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| This photo, from the Steven Holl Architects website, depicts an earlier model of the Youth Wellness Center at night. |
The Youth Wellness Campus has been awarded a $1 million dollar grant from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust managed by the Seattle Foundation. The grant will be used to support the organization’s ongoing capital campaign.
Mr. Birkenfeld, a member of a Kitsap County pioneer family, passed away in 2005 leaving his substantial estate to be distributed through grants made annually to non-profit organization in Kitsap County and to other select organizations. Grants are intended to build a lasting impact in the communities the organizations serve and to inspire others to give. 2013 marks the eighth year of the funding with a total of $7.8 million in grants made to date, primarily benefitting Kitsap County non profits.
Mr. Birkenfeld grew up in Bremerton and graduated from Bremerton High School in 1956. He was an educator and philanthropist with wide-ranging civic and cultural interests. He was also a resident of Bainbridge Island contributing the vitality to the community through his support of arts, education and environmental causes. “We are incredibly grateful for this generous grant, the mission of the Youth Wellness Campus is very much in alignment with what Mr. Birkenfeld believed in,” said Peggy Templeton, Board President. “This investment should be an inspiration to all of us, it will help create a lasting legacy for community youth for many generations to come.”
The Youth Wellness Campus, being constructed on the site of the former East Bremerton High School, is a public-private partnership focused on collaborative efforts to advance education, nutrition and overall health. Once complete it will be home to leading organizations with programs serving youth and their families in the Kitsap County region. The master plan of the campus has been designed by world-renowned architect and Kitsap County native Steven Holl. (Here, in a February Wall Street Journal feature, Mr. Holl discusses, among other things, the first home he designed, back in 1974, right next to the cabin he grew up in, in Manchester, WA near Bremerton in Kitsap County.)
Current partners in the project include the City of Bremerton, Bremerton School District, Kitsap County Health District, Boys and Girls Club of South Puget Sound and Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children. As the project advances, there will be partnerships with sports and fitness organizations, health care agencies, arts and music programs and, collaborative efforts with local chefs and farmers. Redevelopment of the property includes renovation of the existing gymnasium, construction of a facility to house a variety of services, and building a small year-round marketplace featuring local food and craft products.
Other organizations that were awarded grants for 2013 include the Quilcene Historical Museum, Central Kitsap Food Bank, the Marvin Williams Center and Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County. Previous grants from the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust include awards to the Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound and Lindquist Dental Clinic for Children for the construction of their building on the Youth Wellness Campus. Both organizations are partners on the Youth Wellness Campus. For more information about the campus, please visit www.bywc.org.
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