Bright Horizons teachers raise $40,000 for homeless kids

June 2, 2009 7:54 pm
Teachers from Bright Horizons at Bellevue joined to help raise over $40
Teachers from Bright Horizons at Bellevue joined to help raise over $40

The teachers at Bright Horizons were out in force – 350 of them – Saturday, May 30 to raise money to help homeless children.

The event, at Crossroads Bellevue Mall, raised over $40,000.

The money will go to build a Bright Space, a warm, enriching spot in homeless shelters and community agencies that give children and families in crisis a place to play, learn and have fun. Bright Spaces are created in partnership with Bright Horizons employees, corporations, community agencies and others.

Bright Horizons provides child care, early education and work/life solutions to parents and children.

As part of the event, Bright Horizons Division Vice President, Debbie Highsmith and Regional Managers, Lora Patton, Maureen Hodge, and Julie Parmenter agreed to dye their hair purple if the employees raised $25,000.

According to officials at Bright Horizons, children and families make up the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. There are as many as 500,000 families in shelters nationwide and 1.35 million homes children each year. Over half of homeless families have been homeless for 6 months or more.