As a Jesuit school, Prep encourages students to go out into the community and engage in acts of kindness. While students have a service requirement for each grade, some participate in their own service work. Natalie Aguilar Fox ’24 has volunteered at Treehouse for five months to give back to her community. 

Located in the Mt. Baker area, Treehouse is a nonprofit organization helping youth in foster care. Their goal is that by 2027, 90% of youth who have experienced foster care in Washington will have completed high school and have a support plan to transition into independence. In addition, Treehouse gives the youth support and access to essentials in life, including free clothing, hygiene, school supplies, and more.  

Treehouse remains a nonprofit organization because of all the donations they get from companies, including a special deal with Goodwill, where they trade off clothes. However, a large portion of resources comes from individual people who donate.  

This past winter, Prep was able to contribute to the organization. During Prep’s Giving Tree drive in the winter, the Junior class brought toys, makeup, and other items to donate to Treehouse. 

William Liu, the head organizer of the Giving Tree Drive, is always on the lookout for organizations that Prep can partner with. It was Aguilar Fox’s idea to have Juniors donate to Treehouse. Her connection to Treehouse inspired the idea to match each grade level with a specific organization for the Giving Tree Program. In an email, Liu wrote, “I think that these donation drives work best when there is a personal connection to the organization, as well as a student leader to help represent and speak to the needs of that organization.” 

When Aguilar Fox is at Treehouse, her job is to organize the bins full of donations and help the youth at Treehouse shop online for items they need. They give her ideas of what they might want to have, and she finds them online, orders them, and then packages them up. These requests range from clothing to books, basically any of the essentials at their store.  

Aguilar Fox’s motivation for helping others comes from stories she heard growing up about her family. As a young child, Aguilar Fox learned that her dad didn’t have the best life and had to work hard to get to where he was today. She saw this with her whole family, who had to work their way up to where they are now.  

Reflecting on her time at Treehouse, Aguilar Fox said, “It’s one of the first times I feel like I’ve done something to better the lives of people. I feel like I’m making a difference. It’s made me want to do so much for this world and so much for others. I can’t wait to see what else I do in the future.” 

Aguilar Fox helps Treehouse through volunteering, but there are many other ways to give to this organization. Clothing donations are always welcome, and Treehouse also has an Amazon Wish list that can be found on their website.