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.