Foundation has grants galore

News release

On April 11 nonprofit organizations are welcome to apply to the following grants so long as:

• The nonprofit is in good standing with the IRS, SOS and DOJ (AG).

• The nonprofit qualifies for the grant cycles (please read grant guidelines carefully).

• The nonprofit directly serves El Dorado County residents in the specific areas that some of the individual grants require.

Visit eldoradocf.org/grants-catalog to apply. All applications will be due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday, May 18. Grant recipients will be notified in June. For any questions about any of these grants email Kathy Haven at kathy@ eldoradocf.org.

Friends of Seniors Grants: Friends of Seniors, a fund of the El Dorado Community Foundation, will be awarding a total of up to $15,000 in grants to El Dorado County nonprofits that support the wellness, life enrichment, dignity and independence of seniors (60+) residing on the Western Slope of El Dorado County. If your organization received grant funding from Friends of Seniors in 2022, you are not eligible to apply again until 2024.

GIVE Tahoe Grants: GIVE Tahoe supports nonprofits who work for and within the South Lake Tahoe Area. The GIVE Tahoe Grant is open to all nonprofits, agencies and schools serving the residents and communities of South Lake Tahoe. Proposals of up to $5,000 will be considered. This grant does not have a specific focus, allowing the opportunity to respond to South Lake Tahoe’s most important needs.

Veterans TOT Grants: The Veterans Grant program is funded by El Dorado County to support operations, programs or property improvements/repairs that support the veteran community at large. Grants are available in amounts up to $10,000. Applications are reviewed and grants awarded by the El Dorado County Veterans Affairs Commission.

Grow for it!

Cleaning your bluebird nesting boxes

Ilove having nesting boxes for the western bluebirds. They are not shy birds so you can place a box near your garden and around your home. They are bug eaters so having them near the garden is a good thing.

Having nesting boxes brings the responsibility for cleaning and maintaining those boxes. In late fall, I take down and open the boxes and clean them out. Remove old nesting material, spiders and webs and other debris. Sometimes wasps build nests in the boxes so you will need to remove the old, abandoned wasp nests, too. Although it is now late in the season, if you have not cleaned out your bird boxes and nesting has not started in your area, then take this small window of time to clean them out.

Tools:

• Gloves to remove old nesting material and protect your hands from bugs. n See Gardener, page B6

• Screwdriver to open side panel and to tighten other loose screws.

• Wire brush to clean out spider webs, old wasp nests and other debris.

• Hammer to gently bang the nails back into place.

• Tie wraps (aka zip ties) — I use these to attach my box to the tree. Be sure to use commercial grade, UV resistant ties. I like tie-wraps because they will break instead of girdling the tree like wire or rope.

I do not use any pesticides nor detergents when cleaning the boxes. I simply brush them with a wire brush.

If you want to build new boxes here are a couple useful links: birdwatching-bliss.com/ bluebird-house-plans.html and nabluebirdsociety.org/PDF/ NABS%20factsheet%20-%20 Nestbox%20Recs.pdf.

Birds are picky creatures. They like their nesting sites just right.

Engagement

Jacob Thomas and Caitlin Ross

Mike and Lynda Thomas of Placerville are happy to announce the engagement of their son Jacob to Caitlin Ross. Caitlin is the daughter of Dennis and Lisa Ross of Centennial, Colo.

...to

our NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION sponsors

...And

49’er Bail Bond

Adco Driveline and Custom Exhaust

Adept – Med International, Inc.

ARCO AM/PM

Artistic Beads & Studio

Best Western Stage Coach Inn

Burke Junction

CAPTRUST

Carbon Copy, Inc.

Conforti Plumbing

Edwards A-1 Appliance

El Dorado County Fair

El Dorado Irrigation District

EN2 Resources, Inc.

Farmers Insurance – Sean Smith

Frank’s Body Shop, Inc.

Gordon Mott Roofing Co., Inc.

Kamps Propane Lake Oaks Mobile Home Community Mountain Roofing Systems

The Green House Café

Triangle Well Drilling Western Sign Co., Inc.

WSD

The Mountain Democrat’s Newspapers in Education program (NIE) was established in 2002 to provide and educational service arm for the newspaper. NIE’s goal is to assist schools, teachers and parents in developing future readers who can use the newspaper to enrich their own lives and participate responsibly in their community, state and nation.

Not only does the Mountain Democrat provide valuable information on a wide range of topics daily, it also can be used as a resource for teaching numerous skills to various age groups and in many different disciplines. It helps students connect classroom lessons to the real world around them and develop a positive and relevant lifetime reading habit. A study released by the Newspaper Association of America Foundation shows data indicating students in NIE programs do 10 percent better on standardized tests and that significant increases in student performances occur, especially in middle schools. Donations from our sponsors allow our educators to order the newspaper for their classrooms free of charge. These sponsorships contribute to literacy and allow thousands of teachers and students in El Dorado County to learn from a living textbook, the Mountain Democrat, and develop a life-long reading habit that will benefit them throughout their lives.

Jake attended Sierra Accelerated, Camino Elementary and graduated in 2009 from El Dorado High School. He later graduated from Quincy University, Quincy, Ill. Jake is a pilot for Southwest Airlines.

Caitlin is a 2012 graduate of Heritage High School in Littleton, Colo., and graduated from Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, Colo. Caitlin currently works for the ADP Human Resources Department.

The couple will be married in Colorado in July 2023. Ben Thomas, brother of the groom will stand as best man. Family will attend as the Rev. Russ Logan officiates. A trip to

Placerville is planned to celebrate with friends and family locally as well as a honeymoon abroad later in the year. The couple will reside in the Denver, Colo., area with their dog Gus.