Eligibility

To be eligible for Blue Skies for Children programs: ​

• Child must be homeless, low-income or in foster care, -and- 
• Child must live in Whatcom or Skagit County -and- 
• Child must be age 6 to 18th birthday (or graduation from high school, whichever comes last) 
• ​Family income verification is required.  If a child is eligible for free or reduced lunch under WA State OSPI Guidelines, the child will be eligible for our programs.  
• Identification is required for the parent/guardian and child.   ​

Important to note: ​An eligible family may receive up to three Little Wishes per calendar year per family.  ​The distribution programs do not count toward a Little Wish. Blue Skies may serve up to five children per family for each distribution program. All requirements are subject to change.

---

Foster Families

Foster families please use ​this application to apply for Little Wishes Enrichment Requests (see below for details on Programs).

---

Programs

Little Wishes

Our Little Wishes Enrichment Program (Offered year round)               

 click here for application

Grants Little Wishes for ongoing support of lessons and activities including, but not limited to, art lessons, music lessons such as piano, violin or guitar, as well as martial arts, team sports, individual activities such as swimming lessons, dance, ballet, gymnastics, ice skating, ice hockey, horseback riding, and soccer.​

Our One-Time Little Wishes Program (Offered year round)    

click here for application​

Grants Little Wishes for support of school trip fees, summer camp enrollment fees, bicycle and helmet, special needs equipment, tutoring, computers, school related supplies such as a scientific calculator, or an ASB card (required to participate in school sports), sports fees and/or uniforms, cleats, and other items. The Little Wish requests we receive are unique to the needs of each child.

Our Little Wishes Instrument Loaner Program (Offered year round)

 click here for application

Loans musical instruments to children who wish to participate in their school band or orchestra, but find they are unable to afford the monthly rental cost of an instrument. Blue Skies inventory of instruments includes wind instruments, brass, strings, keyboards and drums. If an instrument is not found in inventory, Blue Skies will rent an instrument for the child from a local music store.

Distribution Programs

Back-to-School Shoe & Backpack Distribution ​(Offered July 10-Aug 31)

click here for application

Brand new backpacks will be distributed along with shoes during our Back-t0-School Give.  More information can be found HERE. 

Winter Warm-Up Distribution (Offered Nov 1-Jan 13)

click here for application

The Winter Warm-Up Program provides children in need with a new coat, hat, gloves, scarf, hooded sweatshirt and/or blanket. This program is 100% dependent on donations of new items so availability will vary. Call our office at 360-756-6710 after October 23rd to set an appointment.​ You must have an appointment scheduled to participate. No drop-in appointments available.

Other Programs

Driver's Education Scholarship   

click here for application

We are able to double the number of scholarships awarded in 2023 with a generous donation from Dewey Griffin Subaru!

Our Driver's Education Scholarship is offered to teens 15 to 17 years of age, who are homeless, low-income or in foster care. It is a competitive scholarship and does require an application, essay, parent/guardian letter of reference, a third party letter of reference, school grades transcript, and access to a car and auto insurance.

The scholarship grants up to $400 toward driver's education and is limited to a certain number of scholarships available each year. Award is based on both merit and need.​ Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and are open until all scholarships have been awareded.