Foundation receives holiday cheer surprise

NEWPORT — Newport Hospital and Health Services Foundation Board members were surprised during their December 20 meeting when Spokane Teachers Credit Union leadership gifted the board with a check for $7,500.

The funds are awarded in support of the NHHS Foundation Healthy Kids Snack Bag program, which addresses food disparities in local children living in Pend Oreille County in Washington state and western Bonner County in Idaho.

The Spokane Teachers Credit Union delegates said the donation comes from causes that are near and dear to their hearts. Newport branch manager Nicole Gunning-Butler attended the presentation with STCU representatives Sherry Wallis and Andrea Parrish. The “holiday cheer” presentations allow local STCU branches to give back to the communities they serve, supporting nonprofit programs that impact the community.

The Healthy Kids Snack Bag Program’s goal is to combat basic food disparities and childhood obesity, as well as increase educational performance among local elementary school children in kindergarten through the sixth.

The program provides participating students with a week’s worth of nutritious snacks (three snacks/day, seven days/week) and weekly nutrition education materials or healthy snack recipes.

NHHS officials said the children receive a backpack filled with snacks every Thursday; as long as they return the empty bag to school the following week, the bag is refilled again. The foundation also provides nutritious snacks to Pend Oreille Skills Center, Pend Oreille River School, and Pend Oreille Valley Adventist School.