The Fund for Women and Girls (FWG) made a $25,000 donation May 1 to the Jefferson County Community Foundation’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to support response and recovery efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Jefferson County.

The Fund for Women and Girls has been dedicated to supporting women and girls in Jefferson County since 2006, and its primary fundraiser is the Port Townsend Wearable Art Show, started 10 years ago this month.

On this anniversary, the usual show had to be canceled due to the pandemic, but to keep the spirit alive, the Wearable Art Show team pivoted and launched a mask contest, to which entrants from 33 states and 18 countries have sent their photos and videos of 231 mask creations.

More than 80% of the people who had already purchased tickets before the Wearable Art Show’s cancellation took no refund, instead donating the money to the Fund for Women and Girls, whose steering committee then decided to augment that with its annual grant funds of $12,000, to donate a total of $25,000 to the Jefferson County COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund.

“When we had to cancel our 10-year anniversary show, we knew the community we work so hard to support needed our help more than ever,” said Tina McCleese, chairperson of the steering committees for both FWG and the Port Townsend Wearable Art Show. “It was clear that our funds should go directly to those in greatest need during this pandemic.”

The FWG gift augments donations from 360 other people and organizations, and brings the total amount raised for the Jefferson County COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund to more than $385,000. To date, the fund has already granted $292,000 to Jefferson County nonprofits that provide services to people impacted by COVID-19.

The public can visit PTWearableArt.com to vote for their favorite masks.

For more information about the grants, visit JCFgives.org.

Donations can also be made at JCFgives.org, and the foundation charges no fees for administering those funds.