The Community Foundation of NCW has awarded a cumulative $42,544 in Helping Hands grants across the region from November 2015 to May 2016.

The Helping Hands grant program provides up to $2,500 in grant funding to support unexpected needs or special funding opportunities where a small investment could make a big difference.

The application for Helping Hands is open year-round and grants are awarded every other month. The following organizations were awarded funding to support projects are making a positive impact in their community:

Having fun at Camp Invention! Invent Now received a $2,500 Helping Hands grant to support scholarships for Camp Invention students.

• Apple Hill Art Camp – $2,500 To replace art supplies that were lost in the Okanogan Complex fire for a youth summer art program that exposes K-12 students to various types of art making and fosters a joy for expression and creativity
• Artis – $2,000 To purchase new software and office equipment for a community art space in Leavenworth that connects, educates, and celebrate the arts
• Catholic Charities – $2,500 Support to purchase an outdoor play structure for the new Catholic Family and Child Service facility in Wenatchee that provides early learning care and education
• Chelan-Douglas CASA – $1,200 To help purchase a database system to track goals and outcomes for ATEEM (Adolescents in Transition to Education and Employment), a mentorship program that empowers at-risk youth to build successful futures
• Children’s Home Society of Washington – $2,500 Support for healthy snacks, school supplies, and sports fees for children participating in the “Readiness to Learn” program in Wenatchee, which focuses on removing social/emotional barriers to academic success for children in need
• Colville Confederated Tribes – $2,500 Support for expenses related to an exhibit opening at the Fort Okanogan Interpretive Center this spring, including printing of text and visual panels, photographs, and speaker honorariums focusing on the native perspective of wildfire
• Invent Now – $2,500 Scholarships for children grades 1-6 to attend Camp Invention, a week-long summer program in Wenatchee that fosters creative problem solving and STEM concepts through a fun, imaginative curriculum
• Keep it in the Valley Foundation – $2,500 Popcorn maker and outdoor lights for funnel cake concession stand at the Apple Blossom Festival that raisesscholarship funds each year for 15 students attending Wenatchee Valley College.
• Lake Chelan Bach Fest – $1,850 To help support artist fees for a week-long musical event that includes a jazz evening, young musicians concerts, string quartet presentations, and classical music in an outdoor setting at Lake Chelan
• Leavenworth Community United Methodist Church – $2,500 Support for Backpack Mission Program that provides non-perishable food items for school children in need of weekend meals
• NCW Forest Health Collaborative – $2,500 To support wildfire education throughout the region through a collaborative of conservation groups, timber industry, and local/state/federal/tribal governments developed to increase the pace and scale of restoration of United States Forest Service lands in Chelan and Okanogan counties
• Wenatchee Row and Paddle Club – $2,500 Purchase of a new voyager canoe for Kids on the Columbia program where students get an opportunity to canoe the Columbia River and learn its history and importance to the region
• Wenatchee Valley College – $2,500 Support for Summer Teaching Institute for Native American History and Culture
• Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market – $2,500 Fees for representatives from five NCW farmers markets to attend the Washington State Farmers Market Association Conference

“The Helping Hands Grant helped open the doors for further collaboration of the Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market, Leavenworth Farmers Market, Chelan Farmers Market, Omak and Okanogan Farmers Market with more local food access, better administrative support, and community oriented event planning.” – Britany Fink Meiklen, Market Manager / Wenatchee Valley Farmers Market

1. Wenatchee Valley Humane Society – $2,500 Expenses related for caring for increase of medical and sheltering needs of animals abandoned and rescued from the 2015 wildfires
2. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center – $2,500 Support for STEAM-based learning experience for students in the Wenatchee School District’s 21^st Century After School program twice a week using the Maker’s Space at the museum
3. Wildfires & Us – $2,500 Support for “Wildfires and Us” an education summit open to the public to educate about preparedness and prevention methods of wildfires, presented at the Numerica Performing Arts Center
4. Women’s Resource Center – $2,500 Support for fees associated to bring Lloyd Pendelton to Wenatchee to speak on Utah’s successful “Housing First” model that works to end homelessness by providing housing first, then supportive treatment services that address mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, and employment