For the 8th time, the Children’s Forum will examine the condition of children, families and our community. The Forum begins at 8:30 AM, April 12 at the William A. Grant Water & Environmental Center at the Community College. Seating is limited. Contact Teri Barila for more information.
In addition to a review of a comprehensive data book on community health indicators, the Forum will discuss community wide initiatives to improve conditions for local children and families.
Blue Mountain Community Foundation has launched our first ever year-end giving campaign!
Lawson will be on KUJ Monday morning at 7:30 a.m. visiting with Jim Bock to talk about the first ever Blue Mountain Community Foundation year-end giving campaign. Tune in at 1420 a.m. to listen in and learn about how you can make an Impact! on your community this Holiday Season.
by Elise Pettyjohn
“Camp Amanda makes you feel more normal. It helps relieve your fears,” according to a camper who now serves as a counselor. Camp Amanda is a three-day uplifting experience located in the beautiful Blue Mountains.
This camp provides grieving children an opportunity to learn that they are not alone in their grief. In addition, Camp Amanda and its staff offer an encouraging environment where children feel comfortable sharing their feelings and beginning the journey through the grieving process.
Each year Camp Amanda impacts the lives of children dealing with the loss of a loved one. According to a parent of a camper, “My kids seemed more happy, like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.”
Camp Amanda is just one of the exceptional programs that Walla Walla Community Hospice offers. For a number of years, Blue Mountain Community Foundation has supported Walla Walla Community Hospice with critical ongoing financial assistance. Annual support from the Blue Mountain Community Foundation helps fund Hospice’s mission of providing compassionate care for patients nearing the end of their lives.
A fourth grade Camp Amanda attendee recently shared with a classmate attending the camp this coming year that, “It’s the greatest place, you’ll love it there!” Each year approximately thirty children ages seven to fourteen, along with thirty counselors, attend Camp Amanda.
A key factor in Camp Amanda’s success is the counselor to camper ratio, which is one to one. This ratio builds stronger relationships between the campers and their counselors along with providing a person who is always available for the child to talk to. These trained counselors offer a comfortable, friendly atmosphere to support children as they attempt to understand and accept the death of a family member while enjoying their time camping.
Some of the activities provided at this unique camp include crafts, campfire sing-a-longs, games, and swimming among other fun pastimes. In addition to the successful Camp Amanda program, Walla Walla Community Hospice offers end of life medical care for patients suffering from a variety of illnesses including AIDS, Alzheimer’s and cancer. Hospice also provides adult grief support services including counseling and workplace support groups. Hospice fills an essential need in the community by providing specialized care that focuses on the patient and their emotional, spiritual and physical needs.
Blue Mountain Community Foundation welcomes you to its 2012-13 Grant Year. It is our goal to make the grant application process easy for the grant seeker and also greener for our environment, requiring much less paperwork. Please read the Guidelines for Grant Applications carefully before submitting an application to determine if your organization is eligible and if the Foundation’s funding timeline suits the needs of your program.
Submit the following items to Blue Mountain Community Foundation by JULY 2, 2012:
Do not use a binder. Staple each application and program/project description sheet together in the upper-left hand corner. Upon review of your submission, BMCF may request additional information, including but not limited to financial statements, project budgets and a list of members of your governing board.
All grant applications must be postmarked or received in the BMCF office at 8 South 2nd Avenue, Suite 618, Walla Walla, WA 99362, by JULY 2, 2012
Grant awards will be announced at the Foundation’s annual meeting in October, 2012. Declined proposals will be notified in writing by or before the annual meeting.
The following eleven grants represents Blue Mountain Community Foundation‘s recent awards from its First Fruits Fund.
The 2012 First Fruits Grantees:
The First Fruits Fund was established in 2008 with a generous grant from the Vista Hermosa Foundation. Since that time, the Fund has made 66 grants exceeding $550,000.
The stated goal of the First Fruits Fund is to “encourage collaborative and innovative approaches to building self-sufficiency for the most under-served in our communities, including improved access to such basic needs as housing, food, education and livable wages.” Founders believe that the most impactful way to achieve that goal is to support community-based initiatives that empower people themselves to identify their needs and collectively own the process of change.
Blue Mountain Community Foundation recently awarded grants from the First FruitsFund, a component fund of BMCF. As promised we will be announcing recent grant awards over the next few weeks.
Great things continue to happen at the newly dubbed Health Center at Lincoln. This clinic, situated next to Lincoln High School, provides free medical and mental health services to the student population at Lincoln.
Through the generosity of the community, including volunteers and local funders, the Health Center has been able to expand not only its space, but also its services. A recent addition to the clinic site is a handicap access ramp.
As of April 25, 2012, the Center had served 191 different students for over 1342 visits. The goals of the Health Center are:
Funds from this grant will be used for existing program support, including development of a new site at Blue Ridge Elementary School.
To view an amazing video about the work at The Health Center at Lincoln click here.
The First Fruits Fund was established in 2008 with a generous grant from the Vista Hermosa Foundation. Since that time, the Fund has made 66 grants exceeding $550,000.
The stated goal of the First Fruits Fund is to “encourage collaborative and innovative approaches to building self-sufficiency for the most under-served in our communities, including improved access to such basic needs as housing, food, education and livable wages.” Founders believe that the most impactful way to achieve that goal is to support community-based initiatives that empower people themselves to identify their needs and collectively own the process of change.
2012 First Fruits Grantees:
Blue Mountain Community Foundation recently awarded grants from the First FruitsFund, a component fund of BMCF. As promised we will be announcing recent grant awards over the next few weeks.
The Children’s Resilience Initiative (CRI) builds the community’s capacity to strengthen families. By identifying ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences), the CRI has created a model of our community’s services and roads to follow to build resilience.
Previous First Fruits Fund grants have helped the founders of CRI, Teri Barila and Mark Brown, develop this model and create a website to disseminate vital information about ACES and how families and individuals can use certain tools to better their lives.
The success of this program is evidenced by the fact that CRI leaders have been asked to make presentations both locally and at national conferences, where there is an interest in replicating the model elsewhere. This grant is earmarked as support to help the CRI team move forward in its efforts toward providing information and tools to existing organizations and programs and embedding the main principles and ideas into the daily work of those organizations.
The First Fruits Fund was established in 2008 with a generous grant from the Vista Hermosa Foundation. Since that time, the Fund has made 66 grants exceeding $550,000.
The stated goal of the First Fruits Fund is to “encourage collaborative and innovative approaches to building self-sufficiency for the most under-served in our communities, including improved access to such basic needs as housing, food, education and livable wages.” Founders believe that the most impactful way to achieve that goal is to support community-based initiatives that empower people themselves to identify their needs and collectively own the process of change.
2012 First Fruits Grantees:
Blue Mountain Community Foundation recently awarded grants from the First Fruits Fund, a component fund of BMCF. As promised we will be announcing recent grant awards over the next few weeks.
Trilogy is a community dedicated to walking alongside youth who are struggling to overcome alcohol or other drug problems while also supporting their families. Trilogy makes recovery a reality by providing comprehensive recovery support services free of charge to anyone in need. Founded in 2003 by nationally-renowned author on addiction, Kathy Ketcham, Trilogy is a member of the national Association of Recovery Community Organizations (ARCO) and an affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD). A film about their work, The Missing Piece, can be found here.
Trilogy provides a sanctuary for youth and families who often feel they have nowhere else to go. Trilogy is dedicated to identifying gaps in services, educating our citizens about adolescent drug use and addiction, supporting family members and giving young people the help – and the hope — they need to lead healthy, productive lives.
Trilogy’s programs include:
In September 2011, Trilogy moved into its new “home,” a house leased from Providence/St. Mary Medical Center for a $1 per year and refurbished with the leadership of Opp & Seibold construction.
The grant from the First Fruits Fund of $7,500 is for general support.
The First Fruits Fund was established in 2008 with a generous grant from the Vista Hermosa Foundation. Since that time, the Fund has made 66 grants exceeding $550,000.
The stated goal of the First Fruits Fund is to “encourage collaborative and innovative approaches to building self-sufficiency for the most under-served in our communities, including improved access to such basic needs as housing, food, education and livable wages.” Founders believe that the most impactful way to achieve that goal is to support community-based initiatives that empower people themselves to identify their needs and collectively own the process of change.
2012 First Fruits Grantees:
Blue Mountain Community Foundation recently awarded grants from the First Fruits Fund, a component fund of BMCF.
The First Fruits Fund was established in 2008 with a generous grant from the Vista Hermosa Foundation. Since that time, the Fund has made 66 grants exceeding $550,000.
The stated goal of the First Fruits Fund is to “encourage collaborative and innovative approaches to building self-sufficiency for the most under-served in our communities, including improved access to such basic needs as housing, food, education and livable wages.” Founders believe that the most impactful way to achieve that goal is to support community-based initiatives that empower people themselves to identify their needs and collectively own the process of change.
Over the course of the next few weeks the Foundation will announce the 12 recent grantees. Stay posted!
CHAT is a group of leaders from across the community focused on improving the provision of local mental health services. With the help of nationally-regarded consultants, representatives from local hospitals, private practice, social service agencies, local government and school districts local leaders assembled to tackle this issue.
Meetings began in March 2012, with participants describing the impact of mental health issues on schools, law enforcement/legal system, medical system and social services. Plus they focused on the need for an improved, comprehensive approach to improve local mental health services, access, delivery and resources.
Currently, CHAT is identifying existing mental health resources and determining resources that should be available for a community with similar demographics.
The grant from the First Fruits Fund of $500 will assist with underwriting the process.
Blue Mountain Community Foundation, P.O. Box 603, Walla Walla, Washington 99362 509-529-4371 Fax: 509-529-5284
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