Mattawa Area Food Bank a winner in Legends casino community cash
Toppenish Legends Casino’s Aaron Whitefoot hands a $4,000 check to Jody Bacon and Barbara Walters of the Mattawa Area Food Bank.
TOPPENISH — The Mattawa Area Food Bank was a big winner in the Yakama Nation Legends Casino annual Yakama Cares Program grants to area social service agencies.
Among the $430,000 total handed out, there was $4,000 for the MAFB. Nearly 200 non-profits shared gifts ranging from $1,000-10,000.
Legends Casino celebrates its anniversary and the kick-off of summer each year with the grant distribution. On Wednesday, June 1, the Community Impact Fund awarded its $464,307 to law enforcement, fire and health care needs of the community.
The Casino, which will soon open its 200-room destination casino hotel, is celebrating its 18th year. It employs more than 600 people, tribal and non-tribal. It is operated by the Yakama Nation, which includes the Wanapum Band of the Mattawa region.
Another winner from the ancestral tribal lands of the Wanapums was the Mattawa-Desert Aire Lions Club. It received $1,000.
Yakama Cares, an annual event, donates funds to create positive impacts in the community it serves, and it is funded through the Charitable Contribution Fund. Program distributions have increased each year since 2008. The non-profits submit their applications annually between January 1 and March 31.
The committee for the Charitable Contribution fund received hundreds of applications to evaluate for the 2016 distribution. The applications underwent multiple rounds of cuts before the final selection.
The committee bases part of the selection on the areas of need identified in the community, and this year, those areas included programs dedicated to health and safety, senior citizens, youth and animals all located in communities that Legends Casino serves.
The organizations receiving distribution grants are based in communities ranging from Goldendale to Mattawa and Pasco to Cle Elum. Grants awarded in 2016 range from $1,000 to $10,000 per recipient for books, iMacs and other educational programs for schools to uniforms or equipment for sports teams, survival materials for homeless, vaccines for pet shelters and assistance for seniors.
The Community Impact Fund seeks to aid larger projects that benefit the community as a whole. This fund is administered by an independent committee including representatives of Toppenish or Wapato, Yakima, the state gaming commission, the Yakama gaming commission and Yakama Tribal Council.
For 2016, $464,307 has been designated for six entities including the Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Yakama Nation Police Department, City of Toppenish Fire Department, Toppenish Community Hospital, Toppenish Police Department, and Yakima County Fire District No. 5.