Pick. Click. Give. helps variety of Valley programs

PALMER — You’ve probably heard about the Pick. Click. Give. campaign and how you can earmark a piece of your Permanent Fund Dividend check for charitable giving.

But what you might not know is exactly how many Valley organizations are on the list of eligible recipients.

A count in the Pick. Click. Give. database turns up 32 such groups. There are the usual suspects — like United Way of Mat-Su and the Food Pantry of Wasilla — but there are also a few you might not have heard of, like Alaska Attachment and Bonding Associates and Meadow Gates Farm Sanctuary, which, according to its Web site, is a rescue organization for bunny rabbits. There are museums on the list and libraries, two community radio groups and a handful of sports and recreation organizations.

Jordan Marshall, a project manager with the Rasmuson Foundation said in an e-mail that, in general, donations from the Valley tend to differ in one key respect.

“Smaller donations per person and higher percentage of individuals giving than Anchorage,” he wrote. “Anchorage tends to have fewer individual donors per capita, but each one gives a larger donation.”

A press release on pickclickgive.org says that as of Jan. 5, 81,805 PFD applications were filed online and 2,975 individuals have made 4,414 pledges for a total of $224,475.00.

“Alaskans are demonstrating their generous spirit as they increase their use of Pick. Click. Give.,” Marshall said in the same release. “Right now we are seeing an average participation rate of 3.6 percent, which is more than double last year’s average rate. This remarkable growth is encouraging for the participating causes that are doing important work in our communities.”

Dodd Shay said this will be his first year participating. He and his wife, Carol Shay, run Alaska Assistance Dogs, which trains dogs that help people who suffer from seizures, post-traumatic stress disorder and other illnesses.

“We’re real small, but we have a dedicated fund-raiser now that probably puts in 70 to 80 hours a week,” Shay said. “We have an expanded board (of directors) so we’re going places.”

Randi Perlman, executive director of Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats, said her organization has been with the Pick. Click. Give. campaign from the start.

“We did get a nice amount of donation,” Perlman said. “Probably more than some and less than many, but we definitely are grateful for all of it.”

She said she couldn’t say how much exactly. But she thinks the program is great. It’s an easy way for residents to give. They can remain anonymous if they want to. And it’s doing good work in the community. Pairing it with Permanent Fund Dividend checks is a great way to go.

“It doesn’t hurt quite as much to give a little bit away,” Perlman said of the yearly checks.

Alaskans for Palmer Hay Flats work to transform that stretch of open land between Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and the Knik River Bridge into a place for family outings and for science education. They’ve installed permanent bathrooms there and this year, put a bridge over Rabbit Slough to complete a trail around Reflections Lake, which is accessible from the Parks Highway.

The Reflections Lake area was once a place famous for raucous parties and gunfire — so much gunfire that the area was shut down this summer to take care of lead contamination. But Perlman said that slowly it has become a family spot.

“We know this because we have so much more use of the area by people who tell us about it, who take the brochures that we leave there,” she said.

There are plans in the works for a science center there. Perlman said she’s looking forward to working with Pick. Click. Give. as long as possible and that she loves to see non-profits receive this kind of recognition and assistance.

“They all do wonderful things for Alaskans all the time,” Perlman said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.