STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Advocates have more money for groceries, thanks to employees and guests of Limelight Hotel Ketchum. And men recovering from substance abuse will get counseling.

Limelight Hotel Ketchum employees recently awarded $31,740 to nine nonprofit organizations in the Wood River Valley through their Limelight Ketchum Community Fund.

The awards were announced at a Limelight Ketchum Community Fund Luncheon at which hotel employees had the opportunity to hear about the programs they were supporting from the recipients.

Aliki Georgakopoulos said that employees can choose to donate a couple dollars or more from each paycheck, and the hotel’s parent organization in Aspen augments what employees and hotel guests donate.

Limelight Hotel Ketchum employees and guests have given $225,000 to 35 nonprofits over the past seven years, she added: “It’s improving the quality of life for Wood River Valley residents by providing these grants to nonprofits that provide services to the community.”

Employees also get paid volunteer days.

“I made pies for Thanksgiving baskets at the Hunger Coalition this year,” said Georgakopoulos, noting Limelight Hotel Ketchum employees contributed 1,600 volunteer hours.

This year’s grant recipients:

The Advocates--To provide food for those seeking shelter from domestic abuse, sexual assault and stalking.

Chief Executive Officer Tricia Swartling said The Advocates have seen their grocery bill climb from $15,000 a year to $45,000, thanks to higher grocery costs and more shelter residents. This year the Advocates served 18,000 meals to shelter residents.

The Advocates are available 24/7 to provide confidential crisis counseling and shelter for kids, parents and pets, said Shannon Nichols, The Advocates’ spokesperson. The crisis intervention organization also offers such services as support groups in English and Spanish, career classes and cooking classes.

Ketchum Community Curbside Dinner—To help purchase food for the free weekly homemade take-and-bake meals given community members.

Helen Morgus of St. Thomas Episcopal Church said that volunteers from the church and other organizations, including the Wood River Pickleball Alliance and Sun Valley Culinary Institute, have never missed a Wednesday handing out free homemade meals whether rain, shine, snow or cold.

Since they began in the summer of 2020, volunteers have handed out 11,366 meals prepared by still more volunteers in the church’s tiny kitchen. Contributors have included Hangar Bread, Atkinsons Markets, the Village Market, Cellar Pub, Wise Guy Pizza and Mason Family Restaurants.  

“We hand the meals out, no questions asked. Our recipients include families, the elderly, the retired, the unemployed, the employed. Some days we hand out more than a hundred,” said Dell-Ann Benson.

Far + Wise--To provide activities for low-income families to support academic and social-emotional development, life skills, arts and music exploration and other enrichment opportunities.

Executive Director Laura Rose-Lewis said the group formerly known as I Have a Dream-Idaho was organized to remove financial barriers to post-secondary education. It currently is working with more than a hundred children in kindergarten through fourth grade. It also continues to check in on its first batch of students who have graduated and gone on to college or trade schools.

Flourish Foundation--For the Mindful Awareness Program teaching students in 59 classrooms in grades K-12 mindfulness techniques to improve mental health.

Executive Director Ryan Redman said group facilitators strive to cultivate self-awareness as they teach students how to build a relationship with their minds.

“My mind is my own worst enemy,” he said. “Self-doubt, the stories we tell ourselves--they hold us back so much. We try to open kids’ hearts to the world.”

Added Noah Koski: “We talk about the conversations we have in our minds—are they constructive or destructive?”

Crisis Hotline—To update training materials, policies and guidelines for volunteer responders.

Executive Director Tammy Davis said that the hotline offers crisis intervention and referral service 24 hours a day seven days a week in its attempt to improve the social, mental and emotional health of the community.

The Crisis Hotline answered 749 calls, spending 8,760 hours on the line, during 2023. Responders assisted 232 Latino families with resources and access to programs. They empowered more than 300 adults and youth with knowledge and skills concerning suicide prevention and awareness. They hosted a month filled with education, family gatherings and celebrations focused on strengthening the mental health of Latino community members. Additionally, 30 volunteers were trained to be hotline responders.

Sun Valley Institute for Resilience—To provide a Wood River Middle School compost program through the 2027-28 school year.

Hannah Harris, program coordinator, said that the group tries to teach stewardship skills to youth and make them think about the food they waste in a country that wastes between 30 percent and 40 percent of its food.

The Community Table—To help pay for food and art supplies for picnics designed to bring people together through meals, children’s games and other activities.

Calysta Phillips, a teacher at Sun Valley Community School, said The Community Table has organized 44 events since its inception. It has served up hamburgers and the tilapia that Community School students grow, and last fall it hosted a Pachamanca during which the Peruvian community shared its tradition of creating an earth oven in which to cook pigs, chickens and potatoes.

The endeavor was started in April 2021 after the Souper Supper Soup Kitchen closed. Students from Wood River High School and the Sun Valley Community School have gathered pumpkins for carving and set up a bouncy house on occasion. They’ve held events at such venues as the Balmoral Apartments in Hailey and  St. Thomas Episcopal Church and the YMCA in Ketchum. And they held a barbecue for residents displaced by the Limelight Condos fire in Rotary Park.

“We provide meals, resources, joy and a sense of belonging,” said Phillips.

The Senior Connection--To provide caregiving services for Blaine County seniors.

A lot of people think The Senior Connection just serves lunch, said Mary Simms, spokesperson for the Connection. And it did serve 25,000 meals this past year--up about 5,000 from the year before. But it does so much more, she added. This year, for instance, it provided 250 fitness classes, 7,500 care giving hours, 3,000 rides to doctor’s and other appointments and 293 days of memory care.

“A lot of people think The Senior Connection is not needed because we have such a vibrant senior community. But we have many who need help to stay in their homes. And, really, we’re for anyone who’s older.  Someone said the best part of lunch at the Senior Connection is hanging out with friends,” she added.

Men’s Second Chance Living—For counseling for up to 32 residents in two sober living homes in Hailey.

Executive Director Sonya Wilander said the sober houses help men not feel so isolated as they transition back into the community after coming out of substance abuse rehabilitation or even prison.

“They have the support of one another,” she said.