EDITOR’S NOTE: For 19 years, Peninsula Daily News readers in Jefferson and Clallam counties have supported the “hand up, not a handout” Peninsula Home Fund.
Today we feature another in a series of articles on how the fund operates and who benefits from our readers’ generosity.
The next article will appear Wednesday.
By Tim Hockett For Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND — “I got my confidence back,” says Isabel Sanchez, “and I have been off welfare for more than four months.”
She just started her own property care and maintenance business — and is proud to be a good role model for her children.
“The children are learning to be responsible and be good workers — they actually want to work,” she says.
While the economic downturn is taking its toll on everyone, including Sanchez, she is optimistic about the future.
“I just got my own truck, and I have learned to partner with larger landscaping and maintenance companies so I don’t need to turn down job offers — and I plan to continue my college education next year.
“I am so grateful to the community for providing me and my family so much support.”
The Peninsula Home Fund helped put Isabel on the path to independence and self-sufficiency when she needed a “hand up, not a handout.”
Without any deductions for administration or other overhead, the Peninsula Daily News’ Peninsula Home Fund is a safety net for people in Jefferson and Clallam counties like Isabel and her children when they suddenly face an emergency situation and can’t find help elsewhere.
Donations from the community are vital to the success of the fund — 100 percent of the dollars donated go directly to assist those in need on the North Olympic Peninsula.
So far in 2008, the donations have been felt in powerful, meaningful ways in the lives of Alexis and Lily and more than 2,703 families and individuals across the Peninsula.
Isabel was forced to move north from California after she went through a long, difficult divorce.
She was offered help from her mother-in-law, who resides outside of Port Townsend.
“We had a family-owned business in California, and I had to leave it all behind,” she recalls.
“I was an emotional wreck when we arrived and had a very low level of self-confidence. I felt like I had been knocked off my horse.”
Isabel was put in contact with OlyCAP — Olympic Community Action Programs, the No. 1 emergency care agency on the North Olympic Peninsula.
In addition to OlyCAP’s wide array of services for people who are often going through a transition, it also screens applicants for the Peninsula Home Fund and disperses the funds.
Through the help of her OlyCAP case manager, Karolina Anderson, she was able to access the Peninsula Home Fund to find safe, basic housing.
She also was able to receive firewood through another program and was placed in a subsidized job through a re-employment support program that OlyCAP operates.
“There is something magical about Port Townsend,” she says.
“This community embraced me and helped me get on my feet. “
No deductions
From Thanksgiving through Dec. 31, the PDN’s Peninsula Home Fund is seeking contributions for its 2008 holiday season fundraising campaign.
From Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to LaPush, the fund is a “hand up, not a handout” when there is nowhere else to turn.
Every penny, every dollar, donated goes — without any deductions for administration or overhead — to making life better for children, teens, families and the elderly in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
The fund is used for hot meals for seniors, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for low-income people, needed eyeglasses and prescription drugs, dental work, safe, drug-free temporary housing . . . the list goes on and on.
The Peninsula Home Fund is unique and nonprofit:
• No money is deducted for administration or other overhead.
• All contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible.
• Your personal information is kept confidential. 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.
• All instances of help are designed to get an individual or family through the crisis — and back on the path to self-sufficiency. That’s the “hand up, not a handout” focus of the fund.
• Whenever possible, Peninsula Home Fund case managers work with individuals or families to develop a plan to become financially stable — and avoid a recurrence of the emergency that prompted aid from the fund.
• Begun in 1989, the fund is supported entirely by Jefferson and Clallam residents.
Individuals, couples, businesses, churches, service organizations and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2007 — $193,312.
All of that money will be spent by Dec. 31.
• Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from other agencies, enabling OlyCAP to often stretch the value of a donation.
• Money is distributed in small amounts, usually up to $150.
• Assistance is limited to one time in a 12-month period.
To apply for a grant from the fund, phone OlyCAP 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.
Or e-mail him at john.brewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
Peninsula Daily News publishes stories every Sunday and Wednesday during the fundraising campaign, reporting on how the fund works and, in the Sunday stories, also listing contributors.
Contributions so far
While most of the money is raised between Thanksgiving and Dec. 31, the Peninsula Home Fund itself never closes.
Donations of any amount are always welcome.
Here is a list of donors whose contributions were received between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 — thank you very much for making a difference in the lives — and futures — of your neighbors like Isabel Sanchez and her children:
• Ladies of Elk, Lodge 2642, Sequim ¬– $100.
• Nancy and Ed Grier, Port Angeles ¬– $100. In memory of Bal Balducci.
• Carmelinda and Leonard Wiley, Port Angeles ¬– $50.
• Joel and Nancy Magisos, Sequim — $100.
• Thomas Santos, Sequim — $50. In memory of Frank “Bud” Godfrey.
• David and Lisa Bednarski, Bothell — $100.
• Ray Weinmann, Port Angeles — $200.
• Bob Reeve, Sequim — $200.
• Heien Family, Sequim — $100. In honor of Rita Gray.
• Tom and Patti Marzullo, Port Angeles — $100. In memory of Dondi and Helen Marzullo.
• Georgia Fraker, Port Angeles — $100.
• Mark and Carol Lokey, Bainbridge Island — $500.
• Howard Gipson, Port Angeles — $100.
• Robert and Ruth Worley, Port Angeles — $2,000.
• Theodore and Anna Rixon, Port Angeles — $25. In honor of Karen Ness.
• Zane and Linda, Port Townsend — $100.
• Dana C. Martell, Port Angeles — $10.
• Pat and Jim Bias, Sequim — $250. In honor of all service men and women.
• Betty Paulk, Sequim — $100.
• William L. Plumley, certified Spanish interpreter, Forks — $100.
• Tom Coville, Port Angeles — $25.
• Bob and Marinette Howard, Sequim — $100.
• Larry and Nancy Lang, Port Angeles — $100.
• The Dawg Cart (Kay Clark), Port Angeles — $25.
• Margie A. Movius, Port Angeles — $113. In honor of Dr. Phillip Downer, M.D., of Orthopedic Specialists of Seattle. Dr. Downer is one of only a few physicians in the Pacific Northwest who performs hip replacement surgery using the Anterior Approach. This new procedure offers patients quicker steps to recovery and makes small-incision surgery an option for more patients.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested that the amount of their donation be kept private):
• Arby’s Restaurant, Sequim.
• Dave and Joan Miller, Port Angeles. Thanks, Port Angeles.
• Ernest Sauerland, Port Townsend.
• Robert and Veronica Flake, Port Angeles. In honor of Christine Flake.
• Judith A. Lindberg, Port Angeles. In memory of Marvin J. Lindberg. My Dad, My Hero.
• Ken and Charlotte Patterson, Port Angeles.
• Helen Aastrom, Port Angeles.
• Mr. and Mrs. James R. Karr, Sequim.
• William and Sharon Bugg, Sequim.
• Rosemary Cockrill, Port Angeles. Let us all celebrate peace and goodwill.
• Gerald Thorsen and K. Reed, Port Townsend.
• Ingrid L. Lehrer, Sequim.
• Hazel Gershowitz, Port Angeles.
• Dick and Vicki Van Calcar, Port Angeles.
• Helen Kushman, Port Angeles.
• Pat Vautier, Port Angeles. In memory of Dan Vautier
• Bob and Ann Kennedy, Port Angeles.
• Sue and C.V. Tondreau, Sequim.
• Dorothea Coe, Port Angeles. In memory of Hollis E. Coe.
• Ruth M. Lindberg, Port Angeles.
• Jean Coplin, Port Angeles. In memory of William Coplin
• Ed and Phyllis Hopfner, Port Angeles.
• Ken Loy, Port Angeles.
• Donald and June Hall, Sequim.
• Larry and Lynn Gosser, Port Angeles.
• Ann R. Thomas, Port Angeles.
• James and Rachael Graham, Port Angeles. In honor of all U.S. Marines.
• Robert C. Zech, Port Angeles.
• Norman Gallacci, Lacey. In memory of my parents and brother (Lois, Alfred and Donald Gallacci); members of the Morris, Gallacci and Thoen families; members of PAHS Class of 1957.
• The Polizzi Family, Sequim.
• Joe and Judy Price, Sequim.
• Lisa Loftus, Carlsborg.
• Elaine Goodwin, Port Townsend. In memory of Alan Goodwin.
• Kay Young, Port Townsend.
• Lillian Green, Port Angeles. In memory of my husband.
• Carol Lee and Robin Moses, Carlsborg.
• Mietta M. Young, Sequim.
• Sylvia Meyer, Port Angeles.
• Barbara Hughes, Sequim. In memory of Harry Hughes.
• Paul Schwabe, Carlsborg. In honor of David, Eriko, Reynold, Jean, Bruce.
• Dennis and Carlene Kreuell, Orange, Calif.
• Ellen and Barry Lerich, Nordland
• Carrol and Alan Clark, Sequim. Keep up the good work.
• Mr. and Mrs. Williams Beal, Port Angeles.
• Marilyn Bruning, Sequim. In memory of Fritz Bruning.
• Mark and Peg Burris, Port Angeles. In memory of Lorraine Strickland.
• Laura J. Horrocks, Port Angeles.
• Linda Whitehouse, Port Angeles. In memory of William Whitehouse.
• Juanita Weissenfels, Forks. In memory of Liz Brown.
• Eleanor Thornton, Forks. In memory of Floyd Thornton.
• Robinson and Schier Families, Forks. In memory of Bonnie and Bert Strandberg.
• Bob and Audrey Kaplan, Port Angeles.
• Carol J. Brown, Port Hadlock.
• Nancy Hafner, Port Townsend. In memory of Kenneth.
• The Six Grandkids, Port Angeles. In memory of Grumpy.
• Richard and Sally Rudd, Port Angeles.
• Mickey and Beth McGuffin, Sequim.
• Carol and Janet Nyberg, Port Angeles. In memory of Carl and Dorothy Nyberg and Ray Miller.
• Doris Cromwell, Sequim.
• Kody Kautzman, Sequim.
• Sidekicks 4-H Club, Sequim. In memory of Bruce Churchill.
• Robert Schober, Sequim. In memory of Dorothy Schober.
• Kim and Kay Kay, Sequim.
• Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Santos, Sequim. In honor of our brave military personnel serving in war zones.
• Jack and Sue Spears, Port Angeles.
• Orville and Jean Allen, Sequim.
• Steve and Lucy Nordwell, Port Angeles.
• Dan and Vicki Pierson, Port Angeles.
• Dorothea Morgan, Port Angeles.
• Robin and Ron Sidwell, Port Angeles.
• Douglas and Marline Atterbury, Port Angeles. In memory of our parents.
• Charles and Eycke Strickland, Port Angeles.
• Fred and Carol Royce, Port Angeles.
• Irma Stennes, Port Angeles. In memory of Denise Fletcher.
• Bill and Jill Dole, Port Angeles. In memory of Jonathan Dole.
• Leland and Cheryl Coulter, Sequim.
• Miggles Wallace, Ron Shannon, Sequim.
• Brian Roe and Linda Abbott-Roe, Port Townsend.
• Bob and Berit Cole, Sequim.
• Beverly Stanley, Port Angeles.
• Sandra Ordorff, Richard Granum, Port Angeles. In memory of Betty Linenkugel, Sandra Ordorff and Richard Granum.
• Len and Joanne Tyler, Port Townsend.
• Gary and Geri Braun, Port Angeles.
• Ron and Sandy Casscles, Sequim.
• Bernice Swanson, Sequim.
• Hana E. Gay, Sequim.
• Leila Roberts, Port Angeles. In memory of Dan Roberts Sr.
• Maxine Ochoa, Sequim.
• Linda Anderson, Sequim.
• Marvin and Carolyn Morillo, Port Angeles.
• Bill and Millie Lawson, Sequim.
• Bryan Shrader, Hannah Russell, Port Townsend.
• Jack and Phyllis Little, Sequim.
• Monica Mansfield, Sequim.
• Nancy O’Gorman, Port Angeles.
• Ben and Kay Lonn, Forks.
• Yvette N. Polizzi, Sequim.
• Dave and Kath Gronning, Port Angeles. In honor of “The Eighties.”
• Dave and Kath Gronning, Port Angeles. In memory of Kathy, Agnes, Randy and Stan.
• Betty J. Abbott, Port Angeles. In honor of Guy Abbott.
• Lucille Caughron, Sequim. In honor of Leonard Caughron.
• Cal and Lynn Langford, Port Angeles.
• Al and Barbara Deese, Port Angeles. In honor of Ann Holke.
• Tony and Daryl Masi, Port Angeles. In memory of Florence Masi.
• Julian and Maureen McCabe, Port Angeles. In memory of family and friends.
• Leah Meagher, Castro Valley, CA. In memory of the Pioneer Meagher Family.
• Angelo and Brenda Spandrio, Sequim.
• Robert and JoAnn Thompson, Port Angeles.
• Donald Naddy, Port Angeles.
• Elisabeth Hegyi, Port Angeles. In memory of Jozsef Hegyi.
• Connie Snyder, Port Angeles. In memory of Paul Snyder.
• Rita Marston, Port Angeles. In memory of Don Marston.
• Robert A. Massey, Sequim. In memory of wife Margaret.
• Gordy and Pat Sexton, Port Angeles.
• Verna Partridge, Port Angeles. In memory of Jack Partridge.
• Bruce and Gerri Ferguson, Port Angeles.
• Theodore F. Tsoneff, Port Angeles.
• Marcus Reinertson, Port Angeles.
• Mark A. Stehly, Sequim.
• Douglas McClary, Sequim. In honor of policemen, firemen and emergency response teams.
• Jerry and Margaret King, Forks. In memory of Janice King.
• Dorothy M. Rasmussen, Port Angeles. In memory of Walter E.Rasmussen.
• William H. Cunningham, Port Angeles. In honor of Valerie.
• William and Linda Rhodes, Port Angeles.
• Mount Pleasant Homemakers, Port Angeles.
• James Mc Pherson, Port Angeles.
• Edmund A. Hinke, Port Angeles. In honor of Betty Troxel.
• Kathleen Melton, Port Angeles. In memory of Joseph Melton.
• Bill and Nada Johnson, Port Angeles.
• Dale and Punky Doran, Port Angeles. In memory of family and friends.
• Thelma M. Hetrick, Port Angeles.
• Jean and Erv Lodeen, Port Angeles. In memory of Ken Eikum.
• Ed and Carol Fjerstad, Sequim. In memory of Burnie Fjerstad.
• Dick and Dottie Foster, Port Angeles. In memory of Grandma Grant.
• Frank and Ruth Welch, Port Angeles.
Many thanks also to these donors (who requested anonymity):
• Sequim — $1,000.
• Anonymous — (arrived by mail, cash, no return address) — $50.
• Neah Bay — $260. In memory of Mom.
• Port Angeles — $50. In memory of Diane Parker.
• Port Angeles — $50.
• Sequim — $200.
• Port Angeles — $200.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Sequim — $50.
• Sequim — $50. In memory of Bea Terrell.
• Port Angeles — $50.
• Sequim — $25.
• Sequim — $50.
• Sequim — $100.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Port Angeles — $50.
• Sequim — $50.
• Port Angeles — $75.
• Port Townsend — $100. In honor of Dr. Nancy Baden.
• Port Hadlock — $240.
• Port Angeles — $50.
• Sequim — $100. In memory of Bob and Trace Shelton.
• Port Townsend — $50.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $100. In honor of Molli D.
• Port Angeles — $25.
• Sequim — $50.
• Sequim — $100. In memory of Larry.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $30.
• Port Ludlow — $200.
• Sequim — $25.
• Sequim — $500.
• Sequim — $25.
• Sequim — $100. In honor of my sisters, E.+ M. Happy holidays!
• Sequim — $200.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $300. In memory of my beloved. I miss you.
• Sequim — $200.
• Sequim — $25.
• Sequim — $100.
• Port Angeles — $600.
• Port Angeles — $175.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Sequim — $10.
• Sequim — $75.
• Sequim — $25.
• Port Townsend — $100. In memory of my husband.
• Sequim — $50.
• Port Angeles — $40.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Chapel Hill, N.C. — $100. In memory of Bob and Peggy Reith.
• Chapel Hill, N.C. — $100. In memory of Earl and Bernice Parke.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $25.
• Sequim — $50.
• Port Angeles — $40.
• Port Townsend — $50.
• Sequim — $50.
• Port Angeles — $5.
• Sequim — $25.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Port Ludlow — $40.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $200.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Sequim — $100.
• Sequim — $15.
• Sequim — $250.
• Sequim — $50.
• Sequim — $20.
• Port Angeles — $50.
• Port Ludlow — $100.
• Port Angeles — $100. In memory of Rachel Corrie.
• Port Angeles — $100.
• Sequim — $15.
• Port Angeles — $100.
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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 e-mail him at john.brewer@peninsuladailynews.com.
We will rerun the listing correctly.
Our sincerest appreciation again to our donors.
