The COVID-19 Relief Fund has provided to date the money for more than 530 grants to people on the North Olympic Peninsula who have fallen short financially because of the pandemic.
Thanks to generous donors, the fund has grown to $343,485.65 since it was inaugurated in March to create a way for neighbors to help each other through the economic repercussions of COVID-19 precautions.
Case workers at Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) have spent $240,000 of that in grants that average $445, said Audrey Morford, OlyCAP executive assistant.
The most pressing needs remain rental and mortgage help, she said, with utility and energy assistance the next most common request.
“This fund has really, really made a difference for a lot of families,” Morford said in an email.
The Peninsula Daily News and OlyCAP converted the Peninsula Home Fund into the COVID-19 Relief Fund as the impacts of the unique coronavirus pandemic began to be felt.
OlyCAP is not limiting clients to one-time-only help, as it has done in the past. And case workers often are able to leverage funds into greater benefits by pairing them with other programs.
All the money in the fund is from you who give out of your pockets to help your neighbors during the coronavirus pandemic.
There is no way to thank you enough. But at least we can let others know what you did.
Here is a list of the donations given to the COVID-19 Relief Fund during the past two weeks.
Name and amount
Rosemary Thompson, Port Angeles, $100.
William Manzer, Sequim, $200.
John and Jeanne Skow, Port Angeles, $1,000.
Name onlyPatrick Plaster, Port Townsend. In memory of Duane Plaster.
Elizabeth Geddes, Port Angeles.
Lynda and Jim Larison, Sequim.
Bronson West and Marian Birch, Port Angeles.
Steve and Linda Bailey, Carlsborg.
Olympic Springs Inc., Carlsborg.
Shirley and Steve Clark, Port Angeles.
Jay and Linda Bruch, Port Angeles. In memory of Sharon Currie.
Nancy L. Bolon, Sequim.
Kenneth Bockman, Port Angeles.
LaNice Johnson, Sequim.
Barbara Larue, Port Angeles. In memory of Sweet Sally Rasmussen.
Ann Bambrick, Port Townsend.
Jen and Tim Rymer, Port Angeles. In memory of Karl Rymer and Jean Davis.
Maria Vail, Sequim.
Jennifer Stankus, Port Townsend.
Janice Wyman, Port Angeles.
Vera and Loren Glica, Port Angeles.
Brooke Cole, Port Angeles.
Matthew Duchow, Port Angeles.
Elizabeth Fetrow, Port Angeles.
Elizabeth Fulwider, Port Angeles.
Anonymous
Sequim, $50.
Port Angeles, $100.
Port Townsend, $100.
Sequim, $250.
Port Angeles, $100.
Sequim, $100.
Port Townsend, $100.
Carlsborg, $100.
Port Angeles, $50.
Sequim, $250.
Sequim, $100.
Sequim, $300. In memory of my father, C. Walton Larue. In honor of his 125th birthday.
Sequim, $100.
Port Angeles, $10.
Sequim, $250.
Port Angeles, $100.
