The Lockheed Martin Employees’ Foundation (LMEF) recently awarded a grant of $1,500 to the YWCA of Kitsap County to support its client fund. The fund plays a pivotal role in assisting families with special needs not served by other agencies.

Items funded in the past included helping a struggling, single mom moving from welfare to work with the purchase of steel-toed boots for a new job, to helping purchase bus tickets for a family suffering from abuse when they need to leave town or when the shelter is full. Arrangements can be made with local motels when a family is in need of shelter.

“This will make an enormous difference in the lives of the families who seek shelter through the YWCA ALIVE Program,” said Linda K. Joyce, Executive Director.

Located at 905 Pacific Avenue in Downtown Bremerton, with a satellite office on Bainbridge Island, and the only confidential emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence in Kitsap County, the YWCA provides advocacy and referrals to domestic violence victims and their families, families with children at-risk for neglect and abuse, pregnant and parenting teens and at-risk youth.