STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK
Nine Wood River Valley organizations have been awarded $30,000 in grants from the new Limelight Ketchum Community Fund.
A three-member employee board met with representatives of nonprofit organizations to broaden their understanding of issues facing the community. The Fund received more than $174,000 in requests in its first year.
The Fund awarded $5,000 to the Crisis Hotline, $4,280 to Hailey Public Library’s After School Camp and $4,000 each to Girls on the Run, the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley and The Advocates’ Smart About Money Economic Empowerment program.
It also awarded $3,587.55 to Wood River High School’s climbing club to purchase safety gear and $2,000 to The Senior Connection to fund senior transportation. Finally, it awarded $1,500 each to Flourish Foundation’s Mindful Awareness Program and Mountain Rides’ Bus Pass Scholarship Program.
“It’s wonderful that the Limelight Hotel Ketchum is supporting organizations providing life-changing services in our community,” said Tricia Swartling, chief executive officer of The Advocates, an organization committed to ending domestic violence, sexual assault and bullying. “The grant from the Limelight Ketchum Community Fund will support financial education that helps survivors of abuse live on their own.”
Teresa Beahen Lipman, executive director of The Senior Connection, echoed Swartling’s gratitude for the Community Fund.
“Next to their health, transportation is the second largest worry for seniors,” she said. We are honored and grateful for the Limelight Ketchum Community Fund and the employees and guests of the hotel who care about the valley’s neediest people and the importance of ensuring our seniors stay connected in the community.”
The Fund is financed by contributions from the Limelight Hotel Ketchum’s operations, by employees through an optional paycheck deduction and by guests through an optional $1-per-night donation.
Applications for the next grant cycle are due in September 2018. Email Matthew Hamilton at mhamilton@aspensnowmass.com for more information.