Three Enumclaw organizations received $25,000 checks last month from King County, funded through the congressional American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARP) and delivered by county council member Reagan Dunn and Enumclaw mayor Jan Molinaro.
Those groups are: The Chamber of Commerce, the Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation and the Enumclaw Senior Center.
“To be honest with you, I was surprised and extremely happy that those three organizations were awarded with this money,” Molinaro said. “Each organization went through some trying times through the last 16-plus months.”
Molinaro and the city landed on the Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation and the Senior Center, while Dunn selected the Chamber of Commerce for the third check, Molinaro said.
The Chamber of Commerce funds will go toward supporting businesses in the area. The Rainier Foothills Wellness Foundation will use their check to help pay for mental health counselors across the Enumclaw School District.
And the Enumclaw Senior Center will use the funds to upgrade their HVAC system, which they hope will help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and help bring seniors back into the facility.
“At this point, our entire HVAC system needs a complete overhaul,” Senior Center Manager Jobyna Nickum said. “That 25,000 dollars is going to go towards the complete fee, which is a bit more than 25,000 dollars. We are very grateful to Reagan Dunn and the King County Council and we look forward to our new system.”
The old system, she said, consisted of two fans circulating air in the main dining room.
While the building’s main hall hasn’t full reopened to the public, there’s no dearth of activities for seniors, Nickum said. Senior Center staff have leased a building around the corner and are offering services there, such as fitness programs. The front room at the Senior Center has a working ventilation system allowing for small group meetings as well. And they’re still offering online services and outdoor fitness programs like pickleball and hiking.
The U.S. Congress passed the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill in March. The local organizations that received slices of that pie should start receiving the money in late summer or early fall, Dunn’s chief of staff Cody Eccles said, as the government begins processing those checks.
