Jefferson Teen Center
Project: Rural Teen Wellness & Basic Needs Access Program
Request: $10,000
The Jefferson Teen Center provides safety-net support for rural teens in Chimacum, many of whom face poverty, unstable housing, food insecurity and limited transportation. It does this through two connected programs.
The Free Store and Food Pantry supplies teens with seasonal clothing, hygiene items, school supplies, grocery gift cards and nutritious food — the practical things that determine whether a young person shows up to school, stays healthy, and can hold their head up while doing it.
The Belonging & Wellness Peer Support Program offers inclusive, youth-led groups focused on social-emotional learning, communication skills, healthy routines and prevention, run in partnership with teen mental health organizations. These groups reduce isolation, increase help-seeking behavior, and build protective factors for young people under significant stress.
Here are the problems you can help solve
Over the past year, the Jefferson Teen Center lost $45,000 in federal, state and local support. At the same time, demand for essentials — food, hygiene supplies, clothing, school materials, grocery support — increased as more youth experienced poverty, unstable housing and transportation barriers. The cost of the supplies themselves is rising as well.
These pressures are making it difficult to keep the Free Store, Food Pantry and peer support programs fully stocked and consistently available. The risk is straightforward: reduced access to the only walkable resource hub Chimacum teens have.
What your donation makes possible
Your gift helps fund $2,500 for Free Store clothing and essentials — seasonal clothing, socks, underwear, outerwear and emergency replacement items. $1,500 for hygiene supplies: shampoo, soap, deodorant, menstrual products and dental care items that teens regularly request. $2,000 for the food pantry and grocery gift cards. $1,000 for backpacks, notebooks, calculators, art supplies and other school materials. $2,000 for the Belonging & Wellness peer support groups. $1,000 for operations and accessibility, including outreach materials and maintaining the Resource Room.
The bottom line
The Center expects to serve 40–60 rural teens with consistent access, distribute 2,500–3,500 units of essential supplies, increase access to basic-needs resources by at least 30%, and engage 20–30 teens in peer support groups. It also tracks something subtler: whether young people are getting better at asking for help at all, measured by increased use of the Resource Room and more teens seeking out staff.
The full annual need for these programs is closer to $15,000–$18,000. This $10,000 would make a substantial difference against it.
