2001 Peninsula Home Fund debuts, helps Jefferson, Clallam residents

A grandmother caring for two small children received help with her utility bills.

An out-of-work logger got money to obtain prescribed medicine.

Material was provided to help a volunteer group assist a Jefferson County woman with repairs to her mobile home.

A Forks woman received a load of wood to heat her house.

So far in 2001, 573 persons have received $38,598 in help — the average assistance is about $67.36 — from the Peninsula Daily News” Peninsula Home Fund.

From today through Dec. 31, the Peninsula Home Fund — a safety net for residents in Clallam and Jefferson counties when there is nowhere else to turn — is seeking contributions for its annual holiday season fund-raising campaign.

The Peninsula Home Fund is used to give families and individuals “a hand up, not a handout” to get through a crisis.

* No money is diverted for solicitation or administration.

* All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

Every dollar contributed to the Peninsula Home Fund goes to making life better for children, teens, families and the elderly across the North Olympic Peninsula — from Forks to Port Townsend, from Quilcene and Brinnon to LaPush.

All the money collected goes — without deductions — to families in Jefferson and Clallam counties:

Hot meals for seniors, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for the low income, needed prescription drugs, dental work, safe, drug-free temporary housing, eyeglasses — the list goes on and on.

Now in its 13th year, the fund is supported entirely by Jefferson and Clallam residents.

Individuals, couples, businesses and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2000 — $42,703.

All of that is expected to be spent by Dec. 31.

The fund is managed for the Peninsula Daily News by Olympic Community Action Programs, the No. 1 emergency care agency on the North Olympic Peninsula.

To apply for a grant from the fund, phone Community Action at 360-452-4726 (Clallam County) or 360-385-2571 (Jefferson County).

If you have any questions about the fund, contact John Brewer, Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500.

Said Brewer: “The Peninsula Home Fund was created to supplement the good work of public and private social service agencies by making sure no one falls through the cracks during the most demanding time of the year — winter.”

Money is usually distributed in small amounts, usually up to $100.

Assistance is limited to one time in a 12-month period.

The fund helps people pay their utility bills, medical bills, food, rent, clothing and car repairs.

Money from the fund also helps to provide safe, drug-free temporary housing.

Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from churches, service clubs and other donors, enabling Community Action to stretch the value of the contribution.

Community Action has offices in Port Angeles at 505 E. Eighth St.; 360-452-4726.

The Port Townsend office is at 24 Seton Road (P.O. Box 1540, PT 98368); 360-385-2571.

Its Web site: www.olycap.org; e-mail: action@olycap.org. Tim L. Hockett, deputy director, oversees the Peninsula Home Fund.

The fund started in 1989 with $2,000 and has grown every year.

Last year’s record-smashing campaign total of $42,703 was an increase from 1999’s $30,734.18.

More than half of the money collected in 2000 has been distributed for paying utility bills ($7,052), rent ($10,485) and prescriptions ($3,261).

About a fifth has paid for food ($7,303).

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.

To donate, write a check to “Peninsula Home Fund” and attach it to the coupon that appears on Page A2 of today’s Sunday Peninsula Daily News.

Mail both items to Peninsula Home Fund, Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles 98362.

Or drop them at the newspaper’s offices in Port Townsend, Sequim or Port Angeles (addresses and hours on page 2 of the PDN).

Contributions will be accepted until Dec. 31. Again, all contributions are tax-deductible.

You will receive a written thank you and acknowledgment of your contribution.

The Peninsula Daily News will publish stories every Wednesday and Sunday during the campaign listing contributors and reporting on how the fund works.

More in News

Bliss Morris of Chimacum, a float builder and driver of the Rhody float, sits in the driver’s seat on Thursday as he checks out sight lines in the 60-foot float he will be piloting in the streets of Port Townsend during the upcoming 90th Rhody Parade on Saturday. Rhody volunteer Mike Ridgway of Port Townsend looks on. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Final touches

Bliss Morris of Chimacum, a float builder and driver of the Rhody… Continue reading

Fireworks not likely for Port Angeles on Fourth

Development at port bars launch from land

Jefferson County, YMCA partner with volunteers to build skate park

Agencies could break ground this summer in Quilcene

Peninsula Behavioral Health is bracing for Medicaid cuts

CEO: Program funds 85 percent of costs

Port of Port Angeles is seeking grant dollars for airport

Funding would support hangars, taxiway repair

Volunteer Pam Scott dresses the part as she sells ducks for the Great Olympic Peninsula Duck Derby at the Sequim Farmers and Artisans Market on Saturday. (Leah Leach/for Peninsula Daily News)
Tickets still available for annual Duck Derby

Let us introduce you to the woman in the… Continue reading

Seasonal restrictions upcoming for Hood Canal Bridge

The state Department of Transportation has announced upcoming restrictions on… Continue reading

Craft sessions set to make gifts for Canoe Journey

The public is invited to help create gifts for… Continue reading

Kathy Moses of Port Angeles hammers in stakes that will be used to support a cover for strawberry starts and other plants in her plot in the Fifth Street Community Garden in Port Angeles. Moses was working in a light rain during Thursday’s gardening endeavor. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Plant protection

Kathy Moses of Port Angeles hammers in stakes that will be used… Continue reading

A Clallam County Public Utilities District worker trims sycamore trees on East Washington Street near the Bell Creek Plaza shopping complex in Sequim on Wednesday as part of an effort to clear branches that may interfere with nearby power lines. The clearing helps pave the way for eventual maintenance on the PUD lines. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Clearing the line

A Clallam County Public Utilities District worker trims sycamore trees on East… Continue reading

Funding cuts to hit WSU extensions

Local food purchase program most impacted

Kaylee Oldemeyer, a second-year nursing student, is among those selling tickets for the Great Olympic Peninsula Duck Derby this Sunday. (Leah Leach/for Peninsula Daily News)
Peninsula College nursing program students selling ducks for annual derby

Olympic Medical Center Foundation to give proceeds for scholarships