The Edmonds-based Hazel Miller Foundation has announced its latest grant cycles for 2010, with awards to the following organizations: $5,000 each to the American Red Cross of Snohomish County and the Lynnwood Food Bank; $3,000 each to Rotary First Harvest and St. Vincent de Paul of Snohomish County; $2,500 each to Clothes for Kids, Christmas House and Edmonds Center for the Arts, $1,750 to Village Theatre and $1,500 to the Olympic Ballet Theatre.

American Red Cross of Snohomish County will receive funding to replenish their Snohomish County Red Cross Family Disaster Relief Fund, which was drained in response to the Lynnview Apartment fire that occurred Aug. 9 this year. These funds ensure that emergency services including food, shelter, clothing, prescriptions and other amenities are available to other disaster victims in South Snohomish County.

Lynnwood Food Bank will receive funding to support the general expenses involved with meeting this year’s 67-percent increase in hunger-related need from families struggling from recession and other ailments.

Rotary First Harvest, as a connector between farms and food distribution organizations, will receive funding to support the transportation of fresh foods headed for Edmonds and South Snohomish County food banks.

St. Vincent de Paul will receive funding to support their Beds for Children Program, a program that provides beds and bedding for children living in extreme poverty in Edmonds and the South Snohomish County area.

Clothes for Kids has received funding for their Greatest Needs program, which provides children in low-income families the opportunity to shop for new school clothing free of charge at a special all-donated store promoting healthy self-image as an antidote to the social effects of poverty.

Christmas House has received funding for the purchase of new toys and clothing to stock their annual Christmas Store, a resource for low-income Snohomish county families to provide gifts for their children during the holidays.

Edmonds Center for the Performing Arts has received funding for its 2010-2011 Season. Currently in its third year, Edmonds Center for the Performing Arts will use donations to bridge the funding gap making prominent local, national, and international live performances affordable; attracting broad audiences to the downtown Edmonds area.

Village Theatre, based in Issaquah, has received funding to provide scholarships to low-income Edmonds School District students to attend their Pied Piper program, which includes a school attendance to a book-based live theatre performance and accompanying curriculum support for the classroom.

The Olympic Ballet Theatre has received funding for their December performance of The Nutcracker at the Edmonds Center for the Performing Arts, in order to further subsidize ticket costs and attract the 1,200-plus child groups that made up a part of its audience in 2009.

These award cycles reflect a steady increase in giving from the Hazel Miller Foundation as more funding becomes available. It is expected that this level of giving will increase in 2011. Currently the Foundation has one remaining cycle to tie up year-end giving.

The Hazel Miller Foundation is dedicated to serving the citizens of Edmonds and South Snohomish County through programs and projects that serve the public’s benefit, especially in the areas of education and youth services, poverty alleviation and hunger, civic and community services and amenities, the environment, and culture and the arts.

Hazel and her husband, Morris Miller, were committed members of the Edmonds’ community.