STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

A dinner with Boise State University football coach Spencer Danielson, and a jersey and helmet worn by Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty are among the items on the auction block at the 2025 Share Your Heart Ball.

The glamorous ball celebrates the dreams and potential of young campers with cancer and raises money to send them to a week-long camp free of charge.  Money raised during the evening will also help purchase things like art and medical supplies.

“The overarching message for us this year is ‘Dreams Do Come True,’ and we are going to make the dreams come true of one young camper and his family so people can see the impact we’re able to make on these kids,” said Elizabeth Lizberg, Camp Rainbow Gold’s executive director.” I don’t want to give it away, but it involves astronauts and Texas.”

Share Your Heart Ball 2025 will be held at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Sun Valley Resort’s Limelight Ballroom. Tickets are available at https://camprainbowgold.org/share-your-heart/ or by calling 208-350-6435.

Attendees will get to enjoy cocktails and hors d’oeuvres while trying their luck at a variety of games. Following dinner and the live auction bids, they’ll be able to dance away to Jersey Street, a Salt Lake City cover band that performs more than 250 songs covering the gamut from classic rock to country and today’s pops.

“We’ve always been known in the Wood River Valley for throwing a really good party that’s a lot of fun,” said Lizberg. “We’re trying to keep that tradition alive, and part of that is keeping it fresh by introducing a new band.”

Live auction items include dinner with BSU Football Coach Spencer Danielson at the new Renegade Hotel in Downtown Boise. The package will include a jersey and helmet worn by Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty who is expected to go in the first round of the NFL draft.

There’s a Bourbon and Cigar Party for 20 people at Hidden Paradise and the always popular Sun Valley Resort package featuring a Sun Valley season pass, parking pass and ski locker. Mike and Janie Flynn are offering a farm-to-table dinner in a Bellevue barn. And 44North is donating a Cocktails Around the World Party where they’ll teach a small crowd to make cocktails that are popular in different countries.

Yet another package includes tickets to a variety of Boise concerts and events, including the upcoming Post Malone concert.

Lizberg said this past year has been a whirlwind year at Camp Rainbow Gold’s Hidden Paradise camp near Fairfield.

“We’ve had an incredible 18 months of construction because of community support,” she said.

That construction includes 12 new cabins, a new medical building and a fully accessible playground completed this fall with a sports court that includes  opportunities for pickleball, volleyball and basketball.

“Amazing, amazing things allowing us to serve more kids,” she said.

Last summer 150 youngsters attended camp, and that number will be able to expand to 200 campers and volunteers at a time, thanks to the newly built cabins.

This fall 15 families—five more than Camp Rainbow Gold was able to host in the past—were able to attend family camp thanks to the new cabins, and that number will expand, as well.

Camp Rainbow Gold is now embarking on a campaign to build a new lodge housing a commercial kitchen and dining room.

“We just finished the architectural plans so we can get the official numbers of what we need to raise. We’re not sure yet, but probably $5 million,” said Lizberg. “We really need a new lodge to feed our campers in a more organized fashion and to provide indoor space where we can bring everyone in if the weather is bad or if there’s a bear on site.”

The building, which will have a modern camp look, will feature a commercial kitchen that can prepare 200 meals at a time, room for volunteer training, an indoor-outdoor fireplace with outdoor seating and a porch where people can sit outside and eat over a nearby pond.

It will also have a private dining room for smaller group needs.

“It’s nice but reasonable. We don’t need a five-star restaurant—we’re a camp. We just want to provide healthy nutritious meals for the kids,” said Lizberg.

Eight other nonprofits are using Hidden Paradise now.

“We’re told it’s the best in Idaho for kids with medical needs. It may be the best in the Northwest as we continue to build,” said Lizberg. “And with the expansion we’ll be able to reach out to more Idaho families who have kids with cancer.”

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR SHARE YOUR HEART BALL

Volunteers are needed for everything from daytime jobs like setting up the ballroom to checking in attendees and manning the silent auction table during the event. To volunteer, visit https://camprainbowgold.org/ Or, call 208-350-6435.