Center seeks new sponsor

SANDPOINT — Organizers of the proposed Bonner Adult Day Center — which will offer respite to caretakers of elderly dementia patients — have spent months rallying support from the community, but with its biggest fundraiser just around the corner, the group remains in desperate need of a sponsor.

Ongoing negotiations with a potential sponsor recently fell through, which puts the organization’s short-term plans in jeopardy.

The center had planned on moving into a temporary downtown Sandpoint location by mid-May, but those plans cannot go forward without a sponsor.

The group is seeking an organization that can handle payroll, approve operations and business plans and take responsibility for hiring BADC employees. The position does not require any monetary expenditures on the part of the sponsor, and day-to-day operations would be the responsibility of center staff members.

A company in the health field would be ideal, due to experience in hiring nurses and various health workers, said BADC organizer Esther Gilchrist. Gilchrist said organizations with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status are also being sought.

The sponsorship hunt comes just a month before the group’s largest, and what many expect will be the most profitable, fundraiser to date. Tickets went on sale Thursday for the center’s June 6 benefit dance, which will feature live music from Sandpoint’s Swing Street Band and a no-host bar from Three Glasses restaurant.

The Swing Street Band is known throughout the area for its variety of music, which ranges from nostalgic, 1940s swing, all the way to modern rock. The band has previously performed at The Festival at Sandpoint’s New Year’s dance, the Coeur d’Alene summer concert series, Spokane’s Davenport Hotel, and countless other venues throughout the Inland Northwest.

The event will take place at the Ponderay Events Center, located behind Sandpoint Furniture/Carpet One, from 7-9 p.m. Tickets cost $10 and are available at Sandpoint Furniture, Eve’s Leaves and Edward Jones. All persons over 21 years old are welcome, and all proceeds will benefit the BADC.

To donate to the BADC, makes checks payable to the Area Agency on Aging, with Bonner Adult Day Center in the memo line. Checks can be dropped off at the Sandpoint Senior Center, located at 820 West Main St. For more information about the center, contact Gilchrist at (208) 263-0569.