EDITOR’S NOTE — For 19 years, Peninsula Daily News readers in Jefferson and Clallam counties have supported the “hand up, not a handout” Peninsula Home Fund.
Today we feature another in a series of articles on how the fund operates and who benefits from our readers’ generosity.
The next article will appear Sunday with an updated list of donors.
PORT ANGELES — A warm smile can brighten the darkest day.
It is far reaching and penetrates everything, often turning unhappiness into cheer — for the giver as well as the receiver.
Former KPly mill worker Art Underwood spent years trying to hide his smile.
Self-conscious about his visibly decaying teeth, he made every effort not to smile.
Now, thanks to help from the Peninsula Daily News’ Peninsula Home Fund, his eyes sparkle as he readily flashes a dazzling new smile.
“My teeth were causing me pain big time,” says Art. “Others could see the decay in my front teeth.
“I was really embarrassed and didn’t like to open my mouth.
“I didn’t like myself.”
In addition to deteriorating front teeth, he had decaying back teeth and abscesses in his molars
According to American Dental Association, untreated infection from an abscessed tooth can spread to other parts of the body — and can even lead to death.
He had an abscessed molar pulled and as many teeth as possible fixed during the three years he worked at the KPly mill in Port Angeles.
However, he has struggled to make ends meet since becoming one of 132 employees who lost their jobs when the mill closed its doors in November 2007.
The unexpected job loss, coupled with his visibly decaying front teeth, sent his low self-esteem even further downward.
Art, 29, heard he might be able to get help through the Peninsula Home Fund.
He learned about the fund from a friend who knows Maxine Hoffman, dental services office manager at the Oral Health Care Access Program for OlyCAP — Olympic Community Action Programs.
OlyCAP, the No. 1 emergency care agency in Jefferson and Clallam counties, manages the Peninsula Home Fund for the PDN, screening applicants and dispensing the funds.
Its Oral Health Center provides dental care, hygiene services and dental education to the uninsured.
Through the Home Fund and OlyCAP’s dental program, Art, who has had toothaches and problems with his teeth for more than 14 years, had his front teeth fixed — which ended years of pain, low self-respect and frustration.
In addition, through a job retraining program for workers affected by the closing of KPly, Art is now at Peninsula College, learning to become a welder.
The job program is a partnership between Peninsula College and the Clallam County WorkSource Center.
Funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Investment Act and Trade Adjustment Assistance Program.
Thanks in a large part to getting his teeth fixed, and to the retraining program, Art is feeling positive about his future.
“I can’t say enough how much I appreciate what it’s done to help get back on my feet and my life straightened out,” says Art.
“I feel so much better about myself — and so appreciate the many people who’ve helped me smile.”
No money is deducted
From Thanksgiving through Dec. 31, the PDN’s Peninsula Home Fund is seeking contributions for its 2008 holiday season fundraising campaign.
From Port Townsend to Forks, from Quilcene and Brinnon to LaPush, the fund is a “hand up, not a handout” when there is nowhere else to turn.
Every penny, every dollar, donated goes — without any deductions for administration or overhead — to making life better for children, teens, families and the elderly in Jefferson and Clallam counties.
The fund is used for hot meals for seniors, warm winter coats for kids, home repairs for the low income, needed eyeglasses and prescription drugs, dental work, safe, drug-free temporary housing . . . the list goes on and on.
So far in 2008, the donations have been felt in powerful, meaningful ways in the lives of more than 2,850 families and individuals like Art across the Peninsula.
The Peninsula Home Fund is unique and nonprofit:
• No money, not one penny, is deducted for administration or other overhead.
• All contributions are fully IRS tax-deductible.
• Your personal information is kept confidential.
Peninsula Daily News does not rent, sell, give or otherwise share your address or other information with anyone, or make any other use of it.
• All instances of help are designed to get an individual or family through the crisis — and back on the path to self-sufficiency.
That’s the “hand up, not a handout” focus of the fund.
• Whenever possible, Peninsula Home Fund case managers work with individuals or families to develop a plan to become financially stable — and avoid a recurrence of the emergency that prompted aid from the fund.
Little money left
• Begun in 1989, the fund is supported entirely by Jefferson and Clallam residents.
Individuals, couples, businesses, churches, service organizations and school groups set a new record for contributions in 2007 — $193,312.
The fund is now down to its last dollars, and every penny will be spent before Dec. 31.
• Peninsula Home Fund contributions are often used in conjunction with money from other agencies, enabling OlyCAP to often stretch the value of a donation.
• Money is usually distributed in small amounts, usually up to $150.
• Assistance is limited to one time in a 12-month period.
To apply for a grant from the fund, phone OlyCAP at 360-452-4726 (Clallam County) or 360-385-2571 (Jefferson County).
If you have any questions about the fund, contact John Brewer, Peninsula Daily News editor and publisher, at 360-417-3500.
Or e-mail him at john.brewer@peninsuladaily news.com.
Peninsula Daily News publishes stories every Sunday and Wednesday during the fund-raising campaign, reporting on how the fund works and, in the Sunday stories, also listing contributors.
