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Newsletter Archive

August 2024

SEEING POTENTIAL, NOT POVERTY

We are thankful for your commitment to Kootenai County as we work together to promote the human flourishing of our neighbors. Here's a peak into what we've been up to:

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Dogsmile Camp Scholarships

One of our favorite things about the Christmas for All Year (CFA-Y) program is how unique each request we receive is. We believe our work is most effective when it is tailored to a specific individual, and CFA-Y allows for just that.

Recently, we were able to say "yes" to a request for 6 different children ranging from 10-16 years old to attend a sailing camp through Dogsmile Adventures . Dogsmile Adventures' mission is to bring healing experiences through the activity of sailing. Their community programs focus on under-resourced communities, such as veterans, youth, and those facing the challenges associated with addiction, domestic violence, and physical or mental disabilities.

The kids who received the CFA-Y scholarships to attend sailing camp come from a variety of backgrounds and hardships. One of the moms, Shannon, described the impact Dogsmile's Sailing Camp had on her son this way :

"At first, Riley wasn’t excited about this." "But after the first day of camp ended, he had the biggest smile on his face. I didn’t have to fight him to go another day. He would have spent the entire summer sailing if he could. It was a really good experience for him."

" It was like a flip had been switched in his brain. I think the fact [that] he hung out with positive male role models during the camp was really good for him. This has honestly been one of the most impactful experiences in his life . I’m very thankful for Charity Reimagined and Christmas for All-Year for providing him with this opportunity."

In Riley's words :

"It was really fun." "I learned how to put together a sailboat and how to tie different knots." "We sailed out into the lake and talked. At first we talked about how to sail, and then after we learned how to sail, we talked about" "how sailing can apply to real life. When life gets flipped upside down, you have to learn how to flip it back up. Just like if a sailboat gets flipped upside down in the lake, you have to flip it back up... I would love to be out and sail more. It felt open, and I felt relaxed to be out on the water, [and] they made me feel like family."

We are so grateful for our referring partners who take the time to know their clients and submit these personalized requests to CFA-Y!

Charity Tracker Update - Over 90 Organizations in Our Region & Tracker Training

You've heard us share about Charity Tracker, a nationally recognized software for non-profits and aid agencies to talk and collaborate with each other to do benevolence better. This resource is available at no cost to users in our region thanks to corporate sponsors and donations. We wanted to give you an update on Tracker's use in our community:

Charity Tracker now has over 90 organizations in our region signed on and using it! With this exciting growth, the Charity Reimagined team now offers regular trainings so that Tracker's users can better utilize its many features to reduce administrative tasks and burdens while maximizing services and supports for clients.

Our first training in June had a full conference room of 9 people from 7 different organizations, including St. Pius Catholic Church, Panhandle Health’s Home Nurse Visiting program, Center For New Directions, CDA School District, Newby-Ginnings, and Children’s Village. The hour and a half long training covered basics as well as taking a deep dive into data available through Tracker's reports and how to set up and and track client goals so that client successes can be measured and reported.

At the most recent Tracker Training, two referring partners had a great conversation about how to utilize Tracker to seamlessly refer clients to each other. They have since implemented this strategy into their day-to-day processes.

Louisa Rogers with the Center for New Directions talks about Tracker this way:

"I’ve known about the benefits of Charity Tracker, but it wasn’t until recently that my program fully implemented Tracker into our day-to-day processes. We are now using it for all of our case management, including tracking all the assistance given to our clients. I’m really enjoying the ability to run reports each month to see exactly how many hours we spend with clients and exactly how much assistance we provided. We will be able to use these reports when we apply for grants, showcasing the impact our program has in our community. Utilizing Tracker to its fullest is a game changer for our program."

If you want to jump on the Tracker Train, we are happy to schedule individual strategy sessions to help YOUR organization sign up and streamline processes so that Charity Tracker’s benefits can be maximized for your clients and your organization.

If your organization would like to learn more, please contact Aly at
aedwards@charityreimagined.org .

Live s Changed: "Anna"

The journey towards self-sufficiency is not an easy one. It takes time, and often, one small thing can seemingly derail the progress that has been made.

This has been true for "Anna." After her husband became disabled and they lost their family home several years ago, everything in "Anna’s" life changed.

When "Anna" first met with the Center for New Directions at North Idaho College over two years ago, she was homeless after being evicted from their apartment. Her four children were

in foster care. She was devastated and desperate to create change.

She knew she needed to find a place to live and a good paying job, so she studied hard, earned her CDL, and soon found a good paying job driving a bus. She was able to find stable housing, which allowed her children to be returned to her care. She and her family were back together, and life seemed to stabilize, until her landlord decided to end their lease unexpectedly, sending the family back into uncertainty.

Anna applied for rental after rental with each application being denied. Her past eviction and poor credit stood in the way of renting another home. With her move out date quickly approaching, Anna’s worst fear of becoming homeless again was beginning to look like a reality.

Thankfully, the organizations that have walked closely alongside Anna the past two years know that the journey towards self-sufficiency includes bumps along the way. After advocating to a local property management company that Anna is worth the risk, a Charity Reimagined Referring Partner, Idahope Families , paid for her deposit and Charity Reimagined paid for her first month’s rent through Christmas for All Year .

At this point, things were beginning to stabilize when Anna’s car broke down. Her car needed more work than it was worth, leaving Anna with the only option of renting a car for $550/week. Although not sustainable, she could not risk losing her employment. Fortunately, she had built a small savings account.

The Center for New Directions turned in an application on her behalf for Rides for a Reason , not knowing a Ford Expedition had been waiting at Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC) for the right family. Although Anna had the cash in savings, she chose to take out a loan to purchase the car to begin improving her credit.

Anna’s courage, resilience, and love for her family inspire. With the right resources, she is overcoming the hurdles and bumps in her journey to get out, and to stay out, of poverty.

REFERRING PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

North Idaho Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

CASA supports trained Advocates for 282 child abuse and neglect victims in North Idaho. Advocates investigate child protection cases, represent the child's best interest in court and help find them a safe home with a forever family.

Their vision is that every child victim (age 0-18) in the five northern counties under the purview of the Child Protective Act is appointed a CASA who will advocate for and represent the best interests of the child for the entirety of their child protection case.

Referring Partners are the boots on the ground, our community's Unsung Heroes, serving the poor who refer their clients to Charity Reimagined for specific assistance tailored to our work.

BUSINESS PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

EyeGuys Optical

EyeGuys Optical is a locally owned, independent, optical eye care facility with their own in-house lab located in Hayden, Idaho. Their mission is to provide you with a professional, yet relaxed and friendly environment that makes the whole process of eye care and choosing the best quality eyewear an enjoyable experience.

Business Partners offer their services at a discount in order to meet the needs of those rising out of hardship. They give clients the dignity of interacting in the business world for their needs, not just receiving handouts. The role played by these partners cannot be overstated!

Donor's Corner: Why We Give

A BIG THANK YOU to Coeur d’Alene Rotary Foundation for awarding a $3,000 grant in June to support our efforts to expand the use of Charity Tracker by nonprofits and churches throughout Kootenai County.

The Rotary Foundation champions so many of the principles that we at Charity Reimagined see as critical to our community flourishing: they are dedicated to creating awareness of needs and solutions, collaborating and partnering with front-line providers, networking and influencing community leaders, and providing leadership, financial resources, and hands-on work.

If you're new or would like to learn more, we'd love to grab coffee with you and get connected. Your partnership makes effective charity in Kootenai County possible.

DONATE

OUR VISION

No matter how big or small, no single church, charity, or “helping” organization can meet all needs. But, by all of us working together through communication and collaboration to identify categories of care and responding appropriately, pride can replace shame, hope can replace despair, and lives can be changed.