Grant awarded to the Seniors in Need Emergency Assistance Program!

Spokane Valley Rotary Club and the Spokane Valley Rotary Charitable Trust which owns and administers the Hank Grinald’s Trust just awarded a $14,000.00 grant to Spokane Valley Partners for their Seniors in Need Emergency Assistance Program. The grant will be dispersed in two $7,000.00 segments, the first was presented to CEO Kenneth Briggs at the Mirabeau Hotel at today’s meeting of the Spokane Valley Rotary Club. This grant renews Spokane Valley Rotary’s ongoing commitment to serving the emergency needs of the Greater Spokane Valley low income senior citizens.

In 2008 Spokane Valley Partners served 169 senior requests for assistance. Support covered such items as prescriptions, stop gap energy assistance, emergency medical needs, transportation, and emergency household repairs. Steve Brown, emergency assistance case manager at Spokane Valley Partners describes the grant as; “Essential to keeping dozens of the Valley’s low income senior citizens living in their own homes and remaining independent” Mr. Brown went on to say that, “The average valley resident has no idea how many seniors are trying to survive on incomes as low as $600.00 a month”. Kenneth Briggs the CEO of Spokane Valley Partners stated that; “This grant is an outstanding example of a partnership between a premiere service club and a skilled provider of human services”.

Steve Florance, Chairman of the Spokane Valley Rotary Charitable Trust stated that it was “Rotary’s pleasure to team up with Spokane Valley Partners, the trust was especially impressed with the way that S.V. Partners was able to pool funds from several sources and bring them together in solving the emergency assistance needs of seniors.” Often the Trust funds would prevent a utility shut off while the senior was waiting for a scheduled appointment with SNAP to apply for an energy assistance grant. Briggs noted that, “Such team work is aided by having the Valley SNAP office located in the S. V. Partners’ campus”. S V Partners is located at 10814 E. Broadway and serves emergency assistance clients by appointment. Appointments can be made by phoning 927-1153.

Contacts: Rotary Charitable Trust. Steve Florance (509) 892-6373
                Spokane Valley Partners Donald Kaufman (509) 927-1153 ext 13

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