
Fifteen grantees received funding from the Chilkat Valley Community Foundation. An announcement ceremony was held at the Chilkat Center on Thursday, Nov. 24.
Funding for Haines’ domestic abuse safe house is bolstered for another year, KHNS’s antenna will be repaired and the Haines Farmers Market will accept food stamps next summer with the help of this year’s Chilkat Valley Community Foundation grants.
The CVCF released its list of 2019 grantees at the Chilkat Center last week where it doled out more than $23,000 in funding to 15 local non-profits.
Becky’s Place Haven of Hope received the largest grant of $2,000 that will be used for operating expenses. The domestic violence shelter houses about 35 people and offers financial and other assistance to more than a hundred people every year.
“We’ve had a couple cases where the gals have lost their teeth due to domestic violence. We’ve helped with that,” Becky’s Place owner Jackie Mazeikas said. “We had a gal who was living in the woods. We were able to get her medical help, a place to live for a short period of time and get her on her feet. (The grant) will be well used. There’s many, many needs. We couldn’t do what we do without CVCF.”
The Alaska Arts Confluence received $1,000 to add greater accessibility to the Fort Seward Sculpture Garden. “That will go toward the immediate needs we have of making it more accessible and safer for the public,” said board president Roger Gentry. “We’re also looking at getting power service run to it and that will be a help toward that.”
The sculpture garden reopened this summer after about 25 volunteers cleared brush, moved rock and prepared the site that had become overgrown. Vendors and musicians played music during First Friday events throughout the summer.
Lynn Canal Conservation received $999 to produce a short film that highlights biodiversity and subsistence in the Chilkat Valley. The film will explore how low mountain passes allow interior and coastal species to travel back and forth, microclimates that allow a diversity of species to survive, and other ecological topics.
“The fabric of life in this little corner of the world is rich and complex, and we all benefit from that complexity,” LCC executive director Jessica Plachta said. “So, the film is intended to explore that just a bit, to celebrate the wild abundance that ends up on our plates-the subsistence foods that 90 percent of us rely on to help us feed our families; but also to celebrate the wild abundance that feeds our spirits, if you will.”
The Haines Dolphins Swim Team received $2,500 to replace the pool’s starting platforms.
The Haines Avalanche Center received $2,000 for operation costs. Haines Animal Rescue Kennel will use its $2,000 for office equipment and furnishings. The American Bald Eagle Foundation was granted $500 to update its diorama interpretation. The Farmers Market will spend its $975 for equipment and training that will allow residents to purchase fresh produce during the summer’s weekly market at the fairgrounds, including an expansion to include federal SNAP (food stamps) recipients.
Other grantees include the Haines Friends of Recycling ($2,000), the Haines Senior Center ($500), Haines Sheldon Museum and Cultural Center ($1,000), Southeast Alaska Independent Living ($1,000), Takshanuk Watershed Council ($1,200) and The Salvation Army ($2,500).
The CVCF has granted more than $187,000 since 2009.
The Chilkat Valley Community Foundation (CVCF) reached its $185,000 fundraising goal last February, an amount that was doubled thanks to the Alaska Community Foundation and Rasmuson Foundation match program. The CVCF reached its goal in two years, half the time provided to raise the funds. It was the first of 11 community foundations statewide to reach its goal.