Avista Foundation Awards Fourth Quarter Grants Totaling Over $40,000 Awards Include Over $11,000 to 22 Regional Food Banks SPOKANE, Wash., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Avista Foundation has announced the awarding of its fourth quarter grants totaling $40,400 to 32 non-profit organizations, 22 of which are regional food banks. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990629/AVALOGO ) In announcing the awards, Anne Marie Axworthy, president and chairman of the board of the Avista Foundation, said it has been a positive first year of operation for the Avista Foundation. "There are so many organizations that are making a meaningful difference in the lives of the people in our region," Axworthy said. "It is rewarding to know that the Avista Foundation has been able to support these organizations in serving their clients." During 2003, the Avista Foundation has awarded almost $74,000 to 43 non- profit organizations operating in areas served by Avista Utilities. Organizations and/or programs selected for funding in the fourth quarter by the Avista Foundation's board of directors were: -- Tech Corps Washington, Spokane -- $2,500 towards establishing a Student Tech Corps program at Horizon Middle School in the Central Valley School District. The program will provide technology training for students to establish a Student-Run Help Desk to support the school, will provide technology and general workplace skills to students and will provide students with a mentoring opportunity with local technology professionals. -- Spokane Children's Theatre, Spokane -- $650 for the Children's Theatre Outreach program, which provides opportunities for homeless and disadvantaged children and their caregivers to attend a theatre production. -- Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Spokane -- $2,500 for the Parent Education Program, a 12-week parenting class, which gives parents the support and skills needed in order to create a stable and nurturing home environment for their children. -- Connoisseur Concerts Association, Spokane -- $1,500 for the educational support activities of the Northwest Bach Festival. -- Eastern Washington University Foundation, Cheney -- $2,000 for the Jazz Dialogue Festival, which provides students at the middle school, high school and collegiate level with clinical and classroom learning led by professional guest performers. -- Interfaith Hospitality Network of Spokane, Spokane -- $3,000 for the purchase of personal care items for homeless families and for emergency assistance to prevent former guests from becoming homeless again. -- Center Pointe, Spokane -- $1,000 for a ceramics class for clients with disabilities to improve their self-confidence, self-esteem, independence, social skills, communication and participation in the world around them. -- Southern Oregon Goodwill, Medford, Ore. -- $3,000 towards enhancing technology infrastructure that will improve the organization's efficiency and services offered to clients. -- Armed Forces and Aerospace Museum, Spokane -- $4,920 in seed funding for updating informational materials on the Museum's capital campaign to construct a new facility to preserve the military history collection from the former Fairchild Heritage Museum. -- Sojourners' Alliance, Moscow, Idaho -- $3,000 for support in providing housing, education and counseling to homeless men, women and children in the Moscow area. -- Second Harvest Food Bank, Spokane -- $5,000 for general support. Grants of $500 were awarded to the following organizations for their food banks: -- Asotin County Food Bank Association, Clarkston, Wash. -- Community Action Center, Pullman, Wash. -- Community Action Partnership, Lewiston, Idaho -- Troy Food Bank, Moscow, Idaho Grants of $250 were awarded to the following organizations for their food banks: -- Addy Rescue Mission, Addy, Wash. -- Bingen Food Bank, White Salmon, Wash. -- Bonner Community Food Center, Sandpoint, Idaho -- Chewelah Food Bank, Chewelah, Wash. -- Colville Food and Resource Center, Colville, Wash. -- Community Action Partners, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho -- Community Action Partners, Kellogg, Idaho -- Connell Food Bank, Connell, Wash. -- Goldendale Food Bank, Goldendale, Wash. -- Kettle Falls Community Chest, Kettle Falls, Wash. -- Lincoln County Care and Share Center, Davenport, Wash. -- Northport Food Bank, Northport, Wash. -- Othello Food Bank, Othello, Wash. -- Post Falls Food Bank, Post Falls, Idaho -- Ritzville Food Pantry, Ritzville, Wash. -- Sprague Food Bank, Sprague, Wash. -- Warden Food Pantry, Warden, Wash. Formed in 2002, the Avista Foundation focuses its giving in the areas of: -- education -- K-12 education particularly in the fields of science, math and technology; and higher education including scholarships -- vulnerable and limited income populations -- providing assistance to those on limited incomes and support for initiatives to reduce poverty -- economic and cultural vitality -- supporting projects that help communities and citizens to grow and prosper. Information on the Avista Foundation is available at http://www.avistafoundation.org/ http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990629/AVALOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Avista Foundation CONTACT: Debbie Simock of Avista, +1-509-495-4174, or Web site: http://www.avistacorp.com/ Web site: http://www.avistafoundation.org/

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