids and tending to their educational requirements in eight schools, serves over one thousand nine hundred kids a year in a program called The Wearhouse, runs an Educational Advocacy program that works hand-in-hand with local schools and state agencies to bridge the gaps in services for foster children, pairs approximately two hundred youth with over sixty community volunteers in Coaching-to-College, and still finds a way to fill approximately nine hundred requests and dreams for children in their original Little Wishes program; and
     WHEREAS, Through these efforts and tax deductible donations from community supporters, with foster families contributing their own sweat equity, Treehouse has been able to provide foster children with increased stability and a sense of community support; and
     WHEREAS, Treehouse has filled the gaps that no other agency addresses: Fees for extracurricular programs and summer camp, educational support services, the wherewithal for full participation in the everyday activities of growing up including clothing and supplies so foster kids can feel they fit in at school;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the important and successful partnership that Treehouse has created with the combination of state agencies, foster families, and community support; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize the valuable efforts and innovative solutions to the foster child dilemma that Treehouse has offered King County and our society by sponsoring the June Leonard Memorial Golf Tournament.