CHRISTMAS FOR ALL: Small gifts bring big smiles

COEUR d’ALENE — Christmas For All requests from Tesh clients may sound simple, but vice president Terri Johnson said the anticipation clients have after they submit their applications is like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

“They’re all so excited,” Johnson said. “Once they sign that application, they know the possibility is coming. They call and call and call, asking, ‘Terri, did we get anything yet?’”

Tesh clients struggle with disabilities, and Tesh becomes their home away from home.

Requests coming from the eight clients who applied with Press Christmas For All include things like mattresses, pots, pans and bedding - not handouts but hands up as they do their best to make their way in life.

“(Christmas For All) has provided clients with every item from a winter coat to a bookshelf that held one of our clients' CDs,” Johnson said. “While that might not seem like a big deal, the CDs are his treasure.”

When the client was able to put everything in order on that bookshelf, the look on his face was priceless, Johnson said.

Many clients live in group homes where furnishings are left behind by former residents.

“Marcus,” 23, requested a mattress and bed frame. The young man sleeps on a worn mattress on the floor. He doesn’t have sheets and is sometimes cold, Johnson said.

Getting him a proper bed and bedding will mean that he’ll be warm and comfortable, Johnson said.

Things that many people take for granted make a big difference in the lives of Tesh clients.

Open since 1976, Tesh serves locals with cognitive delays, autism, Downs syndrome, mental health challenges, hearing and vision impairment and cerebral palsy among other conditions.

About 450 clients are served yearly, Johnson said. In Kootenai County, one in five families has a member who needs these special services.

“We have amazing families that support and want the very best for their loved ones,” Johnson said.

Clients as young as 4 participate and that can extend well into adulthood. Their oldest client is in his 70s.

The struggle of living with a disability doesn’t stop Tesh clients from pursuing greatness.

The vocational center within is a hub of activity. Each client has objective goals as they do assembly work and other tasks. With contracts held with local business partners, the work affords clients a modest paycheck and a sense of self-sufficiency.

“Our clients are absolutely amazing at doing the same thing (repetitively) and finding so much pride in it,” Johnson said.

Tesh has a janitorial program where participants perform services around the area. Tesh clients are responsible for the clean restrooms along the Centennial Trail, Farragut State Park, the Riverstone bus station and at Coeur d’Alene and Lake City high schools.

Clients can become leaders and mentor their peers, join a restaurant group and learn how dining out works, learn how to manage money, and practice going to job interviews.

Activity center director Kathie Gilman has been on staff for 17 years. Her specialty is teaching life skills and coordinating things like sewing and cooking lessons.

“The best thing is getting to see the pride and joy when a client makes a realization or learns something new,” Gilman said.

Johnson has been with the organization for 23 years, starting as a part-time office worker. Three staff members have been there for 34 years, she said.

Growing up, Johnson was also exposed to those with disabilities as her brothers are both hearing and vision impaired.

“Watching and seeing how they have dealt with it, I am consistently impressed by them,” Johnson said. “As we grew up my family never treated them any differently than my sister and I. We were all together and everything was expected of us the same. Whether they could hear or not didn’t matter.”

To help Tesh clients and many other Kootenai County residents who would benefit from a hand up rather than a handout, here are four ways to donate to Press Christmas for All:

Mail a check to Press Christmas for All, 215 N. Second St., Coeur d’Alene, 83814.

Call The Press and make a secure credit card donation over the phone: 208-664-8176

Go to cdapress.com. Click on the MENU button, then click on Christmas for All 2021.

Drop off your check at The Press weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.: 215 N. Second St. in downtown Coeur d'Alene.