The CdA Backpack Program, part of the national Feeding America initiative, launched in November 2010 to address child hunger in Coeur d’Alene. Starting with just 16 students at Lakes Middle School, it now provides food kits to more than 550 students across 15 schools within the Coeur d’Alene School District each week — a number that continues to grow as community needs increase.
CDA ACT, Inc. (Celebrating Different Abilities through Art and Community Theatre), formerly Out of the Shadows Theater, is unlike any other theatre organization in North Idaho.
“CDA ACT is unique in that it is one of about a dozen disability theatres in the U.S.,” says Janet Waterdown, board vice president for the nonprofit organization. “Each of our actors have some type of disability, be it physical and/or developmental. We are able to highlight the talents of our special needs community where they would not otherwise get the opportunity to perform.”
St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho’s biggest annual fundraiser, SOUPort the End of Homelessness, took over the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Thursday, October 3, with an impressive show of community spirit.
Anna Schindler was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare liver cancer, on January 27, 2010. After chemotherapy and a complex surgery to remove 70 percent of her liver, Anna’s battle continued with a dual diagnosis of hepatoblastoma and yolk sac cancer. Following her passing in the summer of 2010, her parents, Joe and Polly Schindler, established the Anna Schindler Foundation on January 1, 2011, to support families in the Inland Northwest facing pediatric cancer.
“The programs at this agency, they change people’s lives, and for some people, it saves their lives. We are the voice for the people who don’t have one,” states Donna Brundage, grants development specialist and community outreach advocate at St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho.
My name is Jillian, and I have been an editor and writer here in Coeur d’Alene since 2006, during which time I’ve had the opportunity to work for nine publications across North Idaho, into Spokane and as far as Gig Harbor, Washington. I am grateful to have the opportunity to now focus all my attention, energy and passion on my local community, finding and sharing heartfelt stories, spotlighting the incredible people, showcasing local businesses, organizations and nonprofits, and of course highlighting the many wonderful events our area has to offer.