Giving and Helping In Idaho

Giving and Helping In IdahoIdaho is a great place, but it does not escape the challenges of the world. There are those that are hungry and sick here, just like everywhere else. However, here in Idaho, there are many many different charities and foundations that are out there, trying to help those in need of it. Here is a glimpse at two of the remarkable organizations in Idaho.

Idaho Food Bank

The Idaho Food Bank is probably the most well known Idaho charity. This heartwarming organization collects food and money donations for the poor and needy. The food and supplies given to the Idaho Food Bank have saved many, many lives. People that were starving have been given a fighting chance, and those that struggled were lifted up. It is a great organization.

The mission is simple: feed the hungry in Idaho. The food bank receives large amounts of food everyday, store it and redistribute it through several different means. One of those methods is through the Mobile Pantry which delivers emergency food to rural communities that have trouble accessing those resources. Another program is the Backpack Program. This program identifies children at school that don’t have food at home for over the weekends and discreetly gives them a backpack full of food for over the weekend. These are just two of the programs that the Food Bank is employing to fulfill their purpose, but when did it all get started?

The history of the Idaho Food Bank isn't spectacular, but the results of its creation have been enormous. The Food Bank first started in 1984 with warehouses in Boise, Lewiston, Pocatello. It grew steadily from around 200,000 pounds of food being distributed in 1985 to 6.8 million pounds in 2009. This type of success is not a surprise, the good hearts of the people of Idaho have greatly accepted the Food Bank as a part of the Idaho culture and consistently trust and donate to it.

The lives that the Idaho Food Bank have touched are many. This is a testimonial from their website: “Throughout the chaos that has been my life, The Idaho Food bank has been a constant.  When I needed help, when my children were hungry, I knew we wouldn't starve.  When we prospered, I returned the favor.  Thank you, Idaho Food bank, for always being a friend I could come to.”

If you would like to donate to the Food Bank there are many different events that happen throughout the year that you can participate in. Not to mention food drop off buckets that are distributed by the food bank. The buckets are the size of large garbage cans that are placed in many local businesses so that donating to the Food Bank is easier than ever. When the buckets are full they will be collected by the Idaho Food Bank and added to the warehouse.

Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho

If you don’t know what epilepsy is, it’s a condition where your body will involuntarily tense up and you will go into a seizure. The seizures can be violent and the person experiencing it can possibly be injured during one. After the seizure, there can be many different side effects, some of which can be quite harmful. The mission of the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho is as follows: “The Epilepsy Foundation leads the fight to stop seizures, find a cure, and overcome the challenges created by epilepsy.” To do this, the Foundation does a lot of training for school nurses and teachers on how to help someone when they have a seizure. They also offer tips for people who happen to stumble on to someone who is having a seizure. Simply, they are to keep calm, move dangerous things away from the person and just wait for the seizure to end naturally. Do not try to restrain or to move them unless they will hurt themselves or others during the seizure. You should also time the seizure, if it lasts longer than five minutes CALL AN AMBULANCE. You should also alert medical professionals if the person is pregnant, has a preexisting condition, if they have injured themselves in the course of the seizure, or if the seizure happens in water.

The Idaho Epilepsy Foundation became associates of the Epilepsy Foundation of America only only three years after the Foundation was founded. They grew in raising awareness to the public about epilepsy-- the nature, side effects and severity. A member of the foundation, Mike Wetherell, even battled with the supreme court so that the government would understand these things and ended up helping a mother not lose the custody of her children. (She was being tried because they argued that her epilepsy was preventing her from giving her children the care they needed.)

This Foundation is a great program that, along with the Idaho Food Bank, saves lives with their excellent training. Donations to the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho can be given electronically through the Foundation’s website.

These two groupsare proof that Idahoans have great hearts. Here in Idaho, we try to take care of each other. To find out more about Idaho and how to move here visit

http://www.buyidahorealestate.com">buyidahorealestate.com.

http://epilepsyidaho.org/

http://www.idahofoodbank.org/?page=home

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epilepsy

Post a Comment