Zions Bank has announced the winners of this year’s “Smart Women Grants.” Each winner will take home $3,000.
The grants recognize women in Idaho and Utah who excel in business, community development, child and elder care, arts and culture and more. The bank chose the six winners — three in Idaho, three in Utah — from 94 applicants. This was the eighth year of the program.
The Idaho winners are:
• Susan Wright, a teacher at Reed Elementary School in Kuna, who will use the money to buy reading instruction materials for her classroom, helping to mitigate recent district budget cuts.
• Victoria Savage of Care for Living in Boise, who will use the money to pay for a series of educational opportunities and seminars for seniors and their families.
• Marilyn Lysohir-Coates, owner of Cowgirl Chocolates in Moscow, who will use the money to install a new professional kitchen in her new space.
IDAHO STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAMS
The State Department of Education will award $1.8 million in grants to fund afterschool programs across the state for the 2013-2014 school year. School districts and other organizations are invited to apply.
The funding is available through the federal 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to provide academic enrichment opportunities, art, music, recreation, sports, drug and violence prevention and youth development activities to students during non-school hours.
Grant applications are due Jan. 25, 2013. The department strongly encourages groups considering applying for funding to attend a free workshop, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday at the State Department of Education offices, 650 W. State St., Boise. Register online, (find the link at IdahoStatesman.com) or call Camille McCashland, program specialist: 332-6960.
HELP OUT IDAHO HORSE RESCUE
This organization provides warmth, shelter and care for horses that have been neglected and/or abused. The group relies on individual donations, grants, sponsorships and volunteers to do its important work for the equine kind.
Help is needed. Contact the group at Robert@idahohorserescue.org, call 941-4908, or check the organization out online (and read a couple heart-rending rescue stories), link at idahostatesman.com.
GOOD NEWS FOR THE BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County’s Nutrition Program is the recipient of a national $5,000 “Be Healthy, Be Fit, Be Great Award” from the Will Rogers Institute.
One Boys & Girls club receives the award each year to recognize outstanding achievement in promoting healthy lifestyles.
The local organization offers nutrition and health education in a variety of forms, including hands on-activities like picking fresh produce at local farms, learning about gardening. The three clubs in the Valley also offer many athletic activities. During the year, the local clubs serve more than 200,000 free, nutritious meals to kids. Call 639-3167 for more.
ANNUAL TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
The VITA program is a community-based service sponsored by the IRS that provides free tax preparation to low-and moderate-income earners to make sure they benefit from the full amount of their income tax refund. Volunteers are needed to help with this year’s returns.
Volunteers will receive free training and certification free of charge. VITA sites open Jan. 22, 2013. Volunteers typically work a few hours a week from January through April, the schedule is very flexible. Four VITA sites currently have openings for VITA volunteers. Two in Boise, one in Nampa and one in Caldwell. Contact Julie Gray, project manager at 375-7382 Ext. 24 or email jgray@capai.org.
COOL ‘BROWN BAG’ LECTURE AT STATE HISTORICAL MUSEUM
Historian Elizabeth Jacox tells the story of one of Boise’s more unusual dwellings, the Fairchild’s rammed earth house in Northwest Boise. The house, christened “The Most Complicated House in World” by Statesman columnist Tim Woodward, took 20 years of ingenuity to build.
The brown bag (bring your lunch!) is from noon to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Idaho State Historical Museum. Admission: $5 adult/$4 senior,/$3 6-13 yrs. and students with valid ID. No charge for members of The Friends of the Historical Museum and Idaho State Historical Society.
Anna Webb: 377-6431
