PORT ANGELES — First Federal Community Foundation has awarded $300,500 in grants to 13 nonprofits, including Captain Joseph House, the Olympic Peninsula YMCA and Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics.
The Captain Joseph House Foundation received a $25,000 matching grant for capital improvements to the Captain Joseph House in Port Angeles.
Betsy Reed Schultz is converting the former Tudor Inn Bed and Breakfast at 1108 S. Oak St. into a refuge for grieving families of fallen service members in memory of her son, Capt. Joseph Schultz, who was killed May 29, 2011, in Afghanistan.
“We’re very appreciative for First Federal coming on board and supporting this project,” Betsy Reed Schultz said Thursday.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind.”
The Captain Joseph House Foundation has raised about $8,000 in cash to be used for the First Federal match.
Cash donations must be received by Oct. 15 to qualify for the match.
Nearly 11,000 volunteer hours have been dedicated to the Captain Joseph House since remodeling began in June 2013. It is about 60 percent complete, Schultz said.
“This has been from the get-go a community project,” Schultz said.
The matching grant will be used for such things as siding, electrical work, plumbing, insulation and fixtures.
“It’s a whole bunch of things,” Schultz said.
VIMO grant
Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics, or VIMO, received a $50,000 community development grant from the First Federal foundation for expansion of the agency’s dental services.
“We are very grateful to the First Federal Community Foundation for their support of the clinic and the community as a whole,” said T. Scott Brandon, VIMO development director.
VIMO also received a $283,000 grant from the Washington Dental Services Foundation for expanded dental services.
The combined grants will be used to add two dental chairs to the two-chair free clinic at 819 E. Georgiana St. in Port Angeles and to upgrade dental equipment and software.
Irwin Dental Center of Port Angeles also donated a panoramic X-ray to the nonprofit clinic that would have cost about $40,000 new.
VIMO was formed in 2005 from an initiative to improve health care access to county residents.
Sequim YMCA
Meanwhile, the Olympic Peninsula YMCA received a $25,000 First Federal Community Foundation grant for start-up capital for the Sequim YMCA, formerly the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center.
The recreation center known as SARC closed last October. It will reopen this fall under the management of the Olympic Peninsula YMCA.
Last March, Clallam County commissioners awarded a $731,705 Opportunity Fund grant to SARC to purchase a needed air-handling unit for the pool natatorium.
More recipients
Other recipients of First Federal Community Foundation grants were:
■ Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County: Awarded $50,000 for its neighborhood revitalization program.
■ New Life Community Development Agency: Awarded $50,000 for construction of the Birkenfeld Economic Empowerment Center in Bremerton.
■ Camp Beausite Northwest in Chimacum: Awarded $25,000 for completion of the third phase of a facilities expansion program to serve people with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities throughout the region.
■ Central Kitsap Food Bank: Awarded $25,000 for the purchase of a new box truck.
■ First Step Family Support Center: Awarded $20,000 to fund a volunteer coordinator to build programs and expand capacity in Clallam County.
■ Northwind Arts Center: Awarded $10,000 to provide summer educational scholarships for children from low-income families in Jefferson County.
■ Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers: Awarded $5,500 to support drop-in civil legal aid for low-income clients.
■ Assistance League of Bellingham: Awarded $5,000 for Operation School Bell to provide school clothes to children from low-income families.
■ Easter Seals Washington-Olympic Peninsula Autism Center: Awarded $5,000 to purchase therapeutic equipment for the Silverdale center.
■ Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts: Awarded $5,000 to sponsor Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts performances for youths.
“We are pleased to announce these gifts to organizations that are improving the quality of life in our communities,” First Federal Community Foundation Board Chairman David Flodstrom said in a news release.
“First Federal is proud of its legacy of giving back to the communities it serves.”
The foundation, a private 501(c)(3) charitable corporation, started with a gift of $400,000 in cash and 933,360 shares of stock in First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association, upon the bank’s conversion to a public company in January 2015.
The foundation provides grants for community support, affordable housing, economic development and community development in communities where First Federal operates a full-service branch.
First Federal has branches in Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Sequim, Forks, Silverdale and Bellingham.
Since it began, the First Federal Community Foundation has awarded more than $1.04 million to organizations and projects in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom counties.
The foundation’s next open application period will begin July 1.
Grant guidelines and the grant application form are available on the foundation’s website at www.firstfedcf.org.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
