The Visalia Rotary Foundation will make $97,500 in charitable donations to six organizations as part of its annual grant program

This year’s recipients are:

– $30,000 to the Open Arms House, a hospice care facility.

– $25,000 to the Visalia Emergency Aid Council to help pay for a new food pantry, family resource center and education center.

– $20,000 to Family Services of Tulare County to replace the roof on Karen’s House, a domestic violence shelter.

– $10,000 to Friends of the Fox Theater to upgrades to the house audio system.

– $7,500 to the Urban Tree Foundation, to help pay for additions at Miki City Park.

– $5,000 to the Visalia Education Foundation to support the Coats for Kids Project.

“Each year we strive to address a spectrum of community needs,” Steve Chrisman, chairman of the grant committee, said in a written statement.

“This year, we are helping people to die with dignity; supporting the historic Fox Theater [in Visalia], which is hugely important to our downtown; and helping children. The generous donors to the Rotary Foundation are making a significant difference in the lives of people in our own community.”

The foundation is a joint effort of five Visalia Rotary clubs, and the grants are funded through donations by Rotarians and non-Rotarians. Since it was founded in 1990, the foundation has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants.