Merry Christmas and happy New Year! The North Olympic Peninsula once again has shown its big heart.
Last-minute contributions are still being tallied, but as of our last deposit at First Federal, $245,750 from people, businesses and organizations in Jefferson and Clallam counties had been donated to the Peninsula Daily News’ 2013 “hand up, not a handout” Peninsula Home Fund.
That’s not that far from the $268,137 we received last year when the 2012 campaign closed — and the final number for 2013 should be even closer to last year’s total.
Better to give than receive? Just ask those who do.
“Mom gave anonymously to the Home Fund for more than 15 years before her death,” a Port Angeles man wrote in a private note with his $200 contribution.
“She never wanted to be recognized for her donation. She believed in the Home Fund and knew that she was helping others.
“It’s my family’s privilege to carry on her tradition of compassion and generosity for our local community.”
A $500 contribution from a repair business in the Port Townsend Shipyard came with a one-sentence note:
“We have been fortunate and blessed this year with work and want to give back to our community.”
We’ll have a wrapup story in next Sunday’s PDN on how much has been collected in the 2013 campaign — the Home Fund began in 1989 — along with a list of final donors.
Whether your donation was big or small, your neighbors on the Peninsula thank you — and we thank you.
None of this would be possible without the generous support of our readers.
Fund never closes
While the books on the 2013 campaign are about to be closed, the Peninsula Home Fund itself never closes.
New contributions will go — with much thanks — toward the 2014 campaign.
The holiday fundraising campaign for the Home Fund begins every year on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Dec. 31.
But donations of any amount are always welcome.
Contributions collected this year before Thanksgiving gave us a running start on the 2013 drive.
Individuals, couples, businesses and school groups contributed more than $15,000 between Jan. 1 and Nov. 22.
Peninsula’s safety net
The Peninsula Home Fund is a unique nonprofit collaboration between Peninsula Daily News readers and Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP), the No. 1 emergency services agency for Jefferson and Clallam counties.
It is a safety net for people in Jefferson and Clallam counties when they suddenly face an emergency situation and can’t find help elsewhere.
From Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to Sequim and LaPush, the Home Fund provides hot meals for seniors, meeting rent, energy and transportation needs, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for the low-income, needed eyeglasses and prescription drugs, dental work, safe and drug-free temporary housing…
The list goes on and on — from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, the Peninsula Home Fund served 3,293 individuals and families, many with children.
No money is deducted by the Peninsula Daily News for administration fees or any other overhead.
Every penny goes to OlyCAP to help the most vulnerable members of our community, from infants to families to seniors.
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 $74.81 per family.
But even though the dollar figures are small, the impact can be big, in huge, life-changing ways.
And, as needed, Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from churches and other agencies, enabling OlyCAP to stretch the value of the contribution.
Bridging the chasm
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 again this year heard heartbreaking stories of unexpected poverty and illness — and more 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 to 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 fund is not set up to hand out money passively — recipients play active roles in their own success, their own rehabilitation, their own empowerment, their own futures.
That’s the “hand up, not a handout” focus of the Home Fund.
All contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law for the year in which a check is written.
Your personal information also 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.
Applying for a grant
To apply for a Peninsula Home Fund grant, contact one of the three OlyCAP offices:
■ OlyCAP’s Port Angeles office is at 228 W. First St., Suite J (Armory Square Mall); 360-452-4726. For Port Angeles- and Sequim-area residents.
■ Its Port Townsend office is at 823 Commerce Loop; 360-385-2571. For Jefferson County residents.
■ The Forks office is at 421 Fifth Ave.; 360-374-6193. For West End residents.
Leave a message in the voice mail box at any of the three numbers, and a Home Fund caseworker will phone you back.
OlyCAP’s website: www.olycap.org.
Email: action@olycap.org.
Geoff Crump, OlyCAP’s executive director, oversees disbursements from the Peninsula Home Fund. He can be reached at 360-385-2571 or by emailing gcrump@olypen.com.
If you have any questions about the fund, phone John Brewer, PDN editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500.
Or email Brewer at jbrewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
New contributions
Below is a list of donors whose contributions were processed between Dec. 25 and Dec. 31:
Thank you very much for making a difference in the lives — and futures — of your neighbors:
■ David and Laurie Reeve, Port Angeles — $100. In honor of Olympic Peninsula veterans.
■ Freia Palmer, Port Angeles — $100.
■ Nadine Fuller, Forks — $50.
■ Kathleen McClurken, Port Angeles — $100. In honor of Chuck and Al.
■ Carlyn Stark, Port Townsend — $100. In honor of Wendell and Laurel Ankeny.
■ Wayne and Charlotte Duchow, Port Angeles — $100.
■ Phyllis and Ron Stecker, Sequim — $100.
■ Gloria W. Ricketts, Port Hadlock — $100.
■ Edward Boyd, Port Angeles — $500.
■ Don and Marge Hasley, Port Townsend — $500. In honor of Cobe and Max.
■ Pete Ellis, Sequim — $100. In honor of Leon and Marcella Ellis.
■ Raymond Bentsen, Sequim — $100.
■ Geoff, Natalie and Lucille Crump, Port Townsend — $100. Thank you, PDN, for allowing us to be a part of this amazing fund that helps so many each year.
■ Willard Henkes, DDS, Port Angeles — $200. In honor of Margie Movius. To my very good friend!
■ Joyce Chiasson, Port Angeles — $100. In memory of Jack Chiasson.
■ Dora and Gary Schaefer, Port Angeles — $50.
■ Randy and Naomi Riggins, Sequim — $500. In memory of Paul Cronauer, We still miss you, buddy.
■ Stan and Colleen Freidberg, Port Townsend — $250.
■ C. Engvall and P. Schoen, Sequim — $300.
■ James and Beverly Cone, Sequim — $100.
■ George E. Jacobssen Jr., Port Ludlow — $100.
■ Diane Pirner, Sequim — $500. In memory of Conrad Pirner.
■ John and Nancy Dolansky, Sequim — $100.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested that the amount of their donation be kept private):
■ Bill Morlan, Sequim.
■ Dave and Barbara Allen, Forks. In memory of Barney and Sylvia Murphy.
■ James Conway and Suzanne Michaels, Port Townsend.
■ Ray and Sandy Thomas, Carlsborg.
■ Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Norvell, Sequim.
■ Paul and Diane Shager, Sequim. In honor of Paul and Nancy Shager, Lake Forest Park, Wash.
■ Catherine Woodahl, Sequim.
■ Colleen and Andy Brastad, Port Angeles. In memory of Bob Gawley.
■ Myrtle and John Gossett Charitable Foundation, Port Angeles.
■ Bruce and Carol von Borstel, Sequim.
■ Lois and Gene Brown, Sequim. In memory of Greg Brown.
■ Jackson L. and Elizabeth Ann Williams, Sequim.
■ Barbara Sepersky, Port Townsend.
■ Milton and Ellen Patrie, Sequim.
■ Nancy and Sandy Goldstien, Sequim.
■ M.J. Klay, Sequim.
■ Bill and Barb Pearl, Port Angeles.
■ Rosemary Kane, Port Angeles. In honor of Midge Bader.
■ Richard Serkes and Theresa Killgore, Port Angeles.
■ David and Marcia Logan, Port Angeles. In memory of Harold Englund.
■ Wayne and Claudia Barrett, Port Angeles.
■ Anonymous RBS, Sequim.
■ Edna and Don Chicarell, Sequim.
■ Sharon Hollatz, Port Angeles. In honor of my parents, Joe and Belle.
■ Tom and Jan Kummet, Sequim.
■ Mary and Cullen Kelsoe, Port Angeles. In honor of Jerry Zimmerman, dearly missed by family and friends.
■ Sylvia R. Durrwachter, Port Angeles. In memory of Ruth and Dianne Durrwachter.
■ Bob and Barb Boekelheide, Sequim. In memory of Peepa McKinnon.
■ Melly Family, Port Angeles.
■ Robert and Carolyn Bowlus, Los Osos, Calif.
■ David and Linda Lyon, Sequim.
■ Robert Zeff, Sequim.
■ Bob and Kathi Pressley, Port Angeles. In honor of Florence Swanson.
■ Rita M. Leach, Port Angeles. In memory of my brother, Carlos Raul Alcantar, 12/19/49 — 12/25/10.
■ Rita M. Leach, Port Angeles. In memory of my sister, Diana Alcantar-Redman, 12/27/60 — 08/21/10.
■ Len and Emily Mandelbaum, Port Townsend. In honor of Kate O’Donnell.
■ Charles and Barbara Blum, Sequim. In memory of Eileen Clark.
■ Emil and Judy Moilanen, Port Angeles. In honor of Dale Durrwachter.
■ John and Diana Anderson, Sequim.
■ Loretta King, Sequim. In memory of Lady.
■ Larry and Kathie Karst, Port Angeles.
■ Janet and Leo Dodge, Port Angeles.
■ Jeanne M. Noyes, Port Townsend. In memory of absent friends.
■ Rob and Dianne Onnen, Sequim. In memory of our parents.
■ George and Sharon Huntingford, Chimacum. In memory of Pat and Janice Yarr.
■ Nancy Hafner, Port Townsend. In memory of Kenneth.
■ Ron and Bobbi Khile, Port Townsend. In memory of Robert R. Duncan.
■ Jo Ann Reynolds, Port Angeles.
■ Robbin and Patricia Hammel, Port Angeles.
■ Linda Beasler, Port Angeles. In memory of Jim Beasler, Ellen Ranta and Bess Jacobs. We all miss you so much. Love you — from Linda, Darcy Beasler, Kathy Travis and Josh McFarland.
Also in honor of Darcy Beasler, Kathy Travis and Josh McFarland, Bette Kerrigan and Joe McFarland. Love you all.
■ Marie and John Marrs, Port Angeles. In memory of Perry, Margie and Larry Brackett.
■ Pat Wiederhold, Neah Bay. In memory of Al Kotz.
■ William Bugg, Sequim.
■ Susan Molin, Sequim. A big “thank you” to John Brewer for all his work on behalf of the Home Fund.
■ Michael Moss and Betty Gordon, Sequim.
■ John and Denise Kane, Sequim. In memory of Don and Donna Parson.
■ Ed Bowlby and Mary Sue Brancato, Sequim.
■ Lillian Adamson, Port Angeles. In memory of Bill.
■ Mac and Janelle Gray, Port Angeles. In memory of Harvey Gray (Don Gray).
■ Susan Sorensen, Sequim. In memory of John and Ida Rothfuss.
■ Karl and Linda Flotto, Port Angeles. In honor of veterans and active-duty military and their families.
■ Don and Marilyn Thomas, Sequim. Helping you keep up the good work.
■ James and Elaine Meade, Sequim. In memory of Willadee Tallman.
■ W. Ron and Merine Allen, Sequim. In memory of Claude and Alberta Randall.
■ Sandy Frankfurth, Sequim. With grateful appreciation for living in such a wonderful community.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested anonymity):
■ Anonymous — $25 in cash. In honor of Frances I. Chavis.
■ Port Angeles — $100.
■ Port Angeles — $200. In memory of Fred Ulf.
■ Port Angeles — $250.
■ Chimacum — $40.
■ Sequim — $300.
■ Sekiu — $50.
■ “Repair business in the Port Townsend boatyard” — $500. We have been fortunate and blessed this year with work and would like to give back to our community.
■ Sequim — $50.
■ Carlsborg — $300. In honor of the staff and owners of my favorite Sequim restaurants — Ely’s Cafe, The Oak Table and Sunshine Cafe. They are so friendly and accommodating to special food needs. Thank you.
■ Sequim — $150.
■ Sequim — $50. In honor of the Washington State Patrol.
■ Sequim — $50.
■ Sequim — $25.
■ Sequim — $250.
■ Sequim — $200. In honor of Jesus Christ’s birthday.
■ Port Angeles — $25.
■ Sequim — $200.
■ Port Angeles — $100.
■ Sequim — $100.
■ Port Angeles — $150.
■ Port Angeles — $50.
■ Sequim — $100.
■ Port Angeles — $100.
■ Sequim — $300.
■ Sequim — $500. In honor and memory of our fathers, Edward and Robert. Both served their families and their country proudly.
■ Sequim — $50.
■ Sequim — $150.
■ Sequim — $100. Thank you for your blessed work for our community.
■ Port Angeles — $450.
■ Fresno, CA — $500.
■ Port Angeles — $500. In memory of Dr. Dennis Wilcox and his care of the critters.
■ Port Angeles — $50.
■ Sequim — $100.
■ Sequim — $75.
■ Port Angeles — $25.
■ Sequim — $200. In memory of Lee Priest and Mary Ann Pavelski.
■ Port Angeles — $50.
■ Port Angeles — $100.
■ Sequim — $100. In memory of Joyce Davis. Miss you, Mom.
■ Port Angeles — $50.
■ Joyce — $50.
■ Anonymous — $50 in cash.
■ Sequim — $50.
■ Port Angeles — $100. In honor of my three fortunate grandchildren.
■ Port Angeles — $200.
■ Sequim — $200.
■ Sequim — $50. In honor of TJR.
■ Sequim — $50.
■ Sequim — $100. Thanks to PDN and OlyCAP for their efforts and successes.
■ Port Angeles — $500.
■ Port Angeles — $200.
■ Sequim — $250.
■ Sequim — $100.
■ Port Angeles — $200.
■ Port Angeles — $100.
■ Port Angeles — $100. Thank you for your continued wonderful work in our community.
■ Sequim — $200.
■ Port Angeles — $2,000. In memory of Beatrice Holleck.
■ Port Angeles — $50. In honor of Regina.
■ Port Angeles — $50.
■ Sequim — $500.
■ Sequim — $100. Peace on Earth.
_________
HANDWRITING CAN BE hard to decipher at times.
Please report any errors in this list to John Brewer, 360-417-3500 (there’s voice mail if he’s away), or email him at jbrewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
We’ll rerun the listing correctly.
Our sincerest appreciation again to our donors.
