Peninsula Home Fund awards $120,000 in grants

Published 1:30 am Friday, May 1, 2026

Benefactors who swelled the Peninsula Home Fund to $122,345 in 2025 have provided food to the hungry, support for children and families, help with housing — including for veterans — medical care and other aid for their neighbors in Clallam and Jefferson counties in 2026.

Twenty organizations in Clallam and Jefferson counties have been awarded $120,000 in grants of up to $10,000 from the Peninsula Home Fund. A small amount was left in the fund to serve as seed money for the next campaign, which will begin on Thanksgiving — although there are some who give all year as a family tradition.

Administered by the Olympic View Community Foundation (OVCF), the annual grants are entirely composed of donations from local community members and are given to organizations that serve people who live in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

“The generous people of the North Olympic Peninsula are the lifeblood of the Peninsula Home Fund,” said Eran Kennedy, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News (PDN), the Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. “Without your donations, these grants to help our neighbors would not be possible.

“At a time when the need is increasing, your compassion and commitment make a real difference,” Kennedy added.

Peninsula Home Fund was created in 1989 by Peninsula Daily News as a way for neighbors to help neighbors, with donations going to those in need in Clallam and Jefferson counties as “hand up, not a handout,” as the late PDN publisher, John Brewer, described it.

In 2024, in its 35th fundraising year, the Peninsula Home Fund partnered with a new program administrator, OVCF, and upgraded its method of dispersing funds.

Instead of money provided to individuals through case workers, grants are allocated by a committee that sifts through proposals from charitable organizations sensitive to the needs of people on the North Olympic Peninsula.

Last year, $90,000 in donations were allocated for food, child care, housing, transportation and health care programs on the North Olympic Peninsula.

“The Peninsula Home Fund continues to be a powerful example of neighbors helping neighbors,” said Jessica Elliot, OVCF’s executive director.

“This year’s expanded investment reflects both the growing need in our community and the strength of the nonprofit partners delivering critical services — from housing stability and healthcare to food security and family support.”

It is important to the committee that, as is tradition for the fund, grants address essential needs specifically for our neighbors on the North Olympic Peninsula.

Here is a list of the Peninsula Home Fund grant recipients for this year, each selected for their outstanding dedication to helping individuals and families overcome unexpected hardships:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of Olympic Peninsula – $2,500. Funds will be used to purchase a reliable passenger van that seats 12 to 14 for the centers in Port Angeles and Sequim. Sixty percent of the funds already are secured. The organization aims to have the van on hand before the start of summer programs for young people. The clubs serve more than 1,100 families.

• First Step Family Support Center — $5,000. The funds will support the First Step Basic Needs Bank, which provides diapers, wipes, infant formula and other essential supplies for families on the North Olympic Peninsula. The center serves more than 1,100 families.

• Forks Community Food Bank —$10,000. The funds will purchase fresh produce daily, proteins and shelf-stable foods that often are not affordable for low-income households, as well as special diet items such as low-sodium, diabetic-friendly and gluten-free food for clients with medical needs. The food bank serves some 180 clients per week.

• Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County — $10,000. The grant will provide down-payment assistance for four low-income veteran households purchasing two-bedroom, energy-efficient $250,000 homes in a Habitat for Humanity fourplex.

• Jefferson Healthcare Foundation — $5,000. Funds will assist low-income individuals facing financial barriers to receiving dental care. The grant will pay for cleanings, x-rays and fluoride provided through the Jefferson Healthcare Mobile Dental Clinic.

• Joyce Community Education Foundation — $2,000. Funds will buy healthy snacks for students in the Crescent School District. “For many of our students, consistent access to nutritious food plays a vital role in their ability to focus, learn and participate fully in school activities,” the proposal said. The grant will serve 140 students.

• Kathleen Sutton Fund – $3,000. Money will reimburse transportation costs specifically for women in Clallam and Jefferson counties to reach cancer treatments in Seattle and elsewhere. About 70 people will be served.

• Lutheran Community Services Northwest — $8,000. The organization, which addresses needs and challenges of vulnerable populations, will use the funds to increase client access to food and reduce client barriers, continuing successful food pantry and food distribution activities focused on people experiencing homelessness, those living in public housing and those from rural and under-resourced communities.

• Olympic Medical Center Foundation – $4,000. The grant supports the Patient Navigator Program at OMC, which provides holistic assistance to low-income cancer patients. Funds will cover health-related and basic living expenses that can become barriers to treatment compliance and recovery.

• Olympic Peninsula YMCA – $4,000. Money will provide individuals and families with access to concrete support for food, housing payment assistance, transportation assistance/gas cards, utilities, childcare and clothing, supplies needed for employment or other necessities.

• Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship – $3,000. Money will purchase food — canned, packaged and fresh — for the volunteer-run Little Free Pantry program. Food cost in 2025 was 164 percent higher than in 2021, and it continues to rise, the organization said. The program provides fresh fruits and vegetables daily, serving between 300 and 500 people.

• Peninsula Behavioral Health — $2,000. The grant will support uncompensated healthcare services for low-income individuals in Clallam County who are uninsured, underinsured or unable to afford required deductibles or copays associated with essential medical and behavioral healthcare.

• Port Angeles Food Bank – $10,000. Funds will be dedicated to bridging the winter nutrition gap from November to February by providing clients with fresh local produce. Some 1,500 unique households are served.

• Sequim Community Aid – $9,200. The group said that, thanks to last year’s Peninsula Home Fund grant, it was able to reinstate its per-person payout of $350 after being forced to lower it due to lack of funds. This year’s grant would increase that amount to $400 in the cases of rental assistance because of the rise in the cost of living. All funds will go to rental and utility assistance for more than 200 households.

• Sequim Food Bank – $10,000. All funds go to purchasing fresh produce from seven small farms in Clallam County through the Local Farm Purchasing Program, which provides food to 2,200 households.

• Serenity House of Clallam County — $4,800. The grant will provide a $400-per-month supplement for food for the adult homeless shelter, which serves 6,000 meals per month. Cuts in government funding have led to reductions in protein, the agency said. Serenity House serves more than 1,800 people.

• St. Vincent de Paul (East Jefferson) – $10,000. Money will provide low-income neighbors with help to meet such basic needs as groceries, fuel, utilities, housing, vehicle fees and repairs and other items. Less than 2 percent goes to overhead expenses. The agency serves 178 households.

• St. Vincent de Paul (Sequim) – $5,000. Funds will provide assistance in three critical areas: Rent and rent deposits, utilities and transportation needs. Operating costs are 2.5 percent. The agency serves at least 55 families.

• The Answer for Youth (TAFY) – $2,500. TAFY provides assistance to people experiencing homelessness up to age 35, their families and those at risk of being unhoused. The grant will provide hot, nutritious meals, help with vehicle maintenance needed to get to work or live in, shelter and cooking items, basic clothing and hygiene needs, and rent and utility assistance. The agency serves 125 clients.

• Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County — $10,000. The grant supports continuation for the Emergency Basic Needs Fund, which provides rapid assistance when patients encounter immediate financial hardships that can’t be addressed through existing programs or insurance coverage. Assistance addresses a range of urgent needs, including medication, rent support, food access, funeral expenses, specialty care, home maintenance or other needs. The maximum amount is $500 per person. The program serves 30 to 50 patients.

Grantees will distribute funds directly through their existing programs and report on outcomes later this fall.

Since its inception, the Peninsula Home Fund has raised more than $5.13 million in donations from community members. Each donation is fully federally tax-deductible for the year in which it was made.

Donations will be listed in the Peninsula Daily News during the campaign that begins at Thanksgiving.

To donate, go to https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation.

Mail checks made out to the Peninsula Home Fund to Olympic View Community Foundation, P.O. Box 3651, Sequim, WA, 98382, or drop off checks made out to the Peninsula Home Fund at the Peninsula Daily News, 1102 E. First St., Port Angeles.

To donate via credit card, go to https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation-2.

“Each donation, no matter how large or small, matters,” Kennedy said. “Each gift supports critical work for the community.”

For more information, contact Kennedy, visit https://ov-cf.org/phf-grantmaking, or contact Olympic View Community Foundation at 360-775-3532 or execdirector@ov-cf.org.

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Leah Leach is a former executive editor for Peninsula Daily News.