EDITOR’s NOTE – This is another in a series of articles on the Peninsula Home Fund. Click on the Home Fund button at left to generate a printout coupon to contribute. Thanks!
FORKS — Michelle Steward and her young son, Tanner, were living in the Peninsula Apartments when a nighttime fire destroyed much of the complex Feb. 6.
Steward was able to find a new home, but the cost of moving — and winter utility costs — took their toll.
“It is hard being a single mom, and things like electricity bills add up quickly,” she said.
“But my son cannot be cold — it is not an option.”
After turning to OlyCAP — Olympic Community Action Programs — for help, she received a grant of about $100 from the Peninsula Daily News’ Peninsula Home Fund to help pay her electrical bills.
In addition, Steward, 23, a grocery market cashier, and Tanner, 2, now have a wood-burning stove, which helps cut their utility costs.
Steward said people who donate to the Peninsula Home Fund should know that they are helping hundreds of people.
“If it wasn’t for this fund, a lot of people would be stuck with no where else to turn,” she said.
Cathy Ulin, OlyCAP client services specialist in Forks, said the fund is a safety net for the rural West End.
“We are so fortunate to have the Home Fund,” she said.
“It really does help people in our area that are in crisis — and is a safeguard for the working poor.”
Ulin said when people apply for funds they are told that 100 percent of the money in the Peninsula Home Fund is donated.
“We make sure that they know they are receiving donated dollars — and we encourage, when they are self-sufficient, to give back and help others.”
A safety net
Indeed, some recipients this year have been donors in past years, when the economics of their households were better.
Peninsula Home Fund is a safety net for residents in Jefferson and Clallam counties when they face emergency situations — and can’t find help elsewhere.
From Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to LaPush, it’s a helping hand for children, teens, families and the elderly.
Every dollar goes — without any deductions for costs — for hot meals for seniors, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for the low income, needed prescription drugs, dental work, safe and drug-free temporary housing, eyeglasses — the list goes on and on.
The nonprofit program’s emphasis is on making sure no one falls through the cracks during winter, the most demanding time of the year.
No deductions
Peninsula Home Fund is seeking contributions for its annual holiday-season fund-raising campaign.
Now in its 14th year, the fund is managed for the Peninsula Daily News by OlyCAP, the No. 1 emergency care agency on the North Olympic Peninsula.
* No money is diverted for administration or other overhead. All costs are absorbed by the Peninsula Daily News and OlyCAP.
* All contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible.
* Your personal information is kept confidential. The Peninsula Daily News does not rent, sell, give or otherwise share your address or other information with anyone, or make any other use of it.
* Money is commonly distributed from the Peninsula Home Fund in small amounts, usually no more than $100.
* Assistance is limited to one time in a 12-month period.
Individuals, couples, businesses and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2001 — $63,777.
More than 650 people were helped as of mid-November.
All of the money collected last year is expected to be spent by Dec. 31.
Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from churches, service clubs and other donors, enabling OlyCAP to stretch the value of the contributions.
To apply for a grant from the fund, phone OlyCAP at 360-452-4726 (Clallam County) or 360-385-2571 (Jefferson County). There are offices in Port Townsend, Port Angeles and Forks.
If you have any questions about the fund, contact John Brewer, Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500, or e-mail john.brewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
How to donate
A gift of any size is welcome.
Peninsula Home Fund has never been a campaign of heavy hitters.
Every gift makes a difference.
Contributions will be accepted until Dec. 31.
Please printout the coupon that can be generated by clicking on the “Peninsula Daily News Home Fund” button at left.
Again, all contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible.
You will receive a written thank-you and acknowledgment of your contribution; your address and all personal information are kept private.
The Peninsula Daily News publishes news stories every Wednesday and Sunday during this year’s campaign listing contributors and reporting on how the fund works.
New contributions
So far this holiday season, $16,621 has been contributed to the Peninsula Home Fund.
The following are contributions received between Dec. 4 and Dec. 6.
Thank you very much for making a difference in the lives — and futures — of your neighbors:
* Dale and Punky Doran, Port Angeles, $100, in memory of our mothers: Ruth Doran and Loveday Duncan.
* Frank and Dorothy Marggraf, Port Hadlock, $50.
* Ron and Karen Bednarski, Port Townsend, $100.
* Children’s Montessori School, Port Angeles, $20.
* Hurricane Sam’s RV Club, Port Angeles, $50.
* William M. Waddell, Port Angeles, $50, in memory of L.P. Rasmussen.
Donors who requested anonymity:
* Port Townsend, $25, in memory of Louise Langevin.
* Sequim, $100, in memory of Larry.
* Port Angeles, $25.
* Sequim, $200.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $20, in memory of Jeanne Costello.
* Sequim, $25.
* Sequim, $25.
* Sequim, $100, “From a 66-year-old grandmother who is very thankful to be living on the Peninsula.”
* Port Angeles, $20.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $50, in memory of Alice Hanshaw.
* Sequim, $25.
* Port Angeles, $50.
* Sequim, $100.
* Sequim, $25.
* Port Angeles, $10.
* Port Angeles, $25.
* Port Angeles, $50.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $100.
* Port Angeles, $50.
* Port Angeles, $100.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $750.
* Port Angeles, $100.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $25.
* Sequim, $100.
* Port Angeles, $25.
* Sequim, $50.
* *Norma and Gene Turner, Port Angeles, in honor of all CASA volunteers. “CASA stands for court-appointed special advocates. These local volunteers gave more than 20,000 hours this year to help abused children. Our profound thanks.”
* *Tom and Debbie Cox, Sequim.
* *Robert and Sheila Becker, Port Angeles.
* *Harold and Velma Winters, Port Angeles.
* *James F. Brown, Port Angeles, in memory of Bernice S. Brown.
* *Thelma Helgeson, Port Angeles, in memory of Archie Helgeson.
* *Vivian Chambers, Port Angeles.
* *Chuck and Marian McGilvra, Port Angeles, in memory of Darlene Wahlsten.
* *Gary and Marilyn Peterson, Sequim.
* *Bob and Diane Murphy, Sequim, in memory of Kevin Murphy, our son.
* *Ralph and Penni Brockett, Port Angeles.
* *Elsie MacDougall, Port Angeles.
* *Floyd and Rosalyn Young, Port Angeles, in memory of David Young.
* *Ray Weinmann, Port Angeles.
* *Charlotte Petersen, Port Angeles.
* *Juanita B. Jones, Port Angeles, in memory of Michelle M. Woody.
* *Marcia Cooper, Port Angeles, in memory of Big John Pardee.
* *John and Darlene Mjoen, Port Ludlow.
* *Williams and Ann Beal, Port Angeles.
* *Lula S. Rumbaugh, Port Angeles.
* *Stan and Sally Garlick, Port Angeles.
* *Etta Smithson, Port Angeles.
* *Allen and Shirley Dewey, Sequim.
* *Jon and Elizabeth Valentine, Sequim.
*=Denotes amount of donation is private.
