Record-breaking year for Garden Tour; $38,500 distributed to nonprofits
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press The Coeur d’Alene Garden Club’s 20th annual Garden Tour in July raised $38,500, which was distributed to 16 nonprofits at North Idaho College on Thursday. Front row, from left: Bonnie Warwick, Garden Tour chair; Emily Aizawa and Rosa Mettler, Children’s Village; Evalyn Adams, Turkeys and More; Sharon Bosley, Kootenai Environmental Alliance Water Resources; Kim and Mike Normand, Shared Harvest; Jill Marfice, Make-A-Wish; Jessica Mannon and Deborah Ferguson, KEA’s Gathering Garden at NIC; Chauntelle Lieske, Safe Passage; and Cathy Evjen, Garden Club presi…
DEVIN HEILMAN/Press Turkeys and More coordinator Evalyn Adams, right, happily thanks Coeur d’Alene Garden Tour chair Bonnie Warwick as club president Cathy Evjen applauds Thursday afternoon on the lawn at North Idaho College. The Garden Tour raised $38,500, which was distributed to 16 local nonprofits.
COEUR d’ALENE — Earlier this summer, guests of the 20th annual Coeur d'Alene Garden Tour bought tickets to see beautiful gardens, including those of Duane and Lola Hagadone.
That money has come back around to help in many ways, even going back to its garden roots. Jessica Mannon, coordinator of Kootenai Environmental Alliance's Gathering Garden on the North Idaho College Campus, shared how Garden Tour funds will help the Gathering Garden grow.
"We’re developing a food forest, and this will help contribute to the growth of that project,” she said. "This will really help purchase a lot of the plants that we need, and it will probably contribute to different tools and irrigation."
The Gathering Garden was one of 16 local nonprofits that received a portion of the Garden Tour's proceeds during a distribution on the lawn of NIC's Molstead Library on Thursday.
This year was a record-breaker for the Coeur d'Alene Garden Club. The Garden Tour brought in a whopping $38,500 that will go back into the community through the work of the various organizations that were gifted funds.
“You just feel like you’re overwhelmed with gratitude that you can do so much,” said Cathy Evjen, Garden Club president. “Plus, our benefactor, the Hagadones, contributed so much to our success. We’re so happy to fund more charities this year."
Animal Allies of Idaho founder Ronnee McGee was all smiles as she discussed where the Animal Allies portion will go.
"It will help us spay and neuter just about 80-100 cats and dogs in northern Idaho for people who can’t afford the full cost themselves," she said. "With the huge success of this year’s tour, they were able to not only help more organizations, but more importantly, help each organziation with a bigger donation, which makes a bigger difference."
Other recipients: NIC Foundation Endowment, NIC Dual Enrollment Scholarships, Hayden Meadows Elementary Greenhouse Project, Skyway Elementary, Children's Village, ElderHelp of North Idaho, ICARE (St. Vincent de Paul), Second Chance Pet Rescue, Turkeys and More, Kootenai Environmental Alliance Water Resources, Shared Harvest Community Garden, Make-A-Wish Idaho, Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center and Kootenai Recovery Community Center.