The Bethel Community Services Foundation


MEDIA RELEASE: September 6, 2007

Bethel Community Services Foundation, recently awarded $119,500.00 in grants to several Bethel agencies or programs.

 

A $1,500.00 grant was awarded to the Cub Scouts, Bethel Pack 559 to purchase a new Pinewood Derby track and finish timer. The new track will benefit scouts for years to come. Scouting activities engage approximately 85 young people in Bethel. Scouting programs in Bethel are run solely by volunteers.

 

The Jesuit Volunteer Corp: NW was awarded a $5,000.00 grant to support their volunteer efforts in Bethel. Last year JVC:NW had 5 volunteers and this year they have six volunteers placed at a number of organizations in Bethel. The Jesuit Volunteer Corp has been serving communities in Alaska since 1956.

 

The Involved Parents Preschool was awarded a $5,000.00 grant to help support a teacher aide position. Due to recent facility constraints only half of the normal student enrollment can be supported. The aide is expected to reduce volunteer fatigue. The Involved Parents Preschool has a long history in Bethel of being self sustaining.

 

Yuut Elitnaurvait was awarded a $108,000.00 grant to provide a temporary dental facility for the Dental Health Aide Therapist Program. This facility will allow Yuut Elitnaurvait to provide clinical space for the first Alaska trained Dental Health Aide Therapist’s. Construction is underway on a permanent facility. Yuut Elitnaurvait is in a unique position of being able to provide clinical training space to the Dental Health Aide Therapist program. The program is operated by ANTHC and the University of Washington. BCS Foundation joins a large collaboration of foundations and agencies supporting this program.

MEDIA RELEASE: April 4, 2007

Another success for Yuut Elitnaurviat

By Tiffany Zulkosky

 

            Success is flowing this spring for Yuut Elitnaurviat: The People’s Learning Center (YE). Bethel Community Services Foundation (BCSF) recently awarded the regional vocational school an organizational development grant written by Operations Manager Tiffany Longan. BCSF has granted YE $26,300 and a computer server valued at $3,500.

            The funding and server will enable YE to develop and maintain the organization’s technology infrastructure. A network, database, website (www.yuut.org), and company e-mail addresses will make it easier for staff to track corporate business and documentation. The funding will also be used to promote the partnership between YE and KuC, supporting KuC’s efforts to recruit and train local adjunct professors. 

“I would like to thank BCSF for their generous contribution to a very important project in this region,” Ron Hoffman, Vice President of the YE Executive Board said.

            As the only charitable foundation in rural Alaska, BCSF’s support of this local project is an example of the region supporting itself with long-term sustainability as a continuous goal.

            “BCSF is really supportive of the work we do,” Longan added. “By awarding us this grant, they are ensuring we have the mechanisms in place so we don’t go beyond our capacity with regards to our technology infrastructure.”