The 14th annual Giving Garland is a charitable event, made possible by the Leschi school and greater neighborhood communities and is sponsored by the Leschi PTA. In the past 13 years over 1,900 children and their families have received support during the winter holidays.

In pre-Covid years we hung colorful tags on the garland which represented a gift; while everything is back to “in-person” now, the Giving Garland will continue to live in the digital world instead of the physical garland with tags. But, as always, we will be helping families by providing support and giving gifts to the kids...some items are fun: toys, bikes, art supplies, board games, balls, books and some are basics: clothing, bedding, warm coats or diapers. Every family receives a gift card to easily accessible grocery stores.

The student population at Leschi Elementary is very diverse in many ways and socioeconomics is one area, with a high percentage of children who qualify for free and reduced lunch and may even qualify as “homeless” under the McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

We greatly appreciate the past partnership, support and tremendous generosity from our school community (Leschi Elementary families, extended family, friends and co-workers) as well as our neighborhood community (the Leschi Community Council, Leschi Market, Broadmoor Golf Club and other local businesses and Leschi residents) and the Hotes Foundation.

For more information, contact:
Katie Busby (katiebusby@gmail.com) and/or
Jennifer Marquardt (206.423.2781/ jrmarquardt1@gmail.com)

We welcome and thank you in advance for your support again this year! Leschi PTA is an 501(c)(3)

Organization, Tax ID #91-1391625

The Giving Garland is closed for this season. We send a big loving thank you to our organizers, Katie and Jennifer for their years of dedication to Leschi Elementary and specifically, the Giving Garland.

Message from the organizers:

The 2023 Leschi Elementary Giving Garland, supporting people in our community...thank you for another year of generosity and support! The Leschi Elementary Giving Garland, a charitable program, is in its 14th year of supporting Leschi Elementary families in need of help during the winter months and holidays. On behalf of the families who received help, we extend a tremendous THANK YOU to everyone who gave so generously and willingly!

This year the Giving Garland supported nearly 50 families with more than 150 children, with toys, athletic and art supplies, musical instruments, books, games, clothing, bedding, diapers, car seats, groceries, warm winter coats and more. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our school, greater Leschi and surrounding neighborhood communities, we were able to distribute more than $8,000 in gift cards for specific gifts, groceries, and clothing as well as approximately 600 gifts! THANK YOU!!!!

Your kindness made a huge difference in so many lives...
“This is such a blessing, times are just so difficult right now – it’s hard to thank you all enough.”

“Our family came to Seattle (the USA) with very little, the generosity at Leschi has made the transition so much easier for my family.”

“We are grateful for anything and everything we receive, but when my kids get something they asked for, it is truly special.”

A special thank you for all the years of making it come together goes out to Jennifer Marquardt, Katie Busby, the Leschi Community Council, Grace United Methodist Church, Melvin the Mail Carrier, Broadmoor Golf Club, Herzl Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, generous anonymous donors, and all of the GG volunteers.