STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The COVID-19 pandemic will keep 100 Men Who Care from holding their annual social meeting in the Sawtooth Botanical Garden tonight.

But it has not slowed down the giving of those who participate in the grassroots organization’s philanthropic mission.

In fact, the men handed out $20,750 to organizations on the front lines addressing the needs of the community in the face of the pandemic at its last quarterly gathering.

The men gave $15,700 to The Hunger Coalition, $2,275 to The Senior Connection, $2,225 to The Advocates, $825 to The Crisis Hotline, and $825 to NAMI-WRV.

Following up on the theme of helping pandemic frontline workers, 100 Men Who Care is taking on another theme in this quarter’s giving cycle.

The theme is called “Closing the Education Gap” and it also addresses needs that have arisen out of the pandemic. Men are being asked to make a donation to fund any one or all three organizations that assist local kids with their education during this difficult time.

“Pretty much all aspects of our lives have been uprooted, including the traditional format of education,” noted 100 Men Who Care Founder Marty Lyon. “These three organizations prepare our kids to achieve their highest goals and dreams. Our support will help assure a bright future for not only these young people but a long-lasting benefit to our community, too.”

The three organizations are:

BLAINE COUNTY EDUCATION FOUNDATION NOSOTROS UNIDOS

Nosotros Unidos (All of Us United) was founded in 2017 by two Wood River High School friends—Marisol Marquez and Grace Evans—who had been in the BSCD’s dual-immersion program since kindergarten. They founded it to create a space that would encourage cross-cultural friendships like theirs while providing a platform for leadership development that would inspire a more diverse range of kids to dream big and realize their potential.

The organization puts on events that merge cultural identities. Among them: The Dia de los Ninos, or Day of the Kids. spring carnival. Members have worked with Engage Idaho to increase voter registration. They’ve worked with The Community Library to lead county-wide discussions on immigration, discrimination and “The American Dream.” They have spoken at the Hailey Hispanic Heritage Festival, The Women’s March and Keep Families Together events.

And they’ve co-sponsored speaking engagements, such as Robin Di Angelo’s “Why is it So Hard to Talk About Race?”

They also mentor and tutor middle school students. And they’ve started the valley’s only student-run scholarship committee where they read through essays and applications, presenting monetary awards to deserving seniors. They raised $10,000 to send one of their own to Stanford’s Summer Program—that student will be attending Stanford University in the fall.

I HAVE A DREAM FOUNDATION

This Foundation picked two classes of third-graders—many of whom come from low-income families or whose families employ English is a second language. It has followed them since, offering academic tutoring, life-skills mentoring, counseling and field trips and other enrichment experiences to help give the students a leg up on attending college when they graduate in a couple years.

This spring the foundation conducted a credit recovery program for 53 Wood River High School students who failed classes during the 2019-20 school year. Helping them to recover credits allows them to move on to the next grade with their peers this fall and get back on track to graduate from high school.

The Foundation plans to sponsor a new group of first-grade, low-income youth in the Fall of 2021.

THE SPACE

This new organization helps all students, regardless of socio-economic status, access the tools to prepare for the postsecondary education that bests fits their academic and financial needs. It specifically addresses the proficiency gap between white and Hispanic students in the Blaine County School District when it comes to ISAT testing.

About 42 percent of the student population here are first-generation college students, are learning English as a second language or live in poverty.

Those who wish to donate may make out checks of $100 or more to one or more of the organizations and mail them to Marty Lyon at 106 Red Cloud Way, Hailey, ID 83333. He will forward the checks to the proper organizations.

“This is a time for celebration for 100 Men Who Care, as we will surpass a quarter of a million dollars in gifts, having already given $224,250,” said Lyon. “Looking back to the numerous gifts we have given, none seem quite as important as those which are we are giving during the COVID pandemic. We can all take pride knowing that during this extremely challenging time, we indeed are making a difference.”

PHOTO

Members of Nosotros Unidos have been very involved in community functions, even serving up a few speeches at the Women’s March.