From my own experience, I know Seattle students and families face layered and complex problems. The Right Now Needs Fund works in partnership with schools to meet these evolving needs of our school community.
Author: Zeynab Abdulgadir, Director, Right Now Needs Fund
When I assist families at the Alliance, I often reflect on my own time in high school to guide me in my understanding of students’ needs today.
My mother worked an office job from 3-11 pm every day to support me and my younger brother. We rarely saw her before we headed to school. Where my classmates had what they needed to start their day, I experienced barriers first thing in the morning. I didn’t have the appropriate food to be able to start, let alone conquer, the school day. My mother was at an income cliff—just shy of qualifying for free and reduced lunch yet too low to provide us with lunch money. We didn’t have the $75 a month to make up for this gap. I used my only daily dollar for pop-tarts to sustain me at lunch. Then, I would crash from the lack of a substantial meal during class, unable to fully participate and absorb the lesson being taught. This cycle would repeat itself through the rest of my experience in school.
Decades later: enter the Right Now Needs Fund. The Fund is an Alliance for Education program founded in 2018 through the generous support of Amazon and continues to be fueled by their support alongside other foundations and donors. In my role as the fund director, I have the important task of distributing over $1M in funding throughout Seattle Public Schools (SPS) to meet the urgent needs of students and families.
My team and I are on the front lines providing crucial support to SPS families every day. While there are continued legislative discussions locally to protect and keep families together, fully fund our schools, and provide affordable housing, the immediate needs of families are only growing. In 2024, we spent $478,000 on food assistance and saw requests for rental support go up by 45% from 2022 to 2023. We are constantly adapting to these needs and striving to eliminate obstacles that students may face in the classroom, ensuring that they have the support they need to thrive.
I sat down with Alesia Jessie, the program manager for family support at Seattle Public Schools to reflect and hear her experience with the Fund. A main theme I took away from our conversation was that some of our parents and caregivers didn’t have the best experience themselves at school, so now having a person they already know at their child’s school—in a place they are familiar with—is a form of breaking down barriers and increasing access in itself.
We also talked about how our SPS students and families face layered and complex problems. You may think a family needs one form of aid, but there may be other, more pressing needs that are not obvious. For example, I’ve heard countless times from school staff about families finally securing a place to live, often after years of waiting and intense paperwork. While that is a momentous step forward, they may face other barriers like being unable to pay for utilities at their new home. When the Fund provides that utility support, they may still need help paying for food. Then, we provide the family with gift cards to businesses that sell food, clothing and gas. At the end of the day, there are many nuances and interdependencies to student support. That’s where the Right Now Needs Fund steps in to preserve their dignity, to maintain their autonomy and to fulfill their immediate needs.
In 2006 (not to date myself), my mother and I went to a social services agency to help us pay a $200 electricity bill to keep our lights on. They asked for her license, citizenship documentation status and proof of employment. Last year I held an informational session at West Seattle High School. Nearly two decades later I was asked by families whether they needed those same documents to be eligible for the most basic, immediate, human needs. It was so personally liberating to tell these families we don’t need that information.
What makes the Right Now Needs Fund unique is the system we have created and trust we have built with school staff that only requires a 1-page form and one supplemental document. When we say low barrier, we mean it. We don’t ask students to prove themselves “worthy” to receive support. We believe they shouldn’t have to. And in 2006, my mother should not have had to either. I know without those requirements, my mother would have paid our utility bill faster and secured housing sooner. It would have taken a weight off her shoulders. It would have allowed me to be a child and not another parent.
We’re able to handle complicated situations and overcome challenges every day because of the deep relationships my team built that allow students and staff to feel comfortable and seen by us and to seek support. Other organizations and service providers often ask how we are able to so quickly and effectively provide support. My answer: Because we are rooted in community. We can anticipate situations that may arise and what support may be needed. We can cut through bureaucracy and intentionally work to not build more.
This fund has been lauded as a unique, accessible and fast safety net for countless families in Seattle Public Schools, creating a level playing field for children like me.
Back when I was in school, there were no resources or support for my basic needs. I can’t help but imagine how different things would have been if the Right Now Needs Fund was available to my family. I’m certain that it would have made a tremendous difference to my childhood experience. I’ve witnessed the evolution and incredible impact this fund has had. I share my past experiences not for sympathy, but to illustrate the transformational difference this fund could have made to my family 20 years ago, and the difference it makes for students and families today.
It’s an honor for me to assist families with shelter, food, clothing, transportation, school supplies and other basic needs. As the Alliance for Education celebrates 30 years of progress and impact this year, I call on everyone in our community to tap in. Pay attention, raise funds and spread awareness so we can continue empowering students by addressing their immediate and complex needs in a respectful and dignified manner.
Join me in making a lasting impact on students’ lives today so that decades from now, as the future leaders of Seattle, they too can reflect on what they were given and dream big for the next generation and younger version of themselves.