STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK
Lisa Wild had a challenge for those in the audience.
“If you think that you or somebody you love might die, please raise your hands.”
With that, a sell-out crowd of 250 at the Wood River Women’s Foundation 14th annual luncheon raised their hands in the air as chuckles ran through the audience.
And Wild knew she had their attention as she told how a $35,000 donation the women had made to the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley would make the facility safer and more usable for themselves, friends and families should they ever need it
Wild hospice was one of 11 Wood River Valley nonprofits who were awarded $268,000 worth of foundation grants at the WRWF’s annual meeting held Wednesday at the Trail Creek Pavilion at Sun Valley Resort. The foundation has funded more than 137 grants totaling more than $2.594 million since 2006.
The money the hospice was awarded will allow it to complete repairs and improvements to the tiny West Ketchum house built in the early 1900s. The home is used for staff to meet with families, for support groups, volunteer training and more.
Hospice staff and volunteers assisted with 11 unexpected deaths this past year, and they helped 46 valley residents die, said Wild, the organization’s executive director.
It also helps some live out their last days, such as a gentleman who received daily visits from a nurse who checked his vital signs. Others visited with him, listening to him share his accumulated wisdom and his end-of-life fears.
Hospice volunteers provide a support group for surviving spouses, for whom each months –every months it gets a little easier to tell their stories, Wild said. And they provide a place for young children to ask, ‘What happens to us if you die, mom?”
The people creating artwork and writing poems as therapy—"hey’re really the experts on dying,” she said.
Foundation President Peggy Grove turned over the reins of the organization to Terri Bullock during the luncheon.
Grove recounted how she herself joined the WRWF after Marcia Liebich told her how it was educating women about philanthropy so they could be empowered as decision makers about ways to support the community.
“Here we are as women giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to better the community we live in. We’re making a difference in the world,” said Grove, who will stay on as a member of President’s Council and the nominating committee.
“In my years I learned how hard everybody else works,” she added ahead of the luncheon. “This is a working board—everyone does a job and all I have had to do is stand around and smile!’
Bullock, a retired corporate auditor, said she and her husband Dale Bullock, who worked for an oil company, moved to the Wood River Valley from Battle Ground, Wash., four years ago to the day. But they had been coming here for 15 years.
“I only knew two people outside my children and grandchildren and I desperately needed to meet people and become involved in the community. So, I decided I was going to be involve myself in a Year of Yes, which became two,” she said.
She quickly said yes to the WRWF, saying yes to its social media committee and grants committee, as well as its board.
“I have many friends now--I have found community. Now, I want to live the next chapter of my life by improving this community I call my home. I’m super excited because I think this foundation is sometimes the glue that holds together the community in some ways. “
The application for the 2020 funding cycle will start Nov. 1, 209.
For more information, visit www.woodriverwomensfoundation.org or call 208-309-2530.
The 2019 recipients are:
BLAINE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION--$35,000 to increase awareness of local college scholarship opportunities by developing a scholarship database available to all Blaine County students and hosting a scholarship fair. The grant will also provide for teacher grants, high-needs support to at-risk students, and funding for a capacity building project to broaden community financial support.
BLAINE COUNTY HUNGER COALITION--$35,000 for the Bloom Youth Project to provide paid internships for 10 food-insecure teens. Through their work at the Bloom Community Farm, the interns will learn about growing, cooking and sharing good food, gaining life skills and work experience that can help them break the cycle of poverty. They also will help distribute 6,500 pounds of food to the one in five who are food insecure in the valley.
BLAINE COUNTY RECREATION DISTRICT--$35,000 to support the $2 million restoration of the public Aquatic Center in Hailey, which is Blaine County’s only public pool. The funding will help update and expand the facility which currently receives more than 20,000 visitors per year. The facility offers swimming instruction, swim team competition, aqua aerobics, lap swimming and leisure swimming.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CENTER--$2,575 to provide updated scientific materials for the ERC’s youth programs, including in-school and after-school programs, and overnight summer camps for about 3,800 pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout the Wood River Valley. Through hands-on outdoor learning, the ERC empowers students to become the next generation of environmental stewards.
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE OF THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY--$35,000 This to allow the Hospice to complete repairs and improvements to their building, built in the early 1900s. The building is used to meet with families and support groups, train volunteers, provide office space, and store equipment.
IDAHO ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG CHILDREN--$11,895 for the “Ready! For Kindergarten” program, which conducts workshops for parents of 3- and 4-year-olds to teach them to engage their children in purposeful play that prepares them to enter kindergarten with grade school readiness skills. The program will reach 30 families.
IDAHO BASE CAMP—$20,000 to fund a comprehensive afterschool program for Bellevue and Alturas 3rd through 5th grade students by offering scholarships to students and compensation for a lead educator who will introduce them to the natural world. The program includes transportation from school.
MEN’S SECOND CHANCE LIVING--$20,000 for house start-up funds and renovations for safe house for men recovering from alcohol and/or drug addictions. This grant includes money for the operating budget to enable men to rebuild their lives and transition to independent, productive, substance-free living.
NAMI WOOD RIVER VALLEY--$23,448 for two part-time staff members to assist in the oversight of the Adult Family Education/Support Group and Bluebird Youth Support Group. NAMI’s goal is to double the number of students and families they assist with advocacy, education, help with diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing support.
ST. LUKE’S WOOD RIVER FOUNDATION--$15,000 for Dr. Keith Sivertson Compassionate Care Program created to address the financial hardships created by health crises and hospitalizations facing patients and their families, especially those who are uninsured or under-insured. The program resources include assistance with food, lodging, transportation, medications and medical supplies.
THE ADVOCATES--$35,000 for the Safe Housing First project, which provides transitional safe housing for survivors of domestic violence, their children and their pets. The grant helps provide furnishings and appliances fixtures for their transitional housing service center and 12 new apartments.
The application for the 2020 funding cycle will start Nov. 1, 209.
For more information, visit www.woodriverwomensfoundation.org or call 208-309-2530.