2021

2021 Grant Champions & Their Causes

The Winner of Our 2021 First Place Grant in the amount of $137,010 is…

About YouthCare – South Seattle Shelter:

YouthCare works to end youth homelessness by ensuring young people can find safety today to build a future for tomorrow. This passionate vision—where no young person experiences homelessness, all young people can thrive, and the systems that oppress them are dismantled—drives YouthCare every day.  YouthCare operates at 15 sites across Seattle and serves over 1,500 young people every year through a comprehensive range of services including crisis response, basic needs and engagement, shelter and housing, education, and employment training. Over the past four decades, YouthCare has defined best practices, developed programs that drive innovation and set a national standard for excellence, ensuring that young people experiencing homelessness have the hope, skills, and self-confidence to achieve their dreams.

We are requesting support for critical case management services at YouthCare’s South Seattle Shelter in the Rainier Beach. Rainier Beach is home to BIPOC and immigrant populations which are disproportionately represented in young adult homelessness. YouthCare’s South Seattle Shelter was established to provide services for young people in proximity to their communities of support, improving their chances of gaining stability. The program is open 24 hours a day, year-round, offering overnight shelter, access to meals, showers, and a safe space to rely on during the day to help youth avoid exploitation and dangers of street-life. In compliment, Case managers develop critical trusted relationships with youth to address the impacts of homelessness and connect to medical and mental healthcare services, education and employment programming, and more to interrupt the cycle of homelessness.

PYP Grant Champion: Emily Arnsdorf

Emily has lived in Colorado, Mexico and California before calling Seattle home since 2011. After serving many years as a Director of Scientific and Grant Strategy for a life science company, Emily transitioned to working as a consultant in the life sciences industry, guiding the development of multidisciplinary medical technologies ranging from smart monitoring devices to bio-artificial organs to in vitro diagnostics. Emily holds a PhD in Bioengineering from Stanford University, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently lives on Mercer Island with her husband and two young children and enjoys volunteering in the school district and community. Emily enjoys being active – she played collegiate volleyball for the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) and loves being outdoors – hiking, skiing and boating.

PYP Grant Champion: Beth Flume

Beth was born in St. Louis, but spent most of her formative years in Bellingham. She has a Bachelors degree from Western Washington University and an MBA from Cornell University. After business school, she and her husband lived in NYC for five years where she worked as an Investment Banker for Citigroup managing mergers, acquisitions and capital raising in the Technology sector.  She returned to Seattle in 2004 and joined a private equity firm where she sourced and led acquisitions, as well as the venture capital efforts for the launch of MOD Pizza.  Beth was the President of Barefoot Yoga, an ecommerce yoga supplies and apparel company, before joining Amazon where she managed Vendor Management and Instock teams in the Books category.  Since 2013, she has been home with her twins and has cherished the time spent with family and friends.

PYP Grant Champion: Kim Kamolz

Kimberly Kamolz grew up in Minnesota. She holds a B.S. in agricultural education from the University of Minnesota and a M.A. in Organizational Communications from Washington State University. Kim has extensive experience as a program, product, and project leader across industries including technology, retail, insurance, and telecommunications. She is now a professional coach with a mission to support others while they pursue their goals and discover what they truly value. Kim has volunteered for Hopelink, Women’s Jubilee Center, Plymouth Housing Group, and Global Mentorship Initiative. Kim, her husband, and their three daughters have lived on Mercer Island since 2012. Kim and her family enjoy skiing, traveling, trying new recipes, and being outdoors with their two dogs.

 

The Winner of Our 2021 Second Place Grant in the amount of $68,505 is…

 

About Low Income Housing Institute – Tiny House Village Project:

Homelessness is a serious problem facing our region. With far more unhoused people than available shelter space and affordable housing, thousands are on the streets, struggling just to survive.  The Low Income Housing Institute’s (LIHI) Tiny House Villages provide innovative shelter for homeless individuals, families and their pets.  Tiny Houses ensure that people’s experience in homelessness is safe, dignified and as brief as possible.  They offer tremendous benefits over tents; they are weatherproof and lockable and allow residents to reclaim their confidence and get on a path to permanent housing in a supportive village environment.  The communities provide stability and assistance that residents need to get back on their feet. Plus, Tiny House Villages work!  As the preferred shelter type for people who are houseless, LIHI transitions people into permanent housing at a higher rate than any other program in King County.

LIHI has developed and operates villages throughout the region, including eight in Seattle with three new villages currently under construction.  With a PYP grant of $128,520, the program could fund materials to build 30 Tiny Houses to serve King County’s unsheltered population and give hundreds of people hope for a more stable future.

PYP Grant Champion: Milah Frownfelter

Milah has lived in the Northwest for over 30 years, in that time developing a deep appreciation for its cultural diversity, outdoor lifestyle, natural beauty and forward-thinking values. She attended Seattle Public Schools, graduating from Garfield High School, then the University of Washington for both her undergraduate and medical degrees, completing an internal medicine residency there, as well. Starting in hospital medicine, she later pivoted to outpatient primary care, and has been part-owner of an independent medical practice for nearly six years. Her volunteer experience includes medical support for marathon events, heart screening for youth athletes, and environmental stewardship projects with various organizations. She enjoys running with her husband and (stubborn!) Airedale Terrier, Maisie, including completing the London Marathon on behalf of “Back On My Feet,” an organization that helps to support the houseless with goals of employment and housing security through vigorous social support and advocacy. Her hopes through giving are many, but rooted in uplifting each individual to have equity in achieving their goals, and striving for balance and harmony with nature to preserve and enhance the incredible gifts of the Northwest, and the Earth more broadly, for all generations.

PYP Grant Champion: Molly Shearer

Molly grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has lived in Seattle for almost 20 years. Along with her husband and their three kids, she lives in Madison Park and spends most of her time with her family enjoying a variety of sports and outdoor activities. After earning a B.A. in History from Dartmouth College, she moved back to San Francisco and worked for Palm, Inc. for 15 years helping to build their retail sales channel for mobile devices. Molly left Palm to embark on a short stint with TomTom but then decided to take a break from work travel, early morning conference calls in her pj’s and business dinners. She now focuses on helping her three kids navigate the opportunities they have growing up in this amazing city and volunteers at the Lakeside School. Molly enjoys both water and dry-land sports, organizing camping trips for the family as well as eating nachos while watching college and professional sports.

The Winner of Our 2021 Third Place Grant in the amount of $22,835 is…

About Center for Children & Youth Justice – LINC:

The Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ) creates better lives for generations of children and youth by reforming the child welfare and youth justice systems. CCYJ advocates on behalf of the 50,000 children and youth who experience our foster care and juvenile justice systems in Washington every year. These systems have become “feeders” to recurrent incarceration, sex trafficking, poverty, and chronic homelessness. Young people of color and LGBTQ+ youth are affected disproportionately by these broken systems. As the only statewide organization focused solely on reforming Washington’s child welfare and youth criminal legal systems, CCYJ works to ensure that the young people who must rely on these systems are served justly, effectively, and compassionately. We have strong partnerships with state agencies, direct-service providers, juvenile courts, advocacy groups, and more. CCYJ develops model programs, processes, and protocols that improve outcomes for all children.

If awarded, funds will be used to support CCYJ’s Leadership, Intervention, and Change (“LINC”) program.  LINC functions as a collaborative effort to assist young people and families in reducing violence within their communities, improving safety, and fulfilling their goals to be thriving members of the community.

PYP Seattle Grant Champion: Megan Wells

Megan Wells is a true Seattleite, growing up in a community north of Seattle, attending the University of Washington and settling in the Wedgwood neighborhood with her husband and three high-school aged kids. She is currently employed by Ankura as a Managing Director. She has more than 25 years of experience assisting legal counsel, businesses, government entities, and individuals with a wide variety of economic, financial, and consulting assignments. She was previously a Director in the global construction practice at Navigant and before that a vice president at Tucker Alan Inc. She has a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington and holds a Certified Management Accountant certificate. After years on the Wedgwood Elementary PTA board and King County Bar Association Board, she now serves as a board member of the Wedgwood Swim Club, the Center for Child and Youth Justice (CCYJ), and Page Ahead. She enjoys running, barre class, entertaining and spending time with her family.