Empire Health opens cycle for grants

Empire Health Foundation will open both the 2017 Responsive and Rural Aging Grant cycles April 3 and close on April 28. The grant programs serve the foundation's seven-county region of Adams, Ferry, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Spokane and Whitman counties, including the Kalispel Tribe of Indians, Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

The cycles are designed to address one-time, emergent needs. Non-profits, churches or government agencies may apply for funds up to $15,000.

The Rural Aging Responsive Grant cycle also provides up to $15,000 of funding, but with a focus on one-time projects designed to help adults 60 years or older in rural communities live full, meaningful lives with independence and dignity.

Among last year’s awards was an $1,800 grant to Friends of Hospice for the Whitman County for a Music & Memory Outreach Project which will deliver personalized music services to older adults while in a care setting or in their own homes. See ad on page 7A.