PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
 |
Dear Members,
At our well attended general member meeting yesterday, we were privileged to have two speakers. Our first speaker was Lisa Bearg from the Idaho Community Foundation (ICF). Lisa shared a PowerPoint presentation outlining the Foundation’s mission to help Idahoans make their communities even better through philanthropy. Through their grants and scholarship program, they annually fund approximately 1,800 grants, scholarships, and other support totaling $10 million to Idaho nonprofits, schools, and students. Please take a minute to learn more about how you can not only contribute to the Community Assistance League of Sandpoint Fund, but also establish your own individual fund. You can find them at www.idahocf.org/ or at this direct link to our fund.
ICF recently made some significant changes to their system. As a result, many of you who make automatic contributions to the fund were dropped. Please go to the website above or call Lisa at 208-342-3535 (work) or 208-283-1834 (cell) and she will help you rectify the problem. CAL appreciates your support of our mission.
Our second speaker and the highlight of the day was Carla Peperzak, a WWII Holocaust survivor. She shared her experiences in Holland after the Nazi invasion as it became increasingly difficult and dangerous for the Jews. As a very young woman faced with all the difficulties war brings, she was very clever and resourceful, including “forging” a nursing certificate, and did much to help her family and other Jews survive through her work with the resistance or underground as she called it.
| |||
| 
| ||
She resides in Spokane and is a member of a large group of speakers sharing their experience so that this kind of atrocity never happens again. She ended her talk advising that we need to have respect for all human beings. She says, “if you respect, you don’t hate”. If you missed the meeting, you can read more about her at The Holocaust Center for Humanity: https://www.holocaustcenterseattle.org/carla-peperzak
We were so engrossed in her talk that we postponed our business meeting until April. Please plan to attend so that we can keep you updated on our allotment for grants and scholarships for this cycle as well as the other activities the Board is working on. I look forward to seeing you April 17th at the Heartwood Center, Grove Room, 614 Oak Street, Sandpoint. Join us for coffee, treats, and conversation starting at 9:00 a.m. followed by our meeting at 9:30 a.m. Our speaker will be from Habitat for Humanity.
