Back-to-School Blessings

By DEVIN WEEKS

Staff Writer

COEUR d’ALENE — Scouring the Target clearance rack, Shelby Trejos and Post Falls Chamber of Commerce President Jamé Davis searched for deals hidden on the hangers.

"You find some gems, some good ones,” said Shelby, 17, of Post Falls. "I'm finding lots, they have a wide selection of stuff."

It was early Tuesday morning, before the store opened to the public. Shelby was one of 12 kids selected for a $150 VIP back-to-school shopping session with a group of concerned residents that included Davis, Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer, Post Falls Mayor Ron Jacobson and Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger.

"It’s just epic," Northern Lakes Fire Chief Pat Riley said. "It’s one of the coolest things that I get to do. Nobody's hurt, nothing’s burning, we get to make a difference."

This extra-special shopping spree was St. Vincent de Paul of North Idaho's inaugural Back-to-School Blessings, an event dedicated to making sure underprivileged kiddos have brand new clothes at the start of the school year.

"It’s going great. I’m a kid in a candy store,” Shelby said, wearing a huge smile. "This is really cool. I don’t normally shop at stores like this because they’re all the way over here (in Coeur d'Alene)."

The parents relaxed in the store's Starbucks, mingling over coffee and doughnuts as their kids searched for new shirts, pants, shoes and other clothing to send them to their first day of school looking and feeling great.

"It’d be hard to articulate the emotions that have come from this,” said Shelby's mom, Cebrena. "I felt so happy for my daughter because I know that she deserves every bit of it."

Cebrena chatted with Cynthia Upchurch of Post Falls, whose daughter, Enchantlynn, 12, was also roaming the aisles with her local celebrity shopping escort.

"She was super-excited," Upchurch said. "It’s amazing. She’s going to a new school, so she’s very nervous to go to that new school since we’re in a new district. To be able to go with a little more confidence just makes it that much easier to try to get out there and make new friends and not feel like she’s alone."

Back-to-School Blessings has been in the works for about two years as members of St. Vinny's Basic Needs Committee found that many families of the nonprofit's housing and ICARE programs didn't have access to necessary items such as shampoo and toothpaste. The idea for providing these kids with new school clothes came out of the Basic Needs Committee's observations.

"I am so beyond excited," said Kelli Lunceford, housing director for St. Vincent de Paul of North Idaho. "We chose these ages because it's easy for us to help the little ones, expense-wise,” and we like to help the older kids, too, because they can end up being bullied about their clothes or shoes. “We really wanted to give them [all] a head start."

Target executive team leader Greyson Anderson said this kind of community involvement is what Target is all about.

“When opportunities like this arise, we like to be the first to jump on it,” he said. “If we bring joy to some of the families, then we’ve done our job.”

Before the shopping began, St. Vincent de Paul executive director Larry Riley gave the kids their first homework assignment and encouraged them to ask their mentors what it means to "pay it forward."

"I want you to remember that every one of you are VIP shoppers," he said. He told the young people that many of the adults going into the store with them have been in their shoes.

"When they were 7 and 14 years old, they were looking for guidance and leadership, they had good parents in their lives, grandparents, a hard-working mom or dad, but they had moments," he said. "They had moments in their lives, moments that they remember, and these are going to be moments that you guys remember.”

This gift is definitely a moment Shelby will remember.

"That warms my heart a lot, that really does," she said. "It makes me feel like people are still caring, people are still taking care of other people and doing what is right and what is good for everyone’s hearts."