Events to raise 'critical' funds
COEUR d'ALENE - Several events are coming up that will benefit Children's Village.
Tinka Schaffer, Children's Village development director, said the events "are critical to our being able to help vulnerable children."
"In this economy Children's Village has been swamped with families in need and we are seeing so many more hard working, yet middle class folks going through serious issues," she wrote in an e-mail to The Press. "While our primary focus is on the children that live at Children's Village and those in our special school, we also help countless other families that need food, clothing, diapers and respite care."
It starts Dec. 8 with a lunch at the Beachouse on Coeur d'Alene Lake Drive from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cost is $14 with a choice of either fish and chips, chicken and dumplings or salmon Caesar salad, plus a beverage.
Reservations are required; call Children's Village at 667-1189 or the Beachouse, 664-6464
The fundraisers continue Dec. 10 with "A Buck for Kids," at Dutch Brothers coffee stands. For each sold from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., Dutch Brothers will donate a dollar to Children's Village.
Dutch Brothers has stands at 118 E. Hanley and 1680 Northwest Blvd.
"We're very excited to celebrate Buck for Kids Day this year and continue to spread the Dutch 'Luv' by helping children in our communities," said Travis Boersma, co-founder of Dutch Bros. Coffee. "All throughout the year, and especially during the holiday season, our franchisees are very committed to supporting our local communities and charity organizations. We're very thankful for their eagerness to give back."
On Sunday, Dec. 12, the band "Jazz Northwest" will give a concert, "An Afternoon of Jazz and Christmas Music," to benefit the Village. The concert is at the Kroc Center at 2 p.m.
This is the second year that the band has presented a special concert of big band jazz music benefiting the Children's Village, and according to band leader David Cooper, "The band is really excited to be performing this year.
"The Kroc Center is a wonderful venue with professional facilities," he said. "It's right here in our own backyard and the guys are really looking forward to performing there."
From a special jazz arrangement of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" to the big sound of Glen Miller's "Jingle Bells" the concert is sure to delight audiences of every age, he said.
The band will also play new arrangements of "The First Noel" and "Silent Night" along with other Christmas favorites.
The members of Jazz Northwest come from a wide variety of backgrounds. In the group are engineers, technicians, businessmen, consultants and teachers in Spokane to Priest River to Coeur d'Alene.
"The common thread that holds the band together is their passion for performing big band jazz," Cooper wrote.
Last year's concert raised more than $1,400 for Children's Village and the goal this year is to surpass that amount.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and those younger than 18, and free for kids 6 and younger.
Tickets are available at Children's Village and Burt's Music or at www.jazznorthwest.net.