Putting off medical needs is a common issue with families that enter the Family Promise of North Idaho network. Health care expenses have to take a back seat when a young father is trying to feed, clothe and shelter his family after a job loss.

That was the situation recently for Marc, who had a severe abscess in his front teeth - to the point where he couldn’t eat and was in constant pain. Network volunteers - in particular Marie Rau, Coordinator at Community United Methodist Church and a retired public health nurse - were very concerned. “Abscesses in the teeth are really dangerous,” Marie said recently, “The infection can actually go into the brain. We had to insist that he do something to address the problem.”

That ‘something’ came in the generous donation of dental care from Dr. Ken Bevan of Avondale Dental Center who saw Marc as part of his practice’s Smiles Day for needy children. Though Marc is 23, his situation was critical.

Intending to simply address the abscess, Dr. Bevan soon discovered that Marc’s situation required a double root canal and, finally, a new crown on his front tooth.

The Gift of Auto Repair   
Looking for work in North Idaho means you really need a car. So when their car died the day before Thanksgiving, it was just one more crisis in the life a new FPNI family.

Luckily, there are caring folks like Leonard and Karen Moglia of Auto Center Northwest in Coeur d’Alene. They provided $189 in repairs to this family’s car - and a hand-up toward the independence they now have.

" We were happy to help,” says Leonard. “I think we have all been there at one time or another.”

REPORT FROM OUR DIRECTOR

New FPNI Coordinators for CPC!

A major part of the Family Promise Network is support from our 12 host congregations. Each host and support church has one or more individuals who coordinate their week of sheltering the young families in the program. Four to 5 times a year, these coordinators arrange for a week of accommodations, meals, volunteers, transportation and more.
Community Presbyterian Church in Post Falls has two new coordinators to replace Sharon Conlon, who did an outstanding job in pioneering the program for CPC. We are excited to welcome Kaye LeFebvre (Pictured at Left) and Carol Leadingham as the new FPNI Coordinators for CPC! Both ladies have already been involved with Family Promise. Kaye is a stalwart volunteer in the FPNI Office and Carol supports her husband, Tim, our Transportation Coordinator.

Thank you and welcome, Kaye & Carol!

Wild Salmon Feast Raised $3,361 for FPNI

Thank you to all who planned, decorated, baked, grilled, served, hawked, cleaned up, dined, bought raffle tickets and enjoyed the evening!

Special thanks to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for a $1,000 match gift, White Cane Sockeye Salmon for providing the wonderful Wild-Caught Salmon and helping to prepare the feast; Pastry and More for delicious creations to auction; and hosts Trinity Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church of the Master and Calvary Lutheran Church. For a complete list of all the wonderful people involved in the success of our event, see more HERE.

‘Big Al’ now lives at Family Promise

Thank you to Wells Fargo Bank’s Post Falls Branch for allowing ‘Big Al’ to come and live in the Family Promise of North Idaho Day Room! Big Al is a huge stuffed Clydesdale Horse who is now receiving lots of love and attention from our young children in the network. We understand that he has a strong back and can sit up and support little ones as they watch cartoons or read a book.

Pictured (L to R): Julie Latina, Manager, Wells Fargo Bank. Post Falls, presents ‘Big Al’ to Cindy Wood, Executive Director of Family Promise of North Idaho, and Jan Leaf, Vice President of the FPNI Board of Trustees.

Thanks for Caring!

(Top) Rich and Gail Wallace; (Middle) Doug & Merilee Renfrew; (Bottom) Char and Melissa Demotte; (Top Left) Sally Paquin; (Bottom Left) Russell Flamm.