Blog
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...
Encourage mask-wearing at your Orcas establishment
The Orcas Island Community Foundation has created a series of posters for businesses and organizations to use as they see fit to encourage mask-wearing in their establishments. There are seven posters both in English and Spanish with different messages. They are...
2020 FARM Fund Orcas/Waldron Round 1: Press Release
From: Orcas Island Community Foundation and San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild The Orcas Island Community Foundation, in collaboration with the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild (Ag Guild) FARM Fund, is excited to announce the distribution of $117,000 in grants to...
Public Health and our economy
This week the Economic Development Council announced that the San Juan Island’s unemployment rate is 27%, significantly higher than the State (17%) and National (15%) rate. Our local dependence on tourism and lack of diverse industries is a painful reality. Given our...