Boise Donates $22,400.00
Through ImpactClub®, as Impact Venture Capitalists, we invest heavily in local charities that demonstrate a powerful “Story Engine” and have proven their willingness to fight for their cause – by competing in and winning a high-stakes competition. As a result, ImpactClub®, through Impact Venture Capitalism, has dramatically multiplied the Impact that a single person can have on charities in their local community.
The Charities
In 2016, Suzanne McIntosh worked with Natalie Lutes, Special Education Department Chair at Boise High School, to develop a coffee roasting program for students with disabilities. With the help of Furnace Hills Coffee in Maryland, we purchased counter top coffee roasters, green coffee beans and packaging. With guidance, students in the extended resource program created a signature roast and named it Boise Brave Friends Blend. The students participating in the coffee project have shown significant, documented growth in attention to task, self-regulation, motivation and self-esteem. In 2017, Suzanne and a committed board of directors established The Percolator Fund to expand upon the successes of the Boise High project. As word spread about the success of Boise Brave Friends Blend, The Percolator Fund has received many inquiries about program expansion. With current funds available, The Percolator Fund will continue to invest in the program at Boise High School and expand to another classroom in the Boise School District. Additional funding will help us establish a facility that will serve teens and adults with disabilities around the Treasure Valley
Established in 2011, Surel’s Place is Idaho’s only live-in artist-in-residency program located in Garden City, Idaho. The studio serves as the anchor of the eponymous neighborhood, The Surel Mitchell Live-Work-Create District. Our artists-in-residence come from all over the country and abroad and stay for month-long residencies working in a wide range of disciplines, from the visual, literary, and performing arts. Our artists in-residence participate in workshops, readings, performances, and exhibits, which foster the idea that art is accessible and necessary to our quality of life and sense of community. In addition, we serve over a hundred local artists annually through our Art Event Program. Whether it be residencies or art events, this inspiring live/work space allows artists of all disciplines the time and freedom to reflect, create, and share their work with the Idaho community. Artists need shelter. Artists need space. Artists need time. Surel’s Place offers artists the gift of all three.
The Garden City Library Foundation is seeking a bus sponsor for the “Bells for Books” bookmobile, the mobile literacy program of the Library that is funded entirely by donations and grants. When the Foundation’s big blue bus stops in neighborhoods or visits day care centers, underserved kids in Garden City check out books, listen to stories and use I-pads Parents are also encouraged to borrow books to help them improve their literacy! The bus visits neighborhoods where families have the least access to transportation and Library services. Kids can also get free mittens, scarves and hats provided by the Foundation’s community partners. Staff and volunteers who read stories to the children become a friendly contact for many “latch key” children, developing community relationships. At community events such as the Junior League of Boise’s “Touch a Truck,” the bus attracts new library patrons, promotes literacy, and provides a fun experience for families. Garden City is growing, which brings increased demand for services. If selected by ImpactClub Boise, we would be able to continue this wonderful community service by supplying quality books and educational equipment, supporting staff hours, and providing fuel, maintenance, and repairs for the “Bells for Books”
