In its third 2024 grant cycle, the Hazel Miller Foundation awarded $188,500 to 20 organizations focused on good works in King and South Snohomish Counties.

Awardees range from Providence Hospice and Homecare’s Carousel Program and St. Vincent de Paul’s Beds for Children to Art for All. According to a press release, the Hazel Miller Foundation’s Board of Directors awards grants “that uplift its six focus areas: education and youth, poverty alleviation and hunger, civic and community services, the environment, culture and the arts, and diversity.”

“It’s with full hearts and strong purpose that we continue to award grants to Edmonds area organizations,” said Board Chair Shannon Burley. “It’s an honor to be part of their service to our community.”

Here are the awardees:

Camp Korey was awarded $5,000 to support its 2024 Fall Family Weekends, during which children and their families enjoy adaptive recreation activities together, along with tailored medical support. Camp Korey provides free, life-enhancing summer camp experiences with specialized medical support for children with life-altering medical conditions.

House of Wisdom’s $10,000 grant enables the organization to develop a comprehensive curriculum for its tutoring program, which now includes coding to prepare students for the digital age. House of Wisdom provides educational support for over 150 students in Lynnwood and Edmonds.

Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) was allocated $3,000 to support Kids Who Care, a six-week humane education program engaging fourth-grade students. PAWS partners with the Edmonds School District to educate and inspire students to understand their responsibility toward animal welfare, focusing on pet care and wildlife rehabilitation.

Providence Hospice & Homecare was granted $5,000 for the Carousel Program, which provides medical care, counseling and financial support for children in Snohomish County. The program offers in-home or hospice services regardless of a family’s financial status. This grant helps Providence Hospice & Homecare close the economic gap insurance does not cover.

Bethesda Community Services (BCS) supports South Snohomish County community members with emergent financial needs. With its $5,000 grant, BCS can provide individuals with rent and utility assistance, grocery and gas cards, and help with medical expenses.

Birthday Dreams partners with over 80 homeless shelters serving children in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to provide thousands of birthday celebrations throughout the region. The organization’s $2,500 grant covers party supplies needed to stage fun birthday parties for homeless children, complete with cake, gifts, and goody bags.

Christmas House received a $5,000 grant to help families in need in Snohomish County. The Christmas House store has distributed over 52,000 gifts for children and families in transition. Last year, Christmas House worked with nine shelters and impacted 147 children.

The $10,000 awarded to Cocoon House’s South County Advocate program supports outreach to at-risk and homeless youth in Edmonds and South Snohomish County. The program provides individualized support and collaborates with other community systems to enhance services and support for youth in crisis.

Edmonds Food Bank’s $12,000 funds the Edmonds Toy Shop. Established in 1981 and held annually in December, the program meets the needs of children in the Edmonds area, offering gifts, books, and gift cards. Understanding the community’s diversity, Toy Shop strives to be inclusive and highlight the unique traditions of all families.

Northwest’s Child is a day program serving the needs of disabled children, teens, and young adults in the Edmonds area. The program addresses educational, vocational, social, and personal care goals, allowing individuals to receive high-level care and remain active community members. Their $10,000 grant will enable NWC to support the agency’s staff in providing program participants with a positive, fun, and purposeful experience.

St. Vincent de Paul’s $10,000 grant helps its Beds for Children program provide new twin mattresses, frames, bedding, and pillows for children in need. On average, the program offers 250 new beds per year.

Sound Pathways’s On The Go Meal Program delivers mobile meals to individuals experiencing financial hardship and homelessness in South Snohomish County. The organization’s $5,000 award helps it provide nourishing meals directly to those living in homeless encampments and other remote and difficult-to-access locations.

The $6,000 awarded to Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center supports its mission: to make equine therapy accessible and affordable. Little Bit empowers individuals with disabilities in the Edmonds School District through equine-assisted programs, including therapy, adaptive riding, equine-facilitated psychotherapy, and equine-assisted learning.

Sound Salmon Solutions received $20,000 to continue its education program in the Edmonds School District. The program connects a diverse population to salmon and hands-on science programming. The organization collaborates with local groups, hosts educational events, and runs science-focused summer camps, engaging locals in understanding salmon recovery efforts and incorporating traditional Indigenous knowledge.

Art for All serves over 225 adult artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Its $3,500 grant supports the Graphite Community Collaboration project, which connects disabled artists with other local artists in the Snohomish County community. The project is hosted monthly, free of charge.

Art Start Northwest (ASNW) was granted $3,500 for its ASNW School Program, which addresses the lack of art access and visual art programming in public elementary schools. This project will focus on the Edmonds elementary schools with the greatest need for art enrichment.

Cascade Symphony Orchestra expands its community’s musical horizons with its $10,000 award. The Orchestra, composed entirely of volunteer musicians, shares classical music with the community and provides a place where fine musicians come together to perform masterpieces of classical music.

Cascadia Art Museum received $25,000 to provide educational programming at all 25 Edmonds School District elementary schools and initiate new partnerships with community-based organizations serving children from low-income and marginalized communities.

Spark! Creativity, a start-up created to combat the decline in arts education caused by severe budget cuts in public schools, was awarded $3,000 for two pilot projects in the Edmonds School District: Teaching Artists in Schools and Youth Arts Camps & Pop-up Workshops. These programs will create partnerships between classroom teachers and local teaching artists and offer a weeklong summer camp plus pop-up art workshops during school breaks.

Edmonds Waterfront Center added $35,000 to its Strength in Diversity program. The program aims to become a vital multicultural, multigenerational hub that bridges generations, cultures, and communities. The grant supports the center’s efforts to increase the diversity of its staff and board, offer more DEI training, develop formal partnerships with community organizations serving diverse populations, host free events, including the National Women’s Day event, and coordinate health resources among partner networks.

The Hazel Miller Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the citizens of Edmonds and South Snohomish County. It’s mission is to support programs and projects that serve the public’s benefit, especially in the areas of education and youth, poverty alleviation and hunger, civil and community services, the environment, culture and the arts, and diversity in our communities. For more information, go to www.hazelmillerfoundation.org.