North Idaho Eye donates a merry $30K to local causes this holiday season
Members of the North Idaho Eye Institute team present a check for $2,000 to Children’s Village in Coeur d’Alene. Children’s Village is one of 17 local nonprofits that received part of a $30,000 gift from North Idaho Eye this holiday season. From left: North Idaho Eye Institute employees Jamie Shain, Alysse Craner, Sydnee Latuseck, Dr. Drew Thomas, Dr. Whitney Smith and Dr. Sara Duke; and Children’s Village CEO Vanessa Moos.
Courtesy photo
COEUR d’ALENE — For more than 30 years, the doctors at North Idaho Eye Institute have traveled to developing nations to treat patients in need of eye care, but can't afford it. Patients in Peru, Guatemala, Honduras and other countries have received medical care from a large contingent of medical volunteers from North Idaho.
“We’ve always had a philanthropic component here with doctors traveling to different countries to volunteer,” North Idaho Eye Institute executive director Ben Gaby said. "Last year, we decided to formalize our local efforts more – to give more at the local community level.”
Those efforts have taken off. Funding comes directly from North Idaho Eye Institute which, this year, donated $30,000 split 17 ways. Doctors from the institute, who are also co-owners, solicit requests from local nonprofits and other groups throughout the year.
"Every owner lives and works in this community, so they get a good feel for where the greatest needs are,” Gaby said.
Gaby said he believes this is just the beginning of a renewal of localized charity work. The current group of doctor-owners is the second generation of doctors at the clinic, which was founded in the early 1960s. In some ways, he said, it’s a return to the clinic’s grassroots.
“This business is homegrown,” Gaby said. “We’re in a position to reinvest in the community that has been so good to us, as well as continuing our international efforts. That’s what this is all about – giving back to North Idaho.”
Organizations that received a portion of the $30,000 this holiday season:
•Coeur d’Alene Music Conservatory
•Coeur d’Alene Public Library
•North Idaho College
•Ponderosa Elementary School
•Northwest Expedition Academy
•Hayden Meadows Elementary School
•Bryan Elementary
•Sorensen Magnet School of the Arts and Humanities
•Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy
•Lake City High School
•Coeur d’Alene High School
•EXCEL Foundation
•Union Gospel Mission
•CDA Backpack Program
•Hospice of North Idaho
•Idaho Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired
•Children’s Village