Idaho’s North Idaho Gives Campaign Spotlights Nonprofits Serving Seniors and Residents with Disabilities Across the Panhandle
SANDPOINT, Idaho — Two North Idaho nonprofits are drawing attention during the annual Idaho Gives fundraising campaign, demonstrating how community-driven organizations fill critical gaps in rural service delivery for seniors and individuals with disabilities across Bonner, Boundary, and Kootenai counties.
Idaho Gives, which runs through May 7, features approximately 112 North Idaho nonprofits this year. The campaign highlights the year-round programming that rural communities depend on to keep neighbors safe, fed, and independent — and it shines a light on the volunteer backbone that makes it all possible.
Meals on Wheels Reaches 5,000 Seniors Monthly Across Six Cities
Lake City Center’s Meals on Wheels program distributes roughly 5,000 meals per month across six cities in Kootenai County — Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Huetter, Hauser, and Dalton Gardens — operating 17 delivery routes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Every driver is a volunteer.
Among the longest-serving volunteers are Harriet and Tom Dillon, who have delivered meals for Lake City Center for approximately 25 years. Harriet joined first, followed by Tom about a year later. The couple once delivered three days a week and now focuses on Fridays, maintaining one of the 17 active routes.
“We check on ’em, talk to ’em, get to know them a little bit. Make sure they get fed,” Tom Dillon said, according to reporting by the Hagadone News Network. “A lot of these people don’t eat unless we deliver the meals to them.”
Lake City Center Executive Director Nancy Phillips said the program’s success depends entirely on volunteer capacity. In-person congregate meals require approximately 200 to 220 volunteer hours each month, while Meals on Wheels accounts for an additional 190 to 200 hours monthly.
“No senior should ever go hungry and they definitely should never feel they’ve been forgotten,” Phillips said.
Beyond meals, the program provides social connection and supportive services aimed at helping seniors remain independent as long as possible. Community partners including the 3rd Avenue Marketplace and area churches help Lake City Center bridge funding gaps. Phillips noted the community stepped up during unplanned needs, including during a recent government shutdown, and continues to support events like the Meals on Wheels Spring Gala.
“It’s a lot of outside help that’s needed. Thankfully, we have a community that likes to give,” Phillips said.
The reliance on private community support underscores a broader tension facing nonprofits statewide. As Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s recent veto of a bill affecting graduate medical education funding illustrated, government funding decisions can have cascading effects on service providers serving vulnerable populations.
Panhandle Special Needs Serves Rural Disability Clients, Eyes New Facility
Panhandle Special Needs serves approximately 200 people per year across Bonner County, Boundary County, and a portion of Kootenai County, providing life skills training, adult day health services, employment training, and essential support including grocery shopping, cooking, and housekeeping assistance for clients with disabilities.
“We do life skills training, shopping, cooking, housekeeping, laundry,” Executive Director Trinity Nicholson said. “We keep a close eye on the bottom line because we just have to.”
The agency’s geographic footprint is expansive, covering territory as far as Athol. Nicholson described the service area as a kind of no-man’s land — large in scope but limited in competing providers.
Despite that reach, demand far outpaces capacity. About 40 names currently sit on a waitlist for services, a backlog Nicholson said has existed for at least a decade as the program has grown steadily.
“It hurts our hearts. For our clients, they’re waiting for their life to begin,” Nicholson said.
One of the agency’s primary goals through Idaho Gives is to raise funds toward a new building. The Sandpoint facility lease has approximately seven years remaining, and leadership sees the fundraising campaign as a critical opportunity to build toward a permanent home. Nonprofits in the region have also been urged to stay vigilant — Bonner County previously warned residents after a local nonprofit received a fake invoice, a reminder of the financial vulnerabilities facing smaller organizations.
Community members can support Panhandle Special Needs by purchasing plants from the organization’s greenhouse, which opens for sale May 5, or by attending a restaurant takeover at Smokesmith Bar-B-Que on May 7.
What Comes Next
Idaho Gives runs through May 7, 2026. Residents across North Idaho can contribute to any of the approximately 112 participating nonprofits, including Lake City Center and Panhandle Special Needs, through the campaign’s online platform at idahogives.org. Both organizations have indicated that Idaho Gives donations will directly support expanded capacity — whether in volunteer hours, facility planning, or expanded client services in Bonner County and across the Panhandle region.