STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Tricia Swartling of The Advocates asked for money to help hire a youth coordinator to work with children who have experienced violence in the home.

Fire Capt. Ryan DeMoe of Wood River Fire & Rescue asked for resuscitation equipment that simulates what first responders encounter in the field and provides immediate feedback to firefighters using it for practice.

And Sun Valley Fire Captain Taan Robrahn asked for money for first responder housing at the Greenhorn Fire Station.

“First responders are living further and further away, and recruiting and maintaining employees is difficult because of housing,” he said. “Every minute it takes us to get to the fire station, the fire grows exponentially.”

Wood River Women’s Foundation members have voted to fund these requests and more, awarding a record $353,450 in grants to 22 Idaho nonprofits serving the Wood River Valley. The requests address a number of needs, including housing, education, emergency, social, therapeutic and outdoor initiatives.

This year’s grants effort was co-chaired by Grants Committee Co-Chairs Linda Segre and Sarah Lurie.

“For 18 years WRWF members have demonstrated extraordinary generosity and this year set yet another record of nearly $354,000 for our pooled grant fund,” said Sandy McCullough, WRWF President. "We are both honored and delighted to join together in support of our nonprofit partners who are doing the difficult and much needed work to deliver services throughout Blaine County.”

The WRWF has awarded more than $3.4 million via 215 grants to Blaine County nonprofits since its founding in 2005. The organization’s 325 members listened to this year’s pitches in mid-March.

Suzanne Stone told how the Wood River Wolf Project wants to change the paradigm of wildlife management as it experiments with non-lethal ways of keeping seven wolf packs in the area from killing sheep.

Ryan Redman of the Flourish Foundation pointed to data showing that mindfulness exercises can mitigate students’ anxiety. The Community Library’s Carter Hedburg and Candida Minino asked for help with outreach for the increasing number of library users for whom Spanish is the primary language, saying that an increasing number of Hispanic youth were among 453 children using the Bookmobile last summer and the 373 kids taking part in summer reading programs.

Sonya Wilander told how Men’s Second Chance Living had 15 applications from men coming out of incarceration or rehabilitation during March and April. They’re required to get a job within two weeks of being accepted into one of two MSCL houses, and they’re required to pay $425 a month rent.

One man came to MSCL on New Year’s Day with just the clothes on his back and nowhere to go, she said.  One graduated from the College of Southern Idaho welding program and now has his own welding business and rents his own place. Two are working as apprentices to get trade licenses. Another received dental care, giving him the confidence to meet people and get a job.

Lisa Wild of Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley asked for money for a LatinX Outreach and automation app to track timecards and mileage. Tammy Davis asked for money for a Crisis Hotline  training program for parents.

“Students are taught about suicide prevention and what to do when experiencing emotional distress,” she said. “We tell kids to reach out to adults, but many of these adults are not trained--they don’t know what to do.”

 Band teacher Patrick Herb asked for money to purchase and repair kettle drums, tubas, vibraphones and other instruments that it checks out to students.

“We’ve moved away from charging students to use instruments because of our philosophy to provide free and robust education to students,” he said. “We do get donations from the community, but parts deteriorate when instruments are sitting in a closet for 20 years—it costs $200 to replace leather parts on horn.”

Herb went on to describe the free performances his students provide the community.

“Band teaches them to work together, it builds a lot of character,” he added. “My former students volunteer for the Advocates…one went to Columbia University and another to Harvard on full-ride scholarship. This kind of environment breeds a hard work ethic.”

Here are the 2023 Wood River Women’s Foundation grants:

• Girls on the Run Southern Idaho—$9,700 
• Hospice and Palliative Care of the Wood River Valley—LatinX Outreach & Human Resource Apps $5,000
• I Have a Dream Foundation-Idaho--Elementary Program New Cohort $20,000
• Idaho BaseCamp—Sahm 5th Grade Outdoor Adventure Education Program $20,000
• Kids Mountain Fund—Rota-Rippers and Rota-Ravens lease equipment $14,000
• Men's Second Chance Living—Extension of Programs $20,000
• North Blaine County Fire District—First Responder Housing at Greenhorn Fire Station $20,000
• The Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault—Youth Services $20,000
• The Community Library Association—Community Outreach Initiatives$17,350
• The Crisis Hotline, Inc.—Neighbors Helping Neighbors Support $12,000
• The Senior Connection—Nutrition $20,000
• The Space Idaho—Afterschool Tutoring $20,000
• Wood River Community YMCA—SummerBridge 2023 $20,000
• Wood River Fire & Rescue—Resuscitation Through Simulation $20,000

• Environmental Resource Center—Expansion of Recycling Education and Outreach $2,200
• Flourish Foundation—Half-time Grant Writer $2,200
• Parent Band Booster Club—Wood River High School Band Programs $2,200
• Unega Mountain Dog Rescue—$2,200 
• Wood River Land Trust Company—Colorado Gulch Restroom Kiosk $2,200
• Wood River Legacy Softball Inc.—Help Girls Hit a Home Run! $2,200

• Wood River Wolf Project—Operational Funding $2,200.

The Foundation’s Focus Grant, a special-purpose grant, was also given a $100,000 grant to add to the $100,000 it was awarded in 2022. The grant helps fund the Wood River Learning Collaborative with the Boise-based Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children.

It recently conducted a survey of child care in the Wood River Valley and is currently looking at ways to address the needs revealed in that study.

To learn more about the Wood River Women’s Foundation, visit https://woodriverwomensfoundation.org/.