Thrive International

08/28/2026

Back-to-school season at Thrive Center Tacoma looks like this: 89 students walking away with new backpacks and school supplies, ready for their first day. 🎒

None of it happened alone. Volunteers from Sojourner Home and BECU ran the giveaway alongside our team; BECU donated $500 toward backpacks; and Lighthouse Christian donated and delivered all the school supplies through Sojourner Home. And the day before, Franklin Pierce School District came onsite and registered 29 new students for the school year, meeting families right where they are.

One more sign of momentum: Homework Club sign-ups filled to capacity, with 39 elementary and middle schoolers ready to learn this fall.

For families rebuilding their lives, a backpack and a school registration are more than supplies and paperwork. They're a signal that this new chapter is really beginning.

Thank you, Sojourner Home, BECU, Lighthouse Christian, and Franklin Pierce School District, for showing up for our kids. 🧡

08/28/2026

When nearly 67,000 of our neighbors were forced from their homes this month, something remarkable happened. Fewer than 1 in 100 ended up in an emergency shelter. The rest were taken in by friends, family, and communities of faith who opened their doors without being asked.

That's the Spokane we know.

Our Executive Director, Mark Finney, was recently featured in a story by the Evangelical Covenant Church about how this city responds when disaster hits. Mark leads Thrive, and he also serves a small congregation here in Spokane, so he's seen this response from both sides: churches turning Sunday school rooms into guest rooms, teachers identifying families in need, neighbors dousing hillsides by hand to save each other's homes.

And he named something we believe deeply at Thrive: the capacity this community built over ten years of welcoming displaced families from around the world is "the same connective tissue showing up now."

Caring for people who've lost their homes isn't new work for Spokane. It's the work this community has been practicing all along, and it's why Thrive was able to open our doors to fire-displaced families within days.

The cameras will move on. The need won't. We're grateful to be part of a community, faith communities and beyond, that plans to stay for the long road ahead.

Read the full story:

The evacuation orders have been lifted. In Spokane, two congregations are settling in for the long work of rebuilding with their neighbors.

08/27/2026

Backpack season at the Thrive Center! 🎒

This week, more Homework Club kids headed into the school year with brand new backpacks filled with grade-appropriate supplies — pencils, notebooks, everything they need to start strong.

These supplies came to our families thanks to School's Out Washington (SOWA), whose support means parents rebuilding their lives here don't have to choose between school supplies and other essentials. For a family that's starting over, that matters more than you might think.

Our Homework Club runs year-round, giving students a place to learn, get support, and grow alongside friends who understand their journey. Watching these kids walk in with new backpacks on their shoulders is one of the best parts of back-to-school.

Thank you, SOWA, for investing in Spokane's newest students. 💛

08/26/2026

This week, a shipment of relief supplies from our partners at World Vision USA arrived at the Thrive Center, and it's already on the move. 📦

We've distributed items directly to fire-affected families who came through our doors, and today Mark delivered the rest to the Northeast Community Center ahead of Friday's Wildfire Relief Distribution event.

If you or someone you know was affected by the fires, come by:

🗓️ Friday, August 28 · 10 AM–3 PM
📍 Northeast Community Center: 4001 N Cook St, Spokane

Free food and groceries from 2nd Harvest, clothing and home essentials, backpacks and school supplies, plus free dental and vision screenings on site. Open to the public, no appointment needed.

Recovery is a community effort, and we're grateful to stand alongside partners like World Vision, the Northeast Community Center, and Coordinated Care to ensure fire-affected neighbors have what they need.

08/24/2026

Homework Club is here: just in time for back to school! 📚✏️

Every Wednesday and Thursday, 4:30–6:00 PM, students ages 6–18 are welcome at Thrive for homework help, English language practice, educational games, and group learning: a supportive space to build skills and start the school year strong.

Families: Questions or want to get your student involved? Contact Irshad at [email protected] or 509-918-4173.

Volunteers: This program runs on people like you. No teaching experience needed — just patience, encouragement, and 90 minutes a week. Sign up: https://x.gldn.io/m0sQPLDVJ5b

📍 Thrive International, 110 E 4th Ave, Spokane

08/23/2026

A van load of generosity 🧡 Thank you to our friends at World Vision USA for delivering supplies for families displaced by the Spokane wildfires. Every donation like this goes straight to households starting over. Grateful for partners who show up.

Support Thrive's fire response for those in need of emergency housing: https://thriveint.org/fire-response

08/23/2026

Camp recap from our Tacoma youth: zip lines were conquered, the pool got a workout, campfire stories ran until 3 AM, and absolutely nobody wanted to go home. 📸

These kids have crossed continents and carried more in their short lives than most of us ever will: two relocations, a crossing of the Darién Gap, living in tent cities, and speaking five languages.

This week? Just camp. Just fly-through-the-trees, one-more-swim, don't-want-it-to-end camp.

08/16/2026

A full week at both Thrive Centers, and a lot to smile about. 🧡

At Thrive Center Tacoma, our friends at Impact Public Schools, a free public charter school, brought a pool and ice cream party for the kids. Add in a water fight in the front parking lot (buckets were involved), and it's safe to say summer is being fully enjoyed.

Also in Tacoma, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department came on-site to enroll 40 kids for a vaccination clinic coming in September. Partnerships like this are how families get connected to the care they need, right where they live.

And one story we're proud to share: a mom who joined Thrive Center Tacoma last spring is now working, has her own car, and is building toward stable housing for her family, one step at a time. That journey is exactly what this place exists for.

Over at Thrive Center Spokane, fifteen kids joined us for Play & Learn this Friday. Every Friday from 10:30 to 12, kids and caregivers come together for activities that make learning feel like play.

Two cities, one mission: walking with families as they find home.

08/11/2026

Nine very important passengers boarded this bus at Thrive Center Tacoma on Monday morning, destination: Kindercamp. All week, our youngest residents will be learning kindergarten readiness with World Relief and making new friends along the way.

Home is where kids get to be kids. Have a great week, campers!

08/10/2026

⚽ Here are the final numbers for Soccer Camp 2026!

This summer, 257 kids laced up with us — 184 at our K-5th camp, 73 at our 6th-12th camp, and 140 players at the Jamboree. That's hundreds of Spokane kids running, laughing, and growing together on the field.

Amid everything happening in our community right now, weeks like these remind us why we do this work. Home isn't just a roof: it's belonging. And for a lot of kids this summer, belonging looked like a soccer ball and a full field.

Thank you to every coach, volunteer, and family who made this season happen. See you next summer. 💛