CDA: Giving hearts in the Lake City

Recently, a director of a nonprofit in a different city told me that he has learned to distinguish between communities that are wealthy versus those that are generous — apparently one doesn’t necessarily follow the other. What about Coeur d’Alene, he wondered? This was a very easy question to answer.

As the leader of CDAIDE, a new nonprofit that focuses on serving local workers in the restaurant and hospitality industry through emergency financial assistance and positive relationships, I have been wowed time and time again by the giving hearts of the businesses and people here. In the past few months, CDAIDE has received many generous donations that have been unsolicited — we didn’t even ask.

Daft Badger made us their community partner for July and donated more than $2,000 — an incredible gift from a small, independent business. The CDA Chamber Music Society under the direction of Terry Jones held a fundraiser on our behalf. Beer d’Alene created a promotion with Atomic Threads to sell snazzy hats to support CDAIDE and to help raise awareness about the work CDAIDE does. Dean Opsal with Southern-Odom Spirits West hosted a wonderful benefit for us at the Boathouse Bar and Grill.

We are so grateful for these partnerships and for our big-hearted community.

If you work in the industry and know a hospitality worker who could use a hand up, please visit us at www.cdaide.org and let us know how we can help.

REBECCA SMITH

Board Chair, CDAIDE