2 groups win grants to get clothes for kids

Christmas House 2007 and the Assistance League of Everett are recent recipients of grants from the EverTrust Foundation, a Snohomish County philanthropic organization.

Christmas House received a $10,000 grant that will be used to provide coats and warm outerwear for children who benefit from Christmas House.

The Assistance League received a $25,000 grant for the organization’s new Retail Teen Program. The program is an extension of Operation School Bell, which provides clothing to low-income children from 14 school districts in Snohomish County.

This school year, the Retail Teen Program provided school clothing for 378 high school students.

Assistance League of Everett is an all-volunteer organization whose community outreach programs have helped children, teens and adults in Snohomish County since 1965.

Christmas House is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization established in Snohomish County in 1981. In 2006, Christmas House provided gifts to 7,238 children from 2,510 low-income Snohomish County families.

The EverTrust Foundation was established by EverTrust Bank.

The foundation’s mission is to improve the lives of Snohomish County families by providing support for basic needs such as affordable housing and youth recreation and education.

Camano students celebrate Arbor Day

Students at Utsalady and Elger Bay elementary schools on Camano Island are part of the Fourth Grade Foresters of Washington project, which has been established to revitalize the observation of Washington state Arbor Day, celebrated the second Wednesday in April. This year, that’s today.

Sharon Foster and Ken Lewis, co-workers at a Camano real estate office, have provided fourth-graders on the island with individually packaged Douglas fir seedlings to take home, plant and care for.

For more information about the Fourth Grade Foresters Project, go to www.freetreesandplants.com.

Red Cross brochures printed in 5 languages

The Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross recently presented more than 2,000 Red Cross emergency preparedness brochures in five languages to Everett-based Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest.

Funding for the project came from a grant the Red Cross received from the Greater Everett Community Foundation.

The brochures were printed in Arabic, Korean, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese, the five most common foreign languages spoken in Snohomish County. According to Van Dinh Kuno, director of Refugee and Immigrant Services Northwest, 17 percent to 19 percent of Snohomish County residents were born outside the United States.

The need for Red Cross emergency preparedness materials for families that speak limited or no English was apparent during last winter’s cold weather and windstorms, said Bev Walker, director of International Services for the Red Cross chapter.

People who did not speak English made up 85 percent of those who received oxygen care after overexposure to carbon monoxide related to the winter weather, Kuno said.

For more about Red Cross presentations and disaster preparedness information, call 425-740-2352.

Camp Fire kids collect a carload of coats

The Co Fri Lo Camp Fire USA Club of the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe spent the first half of the school year collecting jackets to donate to the Sultan food and clothing bank. The kids collected a carload of coats.

Club members include Cheyenne Kriede, Jonathan Prouse, Iya Long, Riley Avena, Hailey Donley, Emily Kies, AJ Kriede, Kylie Prouse, Aidan Long, Samantha Avena, Sarah Camerer, Sonia Carlson, Sydney Kies, Katie Piland, Ilyana Long, Sara Donley, Kayleigh Johnson, Melody Kies and Josie Kies.

Matthew House given $1,000 for books

Matthew House, the nonprofit Monroe ministry to children and families of prisoners, recently received a $1,000 grant from First Books Sno King to purchase books for its clients.

For more information, call Matthew House at 360-794-8720.

Zonta Club honors two local women

Margaret Bruland, executive director of the Snohomish County Center for Battered Women, was honored March 5 for her 30 years of service to the Zonta Club of Everett and Zonta International.

Bruland has demonstrated her commitment to advancing the status of women in Snohomish County and globally, said Helen Kendall, president of the local club.

In addition, the winner of the Everett Zonta Club’s Virginia Gullikson Woman of the Year Award is Sister Georgette Bayless, who founded Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County and continues to volunteer.

She is a former member of the Zonta Club of Everett. Virginia Gullikson was a Zontian and well-known county resident who spent her life helping others.

Bayless will be honored at an event set for 6 p.m. April 26 at the Everett Golf and Country Club. The guest speaker will be Connie Niva, who will give a talk titled “Advancing the Role of Women in Social, Political and Economic Development.”

Niva is a regent on the Washington State University Board of Regents and is a commissioner for the Port of Everett.

For information about Zonta, go to www.zontaeverett.org, call 425-348-3501 or e-mail info@zontaeverett.org.

EvCC students named to all-academic team

Everett Community College students Rogelie Rael and June Dolder were honored recently for being named to the Washington All-Academic Team.

They are among 62 team members from the state’s 34 community and technical colleges. The award honors outstanding students who have a demonstrated commitment to success in the classroom and in the communities where they live.

Each will receive a $750 scholarship funded by the Northwest Education Loan Association and KeyBank. They also are eligible for additional scholarships at Washington colleges and universities.

Rael, 21, a journalism major, moved from Japan to Everett in 2004.

She’s been a reporter and photographer for EvCC’s student newspaper, The Clipper, and also served as Phi Theta Kappa’s leadership officer, an EvCC student senator and president of the Asian/Pacific Islander Student Union.

She also is active in her church. She plans to transfer to Western Washington University and major in journalism.

Dolder, 44, is studying to become a nutritionist. She was Phi Theta Kappa’s service officer in 2005-06.

She is now vice president of EMPOWR, a student political awareness and education group.

Last year, she joined the Students in Service program and has helped many students succeed in their classes. Off-campus, Dolder is involved in fundraising events to support training guide dogs and cancer research and education. She plans to attend Seattle Pacific University to become a nutritionist.

Boy Scouts clean up library grounds

AJ Brodin of Boy Scout Troop 81 and his fellow troop members recently completed a community service project that will help AJ earn his Eagle rank.

The scouts revitalized the grounds and cleaned the building at the Stanwood Library. They also installed a plaque honoring recently retired librarian Icle Crow.

Kamiak dance team wins trophies at state

Kamiak High School’s award-winning dance team, the Dulcineas, won two trophies and other awards at the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Dance and Drill State Championships on March 23 and 24 in Yakima.

Members include Jamie Allen, Kerry Cheek, Justine Duplantier, Sarah Evans, Katy Faiferlick, Michelle Mark, Annie Martz, Rhya Milici, Channing Paradis, Nika Petchenkina, Janee Spelman, Ariel St. John, Kristina Sutton, Gwynne Tuttle, Elaine Wang, Deziray Wilkins, Kelsey Yared and Ellen Yoakum. Student assistants include Brie Blaschka and Sabre Wilde Owens.

The team performs at football games, pep assemblies and parades throughout the year.