KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kayla Desroches/KMXT
A local grant program just distributed a large donation to community nonprofits.
In 2016, Czech company Skoda flew to Kodiak and filmed a commercial on the island for its new SUV, Kodiaq with a q, which played on the island’s wild reputation.
At the car’s unveiling, Skoda announced an award of $25,000 to the Kodiak Community Foundation as a gesture of thanks for Kodiak’s contribution.
The Kodiak Community Foundation board has finally announced the recipient after much deliberation. Out of 22 applicants, 11 were successful.
The largest grant amount of $4,500 goes to St. Mary’s Catholic School for a new stage and the organization of a new community event.
KCF’s Program Manager, Brianna Gibbs, says it would be based on Ketchikan’s the Monthly Grind.
“And it’s essentially a community talent show, a monthly coming together to showcase different skills or talents of community members which we all on the board really loved the idea of bringing – especially in the winter months here in Kodiak – the community together and getting to know your community through maybe their exciting skill sets.”
Some of the other grant winners are the Humane Society of Kodiak for its spay and neuter program, the Brother Francis Shelter for its homeless prevention and rapid rehousing program, and the Baranov Museum for security.
Baranov Museum executive director Sarah Harrington says the museum property has seen some traffic from the transient population, and one feature they’ll install is a video alarm system.
“So that that way we can see who’s on the property at any time, see if anyone got into the building. It should have a simple siren feature so that that way if we were to determine that it was something that we were concerned about, we could immediately respond, which is so valuable because then we don’t have to wait for the police department or myself to come down and address an issue, and even those few moments could be precious.”
She says they’re also considering extra lighting for the outside of the building.
While Skoda provided the bulk of the grant, KCF ended up distributing an extra $5,000 from its own funds.
