Every year, Adams partners with The Salvation Army and Triumph Actuation to get winter clothes for our students.  This process starts by gathering $75 donations for each student.  Last year, we took 222 students to shop at Walmart, all in one morning.  We knew that this year would have to be done differently.  So, this year we fundraised for 247 students!  We gathered each of the 247 students’ sizes and got that information to our volunteer shoppers.  We partnered with Old Navy, who offered extra discounts and designated shopping times.  The clothes were then packaged for each student, along with  a pair of winter boots, generously donated by Wear A Big Smile Foundation, part of Washington Shoe Company.

On December 5th, families came to Adams for a drive thru pick up.  Our event was made extra special with Christmas blowup decorations, the lighted Coca-Cola Truck, treats from Franz and Tree Top, and Christmas music.  Our volunteers brought joy throughout the entire event, despite weather in the 20s.  

The amount of fundraising that came from Adams’ staff and their families and friends was record setting!  Triumph Actuation fundraised, packaged the clothing, was able to shop through the Triumph WINGS program, and had many volunteers on the day of the event. The La Salle High School girls basketball team fundraised, volunteered as shoppers, and helped distribute the clothing to students.

Our community came together to support this event and our Adams students in a year when the need is greater than ever before.  

We would like to thank all of our donors and volunteers that made this event possible and made a difference in our students’ lives!  Hopefully, next year we will be back to shopping in person with our kids!

This Thanksgiving season, Maverick Cares donated Thanksgiving meals for 20 of our Yakima School District Families! We are grateful for their generosity and thoughtfulness this holiday season. We also want to thank our Yakima Police Department for coordinating this effort. We appreciate you!

The Yakima School District would like to thank and honor our principals for their visionary leadership and tireless pursuit of success for each student.

Did you know that Principal Doug Kaplicky and Assistant Principal Jose Contreras both attended Franklin Middle School as students? However, one attended the old building in the 1980s and one was born in the 1980s...guess who's who? They both share that their families are their life outside of school. Mr. Kaplicky has two older teen kids, loves writing, and is a huge sports fan. Mr. Contreras has three kids and loves playing board games, cards, and volleyball.