Blog
Home and Health
Caption: The summer harvest has begun. One of the bright spots for me this week was talking with a young mom who had just learned she will be moving into one of the April Grove Town Homes in September. She was so grateful she was weeping….me, too. This opportunity...
And away we go!
This past week was focused on getting the Economic Recovery and Resiliency process configured to be able to work with the over 70 community members who applied. We now have two primary groups, one a steering committee and one a workgroup. The steering committee was...
2020 Youth Philanthropy Awards
Each year a generous donor gives the Orcas High School Senior Class $5000 to donate to organizations that have made an impact and to foster philanthropy in our youth. This year, our donor has doubled this gift; the class of 2020 distributed $10,000 through the 2020...
Silence and Celebration
There is a silent demonstration planned for 5 pm on June 12th at the Village Green to support the Black Lives Matters movement. The OICF board met earlier this week and developed this pledge of support: We stand at a crossroads, centuries overdue. Protests across our...
Black Lives Matter – OICF Pledge
We stand at a crossroads, centuries overdue. Protests across our nation and the world express outrage and grief over our country’s long history of systemic racism and police brutality that most recently claimed the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, David McAtee,...
Economic Recovery and Resiliency Project–Update
Thank you for your interest in the upcoming Economic Recovery and Resilience effort. We received over 40 applications by Friday's deadline and a few more over the weekend. While the applications so far represent wonderful strong voices, a deep commitment to community,...
The pain is deep
I went to the gathering on the Village Green that the Out on Orcas group sponsored last night. The focus was to start challenging conversations concerning race, equity, and power. It was well attended and uncomfortable. Uncomfortable because we were asked to look deep...
What Does the Future Bring?
As Orcas enters summer under phase 2 of the Governor's reopening plan, it is clear that the impact of COVID19 is deep and lasting and will continue to result in major disruption to our economy, our education system, and our community. What does the future look like?...
Memorial Day
As we are about to walk through the gates of Summer and celebrate Memorial Day. I am thinking about how many have sacrificed so much for this country. I am deeply grateful to all who have served to protect and preserve this nation. And I am grateful to those who are...
Phases
Lupine emerging. On Friday, May 15th the County Council and County Health Board held a public hearing considering requesting a variance from the Governor moving SJ County from phase 1 to phase 2. (Here is a link to the phases as ordered by the Governor). There have...