Community Tides

Chris Bricker’s Co-Host for today is Jen Kingfisher, Jefferson Community Foundation’s Non-Profit Relations Manager.
Chris and Jen explore a landscape view of basic needs that that the non-profit sector service and counsel in Jefferson County.  Those needs include food assistance for adults, families and school children; financial assistance (especially with utilities); housing and rental assistance (especially with the eviction moratorium in effect for the remainder of October); Pro Bono eviction legal assistance; transitioning of the shelterless from the Fairgrounds to the Mill Road property; the need for an assist in the navigation of resources for children and their families; and the need for available and affordable childcare. 

Twice a month, co-hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, get together to talk about new developments and new paradigms for our communities as we roll through the rest of 2021. In this edition of Community Tides, Siobhan and Chris speak with Richard Tucker, Executive Director of Jefferson Land Trust, about our local farm and agricultural community, the role they play in the economy and the vitality of our county, the challenges farmers face these days, and how Jefferson Land Trust supports our local farms. Finally, they explore the ways that each of us can give our local farming community our support.

This week, Siobhan and Chris speak with Bex Berryhill, who is not only Centrum’s Program Manager for Creative Youth Development, but she’s also one of the seven Cooperative directors of the Gray Coast Guild Hall in Quilcene. We learn about the building’s history, the mission of the cooperative, who gathers there, and the inclusive impact its range of activities can have on the local community.

In this edition, Siobhan & Chris speak with Port Townsend School District’s new Superintendent, Linda Rosenbury. We’ll learn about her background, her leadership style, and discuss what we should be looking for in order to make our schools successful. We discuss the cultural and socio-economic make-up of our students, and we talk about how to keep them safe in these uncertain times.

In this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty talk with Daniel Ferland, who teaches band and orchestra at Port Townsend High School. (He also serves as Fine Arts Coordinator for the Port Townsend School District.  But there’s another hat that he wears, as well.) Dan joins us to discuss his role in an exciting program called YEA Music (Youth Education in the Arts). Its mission is to provide music opportunities to the youth of east Jefferson County that include instruments, instruction and performance. He explains the teaching philosophy upon which the music program is based (El Sistema), tells us about the faculty, and enlightens us about future plans for the Program.

This week, KPTZ’s Chris Bricker and co-host Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, speak with Dr. Molly Parker, Chief Medical Officer of Population Health at Jefferson Health Care. She has practiced Family Medicine with Obstetrics at JHC for 11 years. Dr. Parker is currently developing child care options for Jefferson Health Care and the community. Washington had already been in a child care crisis before the pandemic began, with too few providers for children in need. We discuss the current status of childcare in Jefferson County, and the effects of the childcare gap on working families and on our community overall. Childcare is a Public Health issue, and evidence shows that adequate early childhood development will be key to the overall health and diversity of our communities for decades to come. Dr. Parker also identifies the key childcare providers in our county, and she enlightens us about other initiatives in the works that can help to close the childcare gap. 

Quilcene is a small and vibrant community that, along with Brinnon’s lush lands and their residents, makes up an amazing southern complement to our beautiful Jefferson County.  We’ll focus on South County’s families and children, community updates, and events for this edition of Community Tides, and talk about Quilcene and Brinnon’s emergence from the pandemic. Siobhan gives us a South County overview, and then we join special guests Trish Beathard, Superintendent and Principal of the Brinnon school, and Kathleen Kler, a nurse, an artist, and former District 3 County Commissioner, to fill us in on the details.

This week, hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President & CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, speak with Megan Claflin, Director of Development for The Production Alliance. We learn about the Alliance’s origins and reason for being. We explore the talents of its members and how they compliment one another with creative celebratory ideas for our community. We also learn about the latest benefit for non-profits—TENT-ACITY. Tune in and find out!

On this edition of Community Tides, KPTZ host Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, have a conversation with Hilary Canty, Executive Director of the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF). She not only happens to be Siobhan’s sister, but Hilary and her staff are a big part of making things happen on Orcas Island. We compare and contrast our two Foundations, and we find out more about the Island and who lives there, the trends of people coming and going, and specifically about the housing and sheltering situation on Orcas. We discuss some of OICF’s successes in that regard – in particular, a housing solution in the works on Orcas that is worth considerable discussion here in our Jefferson County communities.

For this edition of Community Tides, Jen Kingfisher, who oversees Non-Profit Relations for the Jefferson Community Foundation, joins Chris Bricker as co-host. They discuss the most recent grant awards from the COVID Fund, and how the Fund is an example of what a community foundation does every day. Jen reviews the stats in grant awards since March of last year, including the last round of the Fund devoted to Arts and Culture. She emphasizes the importance of the nurturing effect of these grants in helping our community recover and reopen as we move out of the pandemic. The Foundation is seeking proposals that demonstrate avenues to spark communal joy and foster local community connections. The deadline is July 2.

Co-Hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, get together in-studio for the first time since this program debuted. They look over the accomplishments the Jefferson County community have made during COVID-19 times, and how, through the generosity of so many, we’ve been able to creatively help to weather storms in education, mental health, child care, housing, food insecurity. emergency services, systemic racism, businesses, all the while aiming to be loving stewards of one another. Our own Community Radio station, KPTZ, has played a major role in connecting us all together during these times, and a 10^th Birthday Celebration is definitely in order!

Co-Hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty meet on alternate Fridays to discuss new developments, new paradigms, and the “new normal” as we flow into the months and years ahead.
There are a plethora of jobs available here in Jefferson County, and a growing number of them are unfilled. The lack of affordable workforce housing is playing a major role with this challenge. Chris and Siobhan speak with Justine Gonzalez-Berg, Director of Housing Solutions Network, and with Brian Kuh, Executive Director EDC Team Jefferson (the Economic Development Council), about the crisis, forecasts, and remedies.

This week Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty speak with Tonia Burkett, a seasoned social justice worker with an ABD in Sociology and years of related experience. She is currently co-facilitating a Racial Justice Literacy workshop series, as well as developing anti-racist training and consulting services for non-profit organizations through her business team, Usawa Consulting. We learn about the unique needs of non-profits in this work, and about approaches to the system of philanthropy and non-profits that can bring about real opportunities for social and systemic change.

On this edition of Community Tides, Chris Bricker and Siobhan speak with Deisy Bach, Vice President of the Jefferson County Food Bank Association, and John Cantlon, President of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul for East Jefferson County. The COVID Response and Recovery Fund and its community donors have had a profound impact for families and individuals in need here in Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Food Bank and Saint Vincent’s are just two of the organizations that the Fund has helped in so many ways during the Pandemic year to address the short-term and long-term needs of our neighbors. Deisy and John relate their experiences when Pandemic hit, and talk about how the Fund helped them respond effectively and compassionately during these difficult months. Siobhan explains how listeners can continue to donate to the COVID Fund.

Who better to talk with about what’s happening in the local arts and educational realm than Teresa Verraes, a visionary who has been a talented and vibrant contributor to to this community in so may ways! She is the Founding Director of the Port Townsend School of the Arts, and it’s in that role she joins us today, to talk about exciting happenings, including the PTSA’s recent merger with Northwind Arts Center, developments at Fort Worden’s Maker’s Square, and the much-anticipated gallery and classroom space for Building 305.

This week on Community Tides, hosts Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of Jefferson Community Foundation, speak with Samantha Troxler, Housing and Operations Manager for Olympic Community Action Programs, about Washington State’s Department of Commerce Eviction Rent Assistance Program. Samantha discusses the allocation that OlyCAP has received so far, and what is on the horizon for the agency. We discuss the application process, who can apply, turn-around time, what we know of local statistics, and the Program’s importance during these difficult times.

This week on Community Tides, Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty talk about how our community has been doing generally with their mental health throughout this pandemic, particularly seniors and youth. Tanya Barnett discusses her new role as Family Resource Navigator for the YMCA of Jefferson County along with CEO Wendy Bart. We learn how the position came about, and why it’s an especially good fit for these difficult times, We discuss our community’s themes, needs and gaps, what we’re hearing from counselors and families, and learn about some of the resources that families can use to help themselves and others.

Chris Bricker and Siobhan Canty talk about the importance of keeping our energy and mental well-being in a good state as we continue to define the “new normal.” By continuing to work together we can address the challenges of navigating a constantly changing landscape. While many things in our community are going very well, there are still a lot of needs. We discuss some of the ongoing, positive efforts in our Community that are helping us face those challenges. We also talk about what the lessons in awareness we hope will “stick” as we move back out into the real world.

For the final episode of 2020, Chris Bricker and Co-Host Siobhan Canty, President and CEO of the Jefferson Community Foundation, take a look at 2020, a year of great challenge, and how our community has risen to that challenge with so many solutions. They recap the year’s accomplishments in our county, and talk about the critical work that lies ahead for education, housing, food access, public health, and human rights.

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.