SSEPTSA is a Finalist for the BECU People Helping People Awards

The Seattle Special Education PTSA (SSEPTSA) is a finalist for BECU’s People Helping People Awards. According to BECU, “these awards are a way for BECU to recognize the organizations who exemplify one of BECU’s founding principles: helping others.” The SSEPTSA is a finalist for a $40,000 People’s Choice award. As a finalist in the competition, the SSEPTSA will receive at least $15,000.

SSEPTSA is an all-volunteer parent, teacher, and student association that amplifies the voices of students with disabilities, advocates for these students and their community, and helps them navigate the education system. The generous grant from BECU would enable SSEPTSA to complete important updates to their award-winning Getting to Results: A Guide to Special Education in Seattle Public Schools. The funds would also be used to pay for the translation and interpretation services that make it possible for as many Seattle residents as possible to access these resources.

Jana Parker, the BECU member who nominated SSEPTSA for this award, is the President of SSEPTSA and a mother of two children with disabilities. She says that she is a part of SSEPTSA, because she “decided that it’s time to help others understand their rights [and] their child’s rights, and advocate, and teach children self-advocacy.” Parker would like to reach and empower more families, with the ultimate goal of influencing systemic change to dismantle the inequitable and \racist structures within our education system. She explains that empowering others is simply a part of who she is, saying “I work with other volunteers in the Seattle Special Education PTSA to address ableism and create accessible, welcoming spaces for all.”

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In a statement, Sharon Tomiko Santos, Washington State Representative and the Chair of the House Education Committee, said:

No family knows if or when they may be blessed to have a child with special education needs. But when the family needs help understanding their child’s rights, or if they need an advocate to assist in securing services and supports from the school district, the SSEPTSA is there to provide information, guidance, and support. As an all-volunteer organization with expertise in the rules and regulations governing Special Ed, SSEPTSA is stretched beyond capacity. A BECU People Helping People grant would enable SSEPTSA to broaden its reach by financing a reprint of its “Guide to Special Education” and to expand translation services in support of non-English speaking families. I really cannot think of a more worthwhile investment to include all People.

BECU’s People’s Choice Award in the People Helping People competition will be decided through a public vote at becu.org/awards. Voting opens on Monday, September 30 and closes on Friday, October 11 at 5:00 pm.

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