Thank you for supporting curling in Homer

The Homer Curling Club wishes to thank the Homer Foundation for the charitable grant for two Learn to Curl events that were free of charge for participants to attend, both held here in Homer at the Kevin Bell Ice Arena. The first event was held in February and the second event in March. The grant money has allowed The Homer Curling Club to take to the ice again and reestablish the game of curling after a hiatus during the pandemic. The Homer Curling Club in collaboration with The Independent Living Center/TRAILS have contributed volunteer efforts and their funds in addition to the Homer Foundation grant to be able to offer these events for our community. Our Curling Club grew in participation after the very successful Learn to Curl events. We continued to welcome new participants for our weekly Sunday drop—in curling times until the season ended on April 6th. New and experienced participants had fun as we played together!

It has been exciting to see how much interest there is for curling within the Homer community.

Due to the success of this season, the Homer Curling Club members are beginning to plan for curling next season with support of the Kevin Bell Arena.

Sheryl Baechler

Member of Homer Curling Club

Artists in Schools makes a difference

This spring, our K-5 students at Ninilchik Elementary had a truly inspiring experience through the Artists in Schools program. With the guidance of Homer musician and sound healer Michelle Morton, students wrote original songs, explored rhythm with percussion instruments, and expressed their feelings through drawing and sound. It became a powerful outlet for creativity, connection, and emotional growth that our students rarely get to experience at school.

As a small rural K–12 school and a Title I site, we serve a diverse group of learners, including a high number of students in special education. Arts education like this gives our students something that’s too often missing — a chance to connect, to create, and to feel truly seen.

We are so grateful to Michelle and the Bunnell Street Arts Gallery, to the Alaska State Council on the Arts, and to funders like KPBSD Title I, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rasmuson Foundation for making this residency possible. We need more — three weeks of art isn’t enough — our students deserve more consistent access to the arts throughout the year.

Programs like Artists in Schools make a real difference. I hope our community and our state leaders will continue to support and invest in the arts for all Alaskan children.

Holly Wiley

Ninilchik

Thanks to Homer Foundation for supporting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity

For the second year in a row, the eighth grade class of Chapman School has been selected as the only school in Alaska to participate in Expedition Yellowstone. Thanks to a generous grant from the Forquer/Seaton Public School Educational Enhancement Fund, a Field of Interest fund, managed by the Homer Foundation, we were able to fully fund students to attend this program.

Expedition Yellowstone is a curriculum-based residential educational program that allows students to learn and explore the many wonders that can be found in the outdoor classroom of this national park. Subjects studied included geology, ecology, and the culture and history of Yellowstone. Students were also able to transfer or compare what they learned to the geology, ecology, and cultural aspects of Alaska.

The Homer Foundation’s support played a key part in helping students make it to their destination by alleviating some of the travel expenses. Living in Alaska, travel is not cheap — especially when traveling to the Lower 48. Travel expenses included bussing (to and from Chapman to Anchorage and to and from Helena, Montana to Yellowstone), airfare from Anchorage to Helena, Montana; six nights of lodging, and food for this weeklong trip.

We believe this program embodies the spirit of personal connections and stewardship that the Homer Foundation reflects. The students, chaperones and parents are most appreciative of this grant. For many students, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we are most grateful for the support.

Holly Bobo

Teacher and chaperone, Chapman School

Thank you for supporting arts presentations

Homer Council on the Arts is grateful to the Opportunity Fund, a community fund managed by the Homer Foundation, for supporting performance and outreach activities by Unit Souzou this past March. This is one of the most unique and complex performances that HCOA has presented in recent years. These funds not only supported the visiting taiko drummers from Portland, Oregon, but covered transportation expenses for Fireweed Academy students to attend an outreach event at Homer High School.

Thank you for supporting inspiring live performance and outreach opportunities in our community!

Scott Bartlett, Executive director

Homer Council on the Arts