PORT ANGELES — Teenagers in the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula are learning to prepare balanced meals at its Port Angeles and Sequim branches thanks to a $10,000 Peninsula Home Fund grant.
“We have strong USDA support for our component meals,” said Janet Gray, the chief development officer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula. “We’re maxing it out. This is needed because we can’t do more through that program.”
The Peninsula Home Fund allocated a total of $90,000 this year to 15 nonprofit organizations in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Now in its 36th year, community members already have contributed $27,569 since Thanksgiving toward next year’s grant cycle, which will be administered through a partnership with Olympic View Community Foundation.
Although fundraising occurs throughout the year, a special campaign is conducted annually through the holiday season.
Grant applications will be due in mid-February for the 2025 cycle, and winners will be announced in April.
Donations, along with the names of the donors — should they elect to have them published — will be presented in the Peninsula Daily News throughout the campaign.
Over the years, the Peninsula Home Fund has raised more than $5.05 million for those in need in Clallam and Jefferson counties. Some donate throughout the year while others provide one donation during the campaign months.
From children’s pennies to checks for thousands of dollars, each donation makes a difference, helping people from Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to Sequim, Port Angeles, Joyce and La Push.
All contributions are fully federally tax-deductible for the year in which the check is written.
Those who wish to donate can mail checks to Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA, 98362, or to Olympic View Community Foundation, P.O. Box 3651, Sequim, WA, 98382.
An online option is available at https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation.
At the Boys & Girls Clubs, Peninsula Home Fund dollars have gone toward supporting teens with weekly family dinners, grocery shopping trips and meal preparation supplies, Gray wrote in a grant report.
At the Turner Unit in Port Angeles, the club has 49 teen members with average daily attendance at 17, providing about 357 evening meals per month, Gray said.
In Sequim, the Carroll C. Kendall Teen Center serves about 500 meals per month to 180 registered teen members with average daily attendance for meals at 25 members.
“These consistent meals not only address food insecurity but also increase teen attendance and engagement with one another during critical evening hours,” Gray said.
“Through this program, teens are gaining confidence in the kitchen, learning to prepare balanced meals, and understanding the importance of nutrition and resourcefulness,” she added. “Across both sites, participation and retention have increased by nearly 50 percent as members view the club as a safe and welcoming place where their basic needs are met and their voices are valued. The program continues to reach youth from across Clallam County, including those experiencing economic hardship, unstable housing and limited adult support at home.”
The USDA program covers a couple of meals per day, Gray said, but with government funding in question, the club “looked to diversity as much as possible.”
The Peninsula Home Fund grant has augmented the meals that aren’t covered by the USDA program, she said.
“At the Boys & Girls Club, we have a robust budget and a very supportive community, and we appreciate a wide diversity of funds that come into the organization,” Gray said. “It allows us to be flexible. All of it is really vital to making our budget.”
For the Peninsula Home Fund, the following is a donor list from Nov. 28 through Tuesday:
Name and amount
• Carol Miller and family, Port Angeles, $100, in memory of John Gwinn.
• Robert Skotheim, Port Angeles, $500, in honor of John, Marie Marrs.
• Ronn Schlaffman, Sequim, $100, in memory of Sharon Painter.
Name only
• Stephen Zenovic, Port Angeles.
• James Mowry, Port Angeles, in memory of Dorothy B. Mowry.
• Susan Skubinna, Port Angeles, in honor of the Barker family.
• John Marrs, Port Angeles, in memory of Perry, Marjorie and Larry Brackett.
• Sam Baker, Port Angeles.
• Joe and Naomi Denhart, Port Angeles, in memory of Sue Chance.
• Marjorie Elwood, Port Angeles, in memory of William Elwood.
• Dr. and Mrs. Roger K. Eichman, Nordland.
• Dan and Vicki Pierson, Port Angeles.
• Rick and Wendy Oak, Port Angeles.
• Barbara Vanderwerf, Sequim.
• Mike Meyer and Bonnie Bonnivier, Sequim, in honor of our children and grandchildren.
• Penny Ervin, Port Angeles, in memory of Doug and Carole Cudd.
• Nancy Bell and Bob Morgan, Port Angeles, in memory of Katie Howe.
• Ross and Vee Canning, Port Angeles.
• Kristin Ecklund, Sequim, in memory of Janet Jean Johnson.
• Russ and Janet Holt, Sequim.
• Lynne Brandl and Mike Barrett, Sequim.
• Roger and Maura Oakes, Port Angeles, for our parents.
• Karen and Joe Holtrop, Sequim.
• Charlotte Pierce, Sequim.
• JoAnne Hughes, Port Angeles.
• Chris and Valerie Mohr, Sekiu.
• Joseph Cress and Elaine Peaslee, Sequim, in memory of Jenny Cress.
• Ann Bigler, Sequim, in memory of Riley Bigler.
• Marci Thomsen, Port Angeles, in honor of Judy McCafferty.
• Barbara Wise, Port Angeles, in memory of John Brewer.
• Edgar and Eva Burks, Port Angeles.
• Pamela W. Mirrer, Sequim, in memory of Laurie Westlake.
• Steve Torgesen and Connie Kinyon, Sequim.
• Del and Kris Cadwallader, Port Angeles, in memory of Lori Ann (Slater) Vaught. In honor of all our military and veterans. Thank you and God bless.
• Larry and Sandy Davidson, Sequim.
• Kerry and Marilyn Perkins, Port Angeles, in memory of Jeannie Seresun Rawley.
Anonymous
• $50, Sequim.
• $50, Port Angeles.
• $100, Sequim.
• $500, Port Angeles.
• $400.
• $500, Sequim.
• $150, Port Townsend.
• $1,000.
• $103, Port Townsend.
• $300, Port Angeles.
• $103, Sequim.
• $100, Port Ludlow.
• $500, Port Angeles.
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Editor Brian McLean can be reached by email at brian.mclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
