It’s a philanthropic payday.
The Bainbridge Island Rotary Club has outdone itself again, awarding more grants than ever before to worthy area nonprofits.
This year, the humanitarian group is doling out $117,904 — “It’s not the record amount of money we’ve given, but it’s close,” said communications director Robin Goldston — funding a sailboat, a solar-powered teaching water table, safe infant cribs for low-income families and 27 other important projects.
See the complete list at www.bainbridgeislandrotary.org or read on for details on three.
Hearing aid
The Little Mermaid recovers from laryngitis and finally, every islander can hear it.
Next month, the beloved Disney classic hits the Bainbridge Performing Arts stage just as the theater nonprofit rolls out new listening devices for patrons who are hard of hearing.
“For a long time, we’ve wanted to move in the direction of including everyone,” executive director Dominique Cantwell explained. “We’ve had patrons who have said, ‘We love what you do but we just can’t come anymore.’”
Previously, BPA relied on infrared assisted-listening headsets to accommodate individuals with hearing impairments. The system worked well for people with minor hearing loss, who just needed sound amplified. But it left people with cochlear implants and more serious issues out of the loop.
This year, though, a $2,300 community grant from the Bainbridge Island Rotary Club means that population will finally be served. BPA has purchased 10 body pack receivers and induction neck loops, which Cantwell hopes her team can fine-tune before their next production.
Park potty
The most terrible moment is the moment when you unexpectedly, irrevocably have to go number two and you’re surrounded not only by twigs and trees but also by pedestrians.
Thankfully, that moment will no longer pass, at least not at the Hilltop property, where the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park & Recreation District plans to install a self-contained restroom by August, based on a prototype already in use at Blakely Harbor Park.
According to park services director Dan Hamlin, the $15,000 unit — outfitted with cedar shakes, a solar panel, a skylight and stone veneer — is much more attractive than the traditional portable toilet.
“They look and operate just like a plumbed bathroom,” he said.
Little red dress
Any “Doug” fans out there? Bainbridge Chorale’s closet is a cartoon character’s dream, stocked with rows and rows of the same outfit. Here you find fancy red taffeta dresses with sweetheart necklines in all sorts of sizes.
“We like to have some in reserve for kids who can’t afford to buy them,” executive director Stephanie Harris explained.
Costumes cost $68. Usually, Harris said, “we pass that cost along, but after they pay a couple hundred for tuition, sometimes that’s too much to ask.”
Especially when you consider the inevitable growth spurt of pubescent performers. Instead of forking over money with each additional inch, they can “shop” in the community closet, leaving their old duds for someone smaller.
This year’s Rotary grant of $640 covers several dresses for the Olympic Girls’ Choir as well as tops and ties for Bainbridge Youth Chorale.
