Four local nonprofits recently got a boost from the Alaska Community Foundation for projects ranging from kids art camps to a climbing class.
KHNS, Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association, Four Winds Resources Center and Takshanuk Watershed Council all got grants from ACF ranging from about $5,000 to nearly $20,000.
KHNS’s $5,125 grant will go toward sending operations manager Marley Horner to a climbing course so that he can perform repair work on the transmission tower on FAA Road. KHNS general manager Kyle Clayton said hiring a repair technician from outside Haines to troubleshoot and make repairs can cost about as much as the course itself, so the training should pay off quickly.
“This will save us the cost of having to bring someone in,” he said.
Eldred Rock Lighthouse Preservation Association got a $7,500 grant for an educational program to train volunteers and caretakers for the lighthouse, which sits between Juneau and Haines. Ed Page, chair of the board of directors, said the grant is a nice boost for the organization’s ongoing efforts to open the building to the public for weddings and other events. “Every penny counts,” he said “It’s a very expensive undertaking.” The organization has been focused on removing hazmat material and making repairs on the lighthouse, built in 1906.
Four Winds Resource Center, based at the former Mosquito Lake School, got a $19,350 grant for a fine arts camp to “encourage the growth of curiosity, skills, and creativity in local youths” from ages six to 12.
Takshanuk Watershed Council got a $13,320 grant for three separate camps, a four-week gardening camp, a two-week Living Soil Kudziteeyí Tl’átk
Camp, and an eight-week watershed studies camp.