In honor of this year’s Give Jefferson Campaign, in this edition of Community Tides, we decided to spotlight a very special organization here in Jefferson County—The Benji Project. We speak with instructor Heather McCrae Wolf about the Project’s mission and its eight-week program aimed at ages 11 to 19 and their parents. It’s called “Making Friends with Yourself” and it offers stress management and resiliency training to teens, using mindfulness and self compassion. The Benji Project is dedicated to the memory of Benji Kenworthy, who died at age 15 by suicide.
This week on Community Tides, Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty discuss the Pandemic’s shut down and its effect on local businesses, education, and our emotional health. With an uncertain forecast of government help as we turn toward the winter ahead, our creative and resilient community of good people doing good work have given us inspiration and true hope during these difficult times.
Folks are stepping up to help, and nonprofits are working the front lines. In its 65th year, the United Good Neighbors Campaign shines as an amazing and cherished tradition, where hundreds of people from all over the county make donations to help their neighbors.
Gratitude is an amazing antidote to despair. Expressing thanks is a strategy for feeling more hopeful. Thank everyone in your life and your community this year!
This week on Community Tides, Chris and Siobhan have a conversation with serial entrepreneur and problem-solver Ben Bauermeister, who was instrumental in starting one of the largest undertakings of his non-profit career – The Connected Student Initiative. The project’s goal is to ensure that students from low-income families find ways to connect to the internet. It’s a big challenge in rural regions with larger low-income populations. The times we live in have created the urgency to connect these students and their homes. The Initiative weaves the search for technological solutions with the resources of the community at large, with project volunteers, and with our school administrators.
Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, and Chris Bricker from KPTZ get together twice a month to talk about new developments, new paradigms, and the “new normal” facing Jefferson County as we transition toward 2021. This week on Community Tides Siobhan & Chris celebrate Good People doing Good Work.
Siobhan reports on new grants awarded from the COVID-19 Fund, and gives us a fresh and full landscape overview based on what is in the proposals – community needs for financial assistance, food, and more.
They also recognize some of the wonderful individuals behind the scenes who make Good Work happen in Jefferson County.
Explore new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
This week on Community Tides, Chris and Siobhan speak with Sarah Rubenstein, Communications and Outreach Director for Port Townsend Schools. She’s also an integral part of the Maritime Schools Initiative.
We feel different today than we did six months ago. Parents, students, administrators, teachers and schools have faced a thousand choices and myriad changes. Sarah discusses the planning and developments that have taken place over this time, the social and emotional aspects of it all, and the programs in place that support in the school system and its students throughout Jefferson County.
Siobhan talks about the Foundation’s involvement in this process, and she asks Sarah about how the general community can become engaged, including those in their own risk category and not able to become directly involved in helping our students.
Good news from the Foundation! Due to a substantial anonymous donation, there will be a new round of funding from the COVID Response Fund. Any non-profit or public-serving entity is welcome to submit funding proposals to the Foundation.
Explore new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
Siobhan Canty and Chris Bricker talk about Jefferson Community Foundation’s new digs, and the generosity of Edensaw Woods for finding them a space. There’s funding for Black Lives Matter East Jefferson County from JCF, and Jefferson County makes local grants with Cares Act money to help with resiliency. Sadly, there’s another youth suicide, and Chris and Siobhan discuss the stress and fear parents have, and the need to reassure our young people that things will get better. There are some valuable resources to share. Chris and Siobhan also share valuable advice and information on places to contact for those experiencing domestic violence during these difficult times. There’s a new network starting for young working people in Jefferson County, called “Placemakers.” And finally, as the rains come, support for our local businesses is important to help them get through the fall and winter seasons.
Exploring new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
On today’s Community Tides, Siobhan Canty and Chris Bricker talk about escalating real estate activity and its relationship to future outcomes in affordable housing. Housing champions have started to gather to discuss and strategize. A new childcare cooperative has started here in Port Townsend, and Siobhan gives us the details. Siobhan and Chris also discuss PT’s recent designation as a Creative District. PT has received funding to develop a plan for how we can do more to support local artists and makers. Finally, Siobhan gives us an update on the Foundation’s COVID response — moving from the COVID Fund to the United Good Neighbors campaign.
Exploring new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
This week on Community Tides, Siobhan and Chris talk about how the Community Foundation connects people, ideas and resources as we build a future for Jefferson County. Our community has a tradition of being extraordinarily engaged and philanthropic, yet key indicators of local social health—like housing, job availability, and social isolation—are moving in the wrong direction. Solutions require a knowledge of the local landscape of organizations, and people who are working on a wide range of issues. Knowing where the strengths and gaps are is key. Siobhan and Chris shine a light on how a vibrant Staff and Board at the Foundation help to develop effective strategies with our community.
Exploring new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
For this episode of Community Tides, Siobhan and Chris explore the state of the local economy, the return of tourists, and stronger masking enforcement for local businesses. With local sales “through the roof”, further risks and the need for solutions toward affordable housing are more evident. Back-to-school issues are a hot topic, as are the refreshing efforts that local boards of directors and staffs are doing toward the work of self-understanding and reckoning about systemic racism. Siobhan and Chris also look into the efforts of our local community mentorship service, Skillmation, and Port Townsend High School, to bring community knowledge and expertise to assist our students during this challenging time of pandemic isolation.
Exploring new developments, new paradigms, and the new normal facing Jefferson County, with KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation.
Today, Siobhan gave us her regular Foundation update. Then Siobhan and Chris Bricker discussed development of the new Family Resource Navigator; the next phase of COVID-19 response funding through United Good Neighbors; working from home; and the importance of mental health resources.
(Airdate: July 3, 2020: Introducing a new show, spinning off from the Jefferson Community Foundation’s Update feature on Tuesday’s Morning on the Salish! Now, on alternate Fridays at 12:10pm, Chris Bricker and Co-Host Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of JCF, talk about new developments, new paradigms, and the “new normal” facing Jefferson County as we roll through the last half of 2020 and into 2021.
