Giving Tuesday: 2 key Tri-Cities student programs hit hard by cuts
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- United Way targets fundraising to sustain Attendance Matters and Imagination Library
- Attendance Matters relaunched locally after AmeriCorps cuts, serving six priority schools
- Imagination Library won $2M one-time aid; Legislature must decide funding in 2026 session
A Tri-Cities nonprofit is hoping holiday giving will help them fund two key programs for students that were hit by budget cuts earlier this year.
The United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties is focusing their holiday giving campaign on the Attendance Matters program and the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.
These programs have provided critical support to thousands of Tri-Cities families, ensuring their children start school ready to learn and stay on track to become successful adults.
Attendance Matters
United Way relaunched the Attendance Matters program this school year funded completely by local donors, after the AmeriCorps program was eliminated last spring. Not only did they lose mentors, but they also lost $315,000 in funding and all the support that came from working with the federal agency.
Prior to the agency being eliminated, about 20 AmeriCorps members were assigned to Tri-Cities elementary and middle schools to help students at risk of falling behind due to poor attendance.
The program works by partnering students with a trained adult mentor in an after-school program. Teachers also partner with the mentors to help them work with families to figure out the reasons they’re missing school.
Since 2021 the program has helped nearly 1,000 chronically absent local students.
This school year they’re at fewer schools as the nonprofit works to keep the program alive, focusing on six with the most critical needs. It’s more important than ever with 1-in-4 Tri-Cities students considered chronically absent.
LoAnn Ayers, the president of the local United Way chapter, told the Tri-City Herald that their primary goal this year is to assess how much it costs to run the program locally, and what it will take to begin scaling up.
“We don’t know the exact costs per school, so we’re going to capture those lessons learned,” she said. “By June we’ll have all those experiences captured so we can replicate and grow by next year.”
In the years the organization ran the program with AmeriCorps members, the data was clear.
“It’s a snowball that gets worse every year, in fact it gets worse every semester,” she said.
But when those students are part of the Attendance Matters programs, they miss less school, they don’t get in trouble as often, their grades improve and they build friendships.
Last year, 55% of students in the program were no longer chronically absent by the end of the school year.
Ayers said the last time she visited one of the after school programs a student stopped her and insisted on showing her a new math game she was very excited about.
It was Monopoly. The students had been playing one game over multiple days.
Ayers learned that the student had been missing school due to bullying after coming from a small elementary school. Once she got in the program though, she began making friends and connecting with adults who looked out for her.
“It makes magic for kids,” Ayers said.
In addition to regular giving, there are opportunities for businesses and community organizations to help sponsor the program.
Imagination Library
Earlier this year the Imagination Library was on the receiving end of cuts when the program’s funding wasn’t included in the new state budget. It expanded in 2022 after a commitment from Washington state lawmakers.
Already the program is heavily supported by Parton’s nonprofit, which also negotiates directly with publishers to keep costs down.
The Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Schools stepped in and used discretionary funding to help give the program a one time infusion of $2 million. The Washington state Legislature will need to address future funding in the 2026 session.
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The program sends children a new book every month from birth through age 5 to help prepare them for starting school.
Ayers said it’s a huge help because more than 60% of children aren’t able to pass reading assessments when they begin kindergarten. When a child falls behind, they become at risk of eventually dropping out of school.
In the four years United Way has been involved with the program, more than 5,000 children in Benton and Franklin counties have participated.
As those children age out, United Way enrolls new families in the program, allowing them to reach more.
“Our goal is to reach the neighborhoods and the rural areas where people have barriers to books,” Ayers said. “We want to get to the families who have the biggest needs. We could get to 7,500 to 8,000 (children) super easily.”
Ayers said that the partnership with Parton’s nonprofit makes fundraising go further.
“We only have to raise half the money locally. You give us 10 bucks, we turn it into 20,” she said. “This time of year when people are thinking about gifting, they can gift a whole year of learning.”
A $40 donation will cover an entire year of books for a local child.
How to help
It’s easy to get involved with the United Way of Benton and Franklin Counties.
• Give online through their website, uwbfco.org/ways-give.
• Fill out a pledge form for recurring giving, and drop it off at their office, 401 N. Young St. in Kennewick.
• Set up a workplace campaign and get your co-workers involved, by emailing Paul Klein at pklein@uwbfco.org or calling a 509-581-3939.
• To make a gift of stock, contact the finance team at cbrandner@uwbfco.org or 509-581-3941.
• To make a planned gift through a trust, estate or other means, contact the Resource Development Team at pklein@uwbfco.org or calling a 509-581-3939.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
