Helping Homeless Students: Project Cool and Beyond

For children dealing with the daily chaos of homelessness, school can be an important source of stability. Project Cool has supported more than 38,304 homeless students over the past 34 years.

Every year through Project Cool, Coalition members and volunteers make sure that more than 1,000 unhoused students start the school year off right with the supplies they need. 

In addition to school supplies for students, the Coalition also regularly provides training for staff working with youth and unaccompanied minors to help them advocate for and support the educational rights of homeless students.

Sign up to volunteer for project cool 2026

Project Cool helps more than 1,000 homeless students and their families

Project Cool 2026 will serve 1,844 pre-k through 12th grade students in King County public schools with backpacks and new school supplies. Although we will not be accepting supplies from individuals or hosted supply drives, we still need some help!

Sponsor Project Cool

Please consider becoming a Project Cool Sponsor with a gift of $500, $2,500, $4,500 or more to help cover our expenses this year. We will be delighted to recognize sponsors in a variety of ways.

  • $75 will provide 1 student with a new backpack, filled with quality school supplies, age-appropriate books, and key basic health items.
  • $175 will allow 25 high school 9th graders to write their first high school essays in new spiral notebooks.
  • $275 will color the lives of 30 young students as they begin kindergarten with new crayons, markers, colored pencils.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, email projectcool[at]homelessinfo[.]org.

Make a one-time gift

Make an individual donation to support King County students and families experiencing homelessness.

Donate to fill 1,844 backpacks

Volunteer

Sign up for 2026 volunteer shifts

We need volunteers to sort supplies, stuff backpacks, and help facilitate backup pickup. Volunteer dates will be in late July at the Bryn Mar Methodist Church in South Seattle. To get involved, please do one of the following:

Stay involved in supporting homeless students and their families

Subscribe to our Friends of Project Cool email list to get updates about future sponsorships, book drives, and volunteer opportunities!

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