Garden Club gives to others
<p>The Coeur d'Alene Garden Club distributed $13,000 Tuesday to local non-profit organizations following the 13th annual Garden Tour in July. Front row from left, Roberta Ewert, from Hayden Meadows Elementary, Bonnie Warwick, Garden Club tour coordinator, Beth Barclay, iCARE program of St. Vincent de Paul, and Rondi Renaldo, executive director of the Kootenai Humane society. Back row from left, Tinka Schaffer, development director of The Children's Village, Ellie Maitre, Garden Club president, Doreen Irving, treasure of ElderHelp of North Idaho, Kim Normand, Shared Harvest Community Gar…
The Coeur d'Alene Garden Club nurtured more than pansies and petunias on Tuesday.
It also sprinkled some relief on local nonprofits.
In stride with its annual ritual, the organization handed out $13,000 to eight local charities, most of it proceeds from the 13th annual garden tour.
"When we first started the Garden Tour, it was always our thrust to give back to the community," said Bonnie Warwick, Garden Tour chair, speaking outside a club member's home in Dalton Gardens. "All of our proceeds go to charities."
This year's recipients included the Hayden Meadows Elementary greenhouse, the North Idaho Violence Prevention Center, the Children's Village Foundation, the Kootenai Humane Society, Shared Harvest Community Garden, ICARE, ElderHelp and The North Idaho College Dual Enrollment Credit Scholarships.
Pam Noah, development coordinator with the NIC Foundation, said the $3,000 from the Garden Club will go toward scholarships for high school students enrolled in college classes.
"They're not eligible for regular financial aid, because they're high school students, so this is the only money available to them," Noah said, estimating that 20 students would benefit. "The more scholarship money available, the more students we can help."
The $500 given to Shared Harvest will help grow produce that's given to local food assistance facilities, said president and founder Kim Normand.
"This basically helps us get supplies, pay taxes and all the utilities, all the stuff that keeps us really rolling," Normand said.
Donations are very welcome these days, added Beth Barclay, director of ICARE Children and Family Advocacy Center.
The $1,000 from the Garden Club will benefit one-on-one parent coaching and other family services, she said.
"It's harder to get funding and the need has certainly increased," Barclay said. "So we really, really appreciate the support."
This year's Garden Tour only raised about $12,500 this year, said Garden Club President Ellie Maitre.
The club kicked in the rest from its seed money to reach its usual standard of $13,000, Maitre said.
"We try to round it up to $13,000 to give away more," she explained. "We feel we still did well. We just try to give as much as we can."