Angels Over Sandpoint offers a fresh start
SANDPOINT – Whether they’re starting up a new program or building on the popularity of an existing one, the Angels Over Sandpoint have a knack for plowing money back into the community they love.
This month alone, the organization announced the launch of its partnership with the Amber Coffman Campbell Memorial Fund to create what’s being called “A New Direction Grant” while simultaneously gearing up for the 10th anniversary of The Follies – the Angels’ largest annual fundraising event.
A New Direction
As a lasting legacy to the life of Amber Coffman Campbell, who was killed along with her husband in a 2010 boating accident on Lake Pend Oreille, the family’s memorial fund provided the seed money for the new grant program being administered by the Angels Over Sandpoint.
Grants will be awarded to individuals who are making a fresh start by continuing their education through college classes, trade or technical school. The first recipient was a single Bonner County mother who recently left a domestic violence situation and now will be attending classes to become a pharmacy technician.
“We’re funding the whole amount for that course,” said Angels member Kathy Andruzak.
The grants will be awarded twice each year to male or female applicants, with the funding timed to coincide with the start of new semesters, Andruzak explained. Applications are reviewed by a six-member committee that considers individual need, contacts the school and then makes a decision on who will receive the funding. Actual dollars are then sent directly to the school, not to the applicant.
“One of the questions on the grant application is: ‘How are you going to pay this forward?’” Andruzak said. “The answer our recipient gave was that she hoped she, in turn, could take this information to other women and help them.
“This grant idea is new for us,” she added. “We have other scholarship programs, but we would love to have more foundation-type money come to us to administer as a way to help the community.”
The Follies
The two Angels Over Sandpoint scholarships – which include financial support for high school students who exhibit outstanding community service and involvement in the arts, as well as funding for kids who want to participate in Sandpoint Parks & Recreation programs but can’t afford it – were a direct result of the money raised through the group’s first outing of The Follies some 10 years ago.
Today, the R-rated variety show has become the group’s single most effective fundraising vehicle.
“Last year, The Follies cleared a little bit over $30,000, and we turned around and gave all of that right back to the community,” said Gail Fendley, who has produced the show since its first year.
As the event prepares to celebrate a decade of fundraising – mixed with ribald frivolity – Fendley and a host of other volunteers have doubled down with two back-to-back weekends of performances for the 10th anniversary.
“That first year, a lot of people worried whether we should even do it again,” the producer said. “And here we are 10 years later doing four shows.”
Filling the four dates with enough acts won’t be a problem, she added, since the past nine years of performances allows for a ready made “best of” format.
Along with past favorites, eight new acts will join the roster this year, featuring a crop of talent that showed up for last week’s auditions.
“There wasn’t a bad one in the bunch at the auditions,” Fendley said. “So we took all of them.”
Emcees for the shows will be Kate McAlister a.k.a. The Queen of Ireland, and Jimmy Armbruster a.k.a. The Rev. Jimmy Staggers.
The Follies have become so popular that the Angels had to cement the date as the first weekend in March so visitors can schedule their Sandpoint vacations accordingly.
“We get a lot of people from Canada who come down for the shows,” the producer said. “And we have people who plan their winter ski trips around coming to The Follies.”
Behind the scenes, The Follies takes a team of about 35 people – nearly all of them volunteers – including stage crew, dressing room staff and those who work the “front of house” taking tickets, handing out programs and showing people to their seats.
Lighting and technical aspects are handled by stage show veteran Dave Nygren, with sound provided by Eddie Fontaine.
Fendley estimated it takes about three months to crank up the Follies machine prior to show time.
“When you organize something like this, it starts in November,” she said. “There’s a lot of work that goes on before it ever goes to the stage.”
Without that work, the Angels Over Sandpoint would not be able to take on their biggest projects, such as the annual back-to-school program that provides backpacks, school supplies and new shoes each year to nearly 1,000 children from lower income families in Bonner County. More than a convenience, the backpack distribution program is a financial lifesaver for many households.
“We got a nice note from a mom who received school supplies for her four kids and said it would’ve been $300-$400 she’d have to pay without the program,” Andruzak said. “They wouldn’t have been able to eat that week.”
According to Andruzak, the organization has its fingers crossed that this 10th Anniversary celebration over two full weekends of shows will drum up twice the usual amount of money.
“We hope to raise $60,000 this year,” she said.
“We’re going for it,” said Fendley. “If we can make more money, we can help that many more people.”
Before moving to North Idaho, the producer worked on a Follies-style variety show in Durango, Colo., where several of the acts were based on lip-synching.
“But here in Sandpoint, we’ve got some great singers and dancers and actors,” she said. “I’d say 90 percent of our acts are live – I’m proud of that.”
The Follies have infused the Angels Over Sandpoint with more than cash – the majority of new members become interested in joining the group after attending the show.
“In nine years, we turned the ‘What are they going to think of us?’ idea around to something that’s actually bringing in new members,” Fendley said. “It’s a pretty amazing thing.”
The Follies will be held on March 2, 3, 9 and 10 at the Panida Theater in downtown Sandpoint. Tickets are $25 and go on sale on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2, at Eve’s Leaves, Eichardt’s Pub & Grill, Petal Talk and Sandpoint Online. Must be 21 or older to attend.
For information on the Angels Over Sandpoint/Amber Coffman Campbell Memorial Fund grant, contact Kathy Andruzak at (208) 255-5815.
For the history of the Angels Over Sandpoint, membership information and a complete list of its community service programs, visit: www.angelsoversandpoint.org.