A grandmother caring for two small children received help with her utility bills.
An out-of-work logger in Quilcene got money to obtain prescribed medicine.
A fourth-grade student got the glasses he needed to do his schoolwork in Port Townsend.
Material was provided to help a volunteer group assist a Port Angeles woman with repairs to her mobile home.
A Forks woman received a load of wood to heat her house.
Using a record-breaking $248,367.35 donated in 2010, more than 2,160 households — almost 4,750 individuals — in Jefferson and Clallam counties have received help so far this year from the Peninsula Daily News’ “hand up, not a handout” Peninsula Home Fund.
From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve, the Peninsula Home Fund — a safety net for North Olympic Peninsula residents when there is nowhere else to turn — is seeking contributions for its annual holiday season fundraising campaign.
Beginning Sunday, Peninsula Daily News will publish stories every Wednesday and Sunday during the campaign listing contributors and reporting on how the fund works.
The Peninsula Home Fund is a unique nonprofit program:
■ No money is deducted by the Peninsula Daily News for administration fees or any other overhead.
Every penny goes to OlyCAP — nonprofit Olympic Community Action Programs, the chief emergency-care agency on the Peninsula — to help the most vulnerable members of our community, from infants to families to seniors.
PLEASE NOTE: Because of heavy community demands, the loss of grants because of the dire economy and recent cuts in government funding, OlyCAP beginning in January will use 10 percent — 10 cents of every dollar donated — to pay for the helping hands who see Home Fund clients.
(See accompanying story, “Tough times compound Home Fund challenges”)
■ The Home Fund is not a welfare program.
Money is used to give families and individuals from Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to Sequim, Joyce and LaPush “a hand up, not a handout” to get through an emergency situation.
Assistance, which usually averages less than $100, is also limited to one time in a 12-month period.
The average amount of help this year was about $95 per family.
As needed, Peninsula Home Fund donations are also used in conjunction with money from churches, service clubs and other donors, enabling OlyCAP to stretch the value of the contribution.
The distance is often very short between those of us with jobs and homes and medical care — and those Peninsula residents for whom fate has dealt a much different reality.
Peninsula Home Fund workers said they heard heartbreaking stories this year of unexpected poverty and illness — and many recipients were seeking help from the fund for the first time, often because a family member recently lost a job.
Always showing respect and kindness to people who don’t always receive that in their daily lives, Home Fund staff’s most important goal is to get the individual or family through a crisis, and back on the path of self-sufficiency.
Whenever possible, Peninsula Home Fund case managers work with each individual or family to develop a plan to become financially stable — and avoid a recurrence of the emergency that prompted aid from the fund.
The goal again: “a hand up, not a handout.”
■ All contributions are IRS tax-deductible for the year in which the check is written.
■ Your personal information is kept confidential.
The PDN does not rent, sell, give or otherwise share your address or other information with anyone or make any other use of it.
Out of money Dec. 31
Now in its 22nd year, the fund is supported entirely by Jefferson and Clallam residents.
Individuals, couples, businesses, churches, organizations and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2010: $248,367.35.
So far, about $204,500 has been spent.
And as we move into winter, the toughest period of the year, all of that money is expected to be spent before Dec. 31.
To apply for a Peninsula Home Fund grant, phone OlyCAP at 360-452-4726 (Clallam County) or 360-385-2571 (Jefferson County).
OlyCAP’s Port Angeles office is at 228 W. First St., Suite J (Armory Square Mall); 360-452-4726.
Its Port Townsend office is at 803 W. Park Ave.; 360-385-2571.
The Forks/West End office is at 91 Maple Ave.; 360-374-6193.
OlyCAP’s website: www.olycap.org; email: action@olycap.org.
Tim L. Hockett, OlyCAP’s executive director, oversees disbursements from the Peninsula Home Fund.
How to donate
From children’s pennies to checks for thousands of dollars, the generosity of Peninsula Daily News readers makes a positive difference.
A gift of any size is welcome.
The Peninsula Home Fund has never been a campaign of heavy hitters.
If you can contribute only a few dollars, please don’t hesitate because you think it won’t make a difference.
Every gift makes a difference, regardless of its size.
You can also contribute online using a credit card — go to https://secure.peninsuladailynews.com/homefund — or just click on the Home Fund donation button at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
Again, all contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible.
You will receive a written thank-you and acknowledgment of your contribution.
If you have any questions about the fund, phone John Brewer, Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500.
Or email john.brewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
