The Orcas Island Community Foundation held its annual grant award ceremony on June 2 and as is the tradition, the Orcas High School graduating class was given $5000 to dispense.
The class chose to grant: $1,000 to Orcas Island Parks and Recreation; $1,000 to Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of San Juan County; $1,000 to Friends of Moran; and $2,000 to the Orcas Island Education Foundation.
The full list of grant recipients is below. The total distributed in 2016 was $202,749 with more than $148,500 contributed by Partners in Philanthropy. A total of 279 community members participated as Partners in Philanthropy. Individual contributions ranged from $10 to over $20,000.
Art for Orcas Kids (A-OK) / OIEF: $5,200 to bring teaching artists to public K-8 classes.
Booster Club of Orcas Island: $3,137 to improve youth athletics through Positive Training and education.
Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: $15,000 for prevention education programs on Orcas.
Funhouse Commons: $6,555 to improve the mental and social health of Island teens.
Healing Arts Center: $2,505 to design, engineer and build a foundation.
Islands’ Oil Spill Association: $2,500 for quick, community-based response to oil spills.
Kaleidoscope: $2,790 for collaborative disaster readiness kits.
OPAL Community Land Trust: $30,000 for new affordable rental housing; expanded access to mortgage loans.
Orcas Center: $3,300 to support $5 subsidized tickets for greater community arts access.
Orcas Community Resource Center: $25,200 to support a resource center for all islanders in need.
Orcas Family Health Center: $4,650 for two classes of Our Whole Lives sexuality education program.
Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival: $2,500 for sponsorship for OICMF 2016 Senior Open Rehearsal.
Orcas Island Children’s House: $1,435 for circle driveway maintenance and repair.
OIEF Debate Club: $2,464 for competition support for the Orcas High School Debate Club.
Orcas Island Historical Society: $3,680 Hearing Orcas Voices: a listening kiosk for the Orcas Island Historical Museum.
OISD Primary Intervention Program: $5,000 for a safe place to learn for K-3 children.
OISD Library: $540 for Spanish chapter books in school library.
OISD High School: $30,000 for high school students to build a ‘Tiny House.’
OISD Elementary School: $20,000 for a school social worker to promote and enhance the learning process.
OISD HS Leadership: $1,725 to send high school students to summer leadership camp.
Orcas Island Youth Conservation Corps: $1,300 for environmental education and conservation stewardship.
Orcas Off Leash Area (OOLA): $8,800 to help keep and improve an off-leash area on Orcas.
Orcas Recycling Services / The Exchange: $7,838 for an ‘Exchange Annex’ workshop, meeting room and classroom.
Orcas Senior Center: $11,600 to expand programming to serve a growing senior population.