Angels top million-dollar giving mark

SANDPOINT — Over the past 17 years, one local organization has raised money a little at a time and, just as quickly as it got its hands on the cash, spread it around the community to help people in need.

Last month, the Angels Over Sandpoint learned the sum total of that ongoing philanthropy had pushed the group’s financial assistance efforts past the seven-figure mark.

“We did our books and realized that we have raised over a million dollars,” said Angels president Paula Marcinko. “All of that money has gone to people in need in Bonner County and to local businesses.”

Reaching this high water mark came as something of a surprise to the Angels, who were aware that they keep making a difference in the lives of local folks, but hadn’t a clue that the tally had climbed to such a lofty level.

“A million dollars?” Marcinko asked, still surprised about the amount. “How did we do that? It’s just incredible.”

The Angels Over Sandpoint had considerably less money to talk about when they formed in 1997. That year, the members — a core group of about a dozen friends — raised $3,000 through a community dance and were the beneficiaries of another $2,000 when the Rude Girls emptied their bank account and donated the money to the new organization.

The funds were donated to North Idaho Bikeways to help build bike paths and also paid for a memorial now known as Kathy’s Bench near Dog Beach — a spot to rest and take in the view that was named after Kathy Pelland, whose spirit of generosity before her death inspired the Angels’ mission.

“After we held the first dance, we all said, ‘Now what?’” Marcinko recalled. “Then we remembered all the stories we heard at Kathy’s memorial service from people who had fallen through the cracks and talked about how she had helped them.”

With those memories as its foundation, a cause was born. Helping community members get through hard times, though, was about the only serious aspect of a group that, to this day, takes pride in not taking itself too seriously.

“Our thing is to host fun events that get people together to raise money and then give the money away to the community,” the president explained.

Their biggest annual fundraiser is The Follies — a ribald, over-the-top take on classic vaudeville shows that features local people in songs, dances, sketches and all manner of other performances that result in a show tailored to grown-ups only.

The variety show covers two nights and celebrates its 12th year of fundraising fun this coming weekend, March 7-8 at the Panida Theater. Always popular with audiences, the shows invariably sell out, as Saturday’s performance did within a week of tickets going on sale, according to Marcinko.

As spring rolls in, the Angels host a high tea — another perennial sell-out — complete with dainty sandwiches, scones and dessert and topped off with a hat parade. June marks the group’s gigantic garage sale and, in September, the Angels team up with Ivano’s Ristorante to host the Italian Open Golf Scramble, this year scheduled for Sept. 19 at Stoneridge Golf Course.

As soon as the money is raised from these events, the Angels Over Sandpoint get busy distributing it to both families and other organizations that reach out to those in need.

“Giving the money away is the fun part, but the stories we hear are very hard,” said Marcinko.

On an individual level, the group provides financial assistance for rent and utilities to people who have encountered temporary hardship, but also helps to pay for dental care in partnership with Kaniksu Health and steps in when emergencies arise.

“If a house burns down, someone is in a domestic violence situation or a person has to have emergency surgery, we can help out,” Marcinko said.

Angels funds also go to assist Head Start programs, pay for skiing in partnership with North Idaho Intermountain Sports for kids who can’t otherwise afford the winter activity, and, working with Transitions in Progress Services, help residents at Blue Haven, the Holland House and a shelter facility at Trestle Creek pay for children’s clothing, eye exams, child care or to renew inactive driver’s licenses.

Other money is channeled to support a CASA assistance fund, as well as the charitable Captain’s Fund operated by the Sandpoint Fire Department. The Angels also help Kinderhaven each year by donating a decorated tree to that organization’s tree auction, through which they added $5,000 to Kinderhaven’s coffers in 2013.

In other areas of support, Angels Over Sandpoint offers several grants and scholarships, including the Lippi Family Scholarship for high school seniors planning to attend trade or culinary school, the New Direction Grant offered in memory of Amber Coffman Campbell to anyone wishing to take a step to better their lives through job training or education, and a pair of high school scholarships — one of which is focused on the arts in partnership with The Festival at Sandpoint, and a second that rewards students for exemplary acts of community service.

“My favorite community service scholarship story came from an older lady who lived down the hill from a boy who always stopped by to say, ‘I’m heading into town — do you need me to pick anything up for you?’” Marcinko shared. “Or he would pick her up and take her to the movies with him. He had no idea she had applied for him and he was the student who won the scholarship that year.”

By far the largest outlay of Angels cash happens each fall with the Back-to-School Program, where the organization spends in excess of $30,000 to purchase new school backpacks and fill them with all the classroom supplies needed to start the year off right. The program helped 20 kids with supplies during its first season. For the current school year, nearly 900 students from lower-income Bonner County families received backpacks and supplies.

“It’s amazing, because all of this started out so small — and now look at it,” the Angels president said. “Our agenda used to be so tiny and now there are all of these branches, all of these people, working hands-on to help people in so many ways.”

And while membership has more than doubled to almost 80 volunteers this year, Marcinko noted that the real angels are not the ones who attend meetings, work at fundraising events and distribute money to those in need.

“The Angels Over Sandpoint are all of those people who touched our lives and have passed on,” she said. “It’s them saying, ‘Come on, you guys — you can do this; you can do more to help the people in this community.’”

The Angels Over Sandpoint meet on the second Tuesday of every month at Ivano’s Ristorante, starting with a social hour from 5-6 p.m., and the meeting from 6-7:30 p.m.

To learn more about how to donate, become a member or receive assistance, call (208) 290-5895 or visit them online at: www.angelsoversandpoint.org