Field notes from Tacoma

The cold snap that settled over Tacoma in late February did not arrive with cameras or press releases. It arrived as shutoff warnings, empty refrigerators, and parents calculating whether the bus fare to a morning shift was worth the risk of missing daycare pickup. Between February 17 and March 7, Hilltops Ten Toes Down Nonprofit Charity Association logged 37 household intakes for Shoe Donations & Family Crisis Relief—the busiest three-week stretch since we received our IRS determination letter in 2023.

Most of those requests were not dramatic in the Hollywood sense. They were specific: a request for school-ready sneakers after a growth spurt; a $118 utility past-due balance for a grandmother caring for two grandchildren near South 8th Street; a quiet call from a neighbor who had already skipped two rent payments. Our volunteers sorted donated footwear into labeled boxes—adult, youth, weather-ready pairs—while the Tuesday meal packaging crew prepared hot meal packages for same-week distribution from Tacoma, WA, USA.

“We do not ask people to prove they are suffering,” said Principal Officer Saconia during a March board check-in. “We ask what keeps them unsafe tonight, and we move. The paperwork catches up in daylight.” Treasurer Alicia C. Adebayo, CPA, reported that 91% of relief spending in February went to grocery cards, utility bridges under $250, and meal ingredients—leaving administration to shared board time rather than new overhead.

Targeted relief works because it is local and finite. Families receive a clear next step: a workshop seat if unemployment is the root cause, a senior visit if isolation is compounding the crisis, or a follow-up call the next Tuesday. Donors who funded this stretch made that rhythm possible. If you want your gift to land in a grocery bag before the week ends, our crisis program is where it begins.

On a damp Saturday in January, sixteen teenagers met mentors under a covered picnic shelter for the first weekend outdoor mentoring session of 2026. Nobody delivered a TED Talk. Mentors brought card games, snack bags, and a simple question: “What felt heavy at school this week?” The answers ranged from missed assignments after a parent’s night shift to the embarrassment of asking for a fee waiver again. That conversation—ordinary, unhurried—is the heart of our Education First approach.

Poverty cycles rarely break because a brochure told a teen to “dream bigger.” They loosen when a consistent adult notices when a backpack goes missing, when a report card arrives crumpled, when a student stops making eye contact. Our Youth & Senior Care Outreach pairs background-checked volunteers with youth ages 10–17 for Saturday sessions and optional weekday check-ins by text. Guardians sign a short permission form; mentors log attendance so Program Director Alicia H. Patel, M.S.W., can spot who disappeared without a goodbye.

In parallel, Community Career & Skills Workshops give parents and older siblings a path that does not compete with mentoring time. Tuesday evening digital labs teach the same tools employers actually use—email etiquette, online applications, calendar reminders—so household stability and youth confidence rise together. One mother who finished the January résumé clinic told us her daughter started bringing homework to the Saturday circle “because Mom was practicing too.”

Education First is not a separate nonprofit brand. It is a promise that we will keep showing up on weekends even when the weather is gray and the Instagram photos look ordinary. If you can mentor once a month, or fund a snack budget that makes teens feel welcomed, write us at admin@hilltopstentoesdown.org. The cycle does not break in a single speech. It breaks in repeated Saturdays.

Small charities sometimes hide behind their size. We choose the opposite posture. Hilltops Ten Toes Down Nonprofit Charity Association (EIN 93-2629418) is a public charity with a calendar-year accounting period ending December 31. When gross receipts stay at or below $50,000, we file Form 990-N (e-Postcard)—and we tell you that plainly. Our latest filed notice confirms the organization has not terminated and continues under Principal Officer Saconia at our Tacoma mailing address.

For donors, transparency means more than a filing checkbox. In 2025 we maintained a target allocation of 88% to direct programs, 8% to administration and compliance, and 4% to fundraising and donor stewardship. Every gift of $25 or more receives a written acknowledgment suitable for tax records. Requests emailed to admin@hilltopstentoesdown.org are answered within five business days. We never sell or rent donor lists—see our Privacy Policy for the full guarantee.

Program tallies for the year include more than 420 household assists since our 2023 exemption date, 1,800+ hot meal packages prepared on Tuesday cycles, and a volunteer roster that crossed 95 active community members by December. Those numbers are not vanity metrics; they are capacity markers that tell the board when to slow intake or recruit more mentors. Secretary & Operations Lead Daniel K. Bennett, Esq., maintains conflict-of-interest disclosures and meeting minutes so governance keeps pace with growth.

Dedicated donor service also means admitting what we do not do yet. We are not a full-scale shelter operator. We do not process same-day wire transfers on this website. When you submit a donation intent through our portal, our team replies with secure payment instructions and a receipt. That human step protects both your data and our compliance posture. Thank you for trusting a neighborhood charity with serious paperwork habits. Your partnership keeps Ten Toes Down—steady, local, and accountable.