At our Kiwanis meeting today, we welcomed Jessica Gross from Relatives as Parents (RAP), an organization our club has been proud to partner with for many years.
RAP serves families in which relatives step in to care for children when their parents are unable to do so. In many cases, grandparents suddenly find themselves raising grandchildren at a time in life when they never expected to be parenting again. The emotional and financial challenges can be significant.
RAP serves Idaho Region 1, with a particular focus on Kootenai County. Jessica shared that 234 families are currently actively involved with RAP, in addition to other families who continue to receive occasional support. Jessica joined RAP in 2008 and has helped more than 3,000 families since then.
RAP provides financial assistance, caregiver training, clothing, food and other necessities. Just as importantly, its monthly family support meetings give caregivers an opportunity to meet others facing similar circumstances, exchange experiences and know that they aren’t navigating these challenges alone.
Many of the caregivers RAP serves are seniors living on Social Security or disability income. The increasing cost of living in Kootenai County has made an already difficult financial situation even more challenging.
Jessica explained that many kinship families are outside the formal state foster-care system. As a result, caregivers may receive substantially less financial assistance than licensed foster families. Idaho is currently developing a statewide Kinship Care Plan that is expected to be presented to policymakers during the 2027 legislative session. The effort is examining ways to better support grandparents and other relatives who are raising children outside the formal foster-care system, including the financial and other support available to these families.
The children themselves often arrive in their relatives’ homes after experiencing significant trauma. RAP works with organizations such as Head Start to connect families with additional resources and services they may need.
One thing that makes RAP especially remarkable is its extremely lean operation: the organization has no office and no paid staff, helping ensure that donations go as directly as possible toward assisting families.
Our Kiwanis Club has been fortunate to support RAP in several ways. RAP was one of the recipients of the 213 hygiene kits our club assembled this summer, and last Christmas our club adopted a RAP family. Two of RAP’s biggest annual efforts are its Thanksgiving program, which provides turkeys and food gift cards to families, and its Christmas Adopt-a-Family program.
Jessica’s presentation was a great reminder of how much grandparents and other relatives quietly do when children in their families need a safe and stable home—and how organizations like Relatives as Parents can make an enormous difference for those families.
Thank you, Jessica, for joining us and for the work RAP continues to do for children and caregivers throughout our community.
Photograph: (left to right) Linda Mayers, Alice DeShazer, Jessica Gross, Jim DeShazer
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Last Updated: September 24, 2026 by Matt Palmer
Relatives as Parents: Supporting Kinship Families in Our Community
At our Kiwanis meeting today, we welcomed Jessica Gross from Relatives as Parents (RAP), an organization our club has been proud to partner with for many years.
RAP serves families in which relatives step in to care for children when their parents are unable to do so. In many cases, grandparents suddenly find themselves raising grandchildren at a time in life when they never expected to be parenting again. The emotional and financial challenges can be significant.
RAP serves Idaho Region 1, with a particular focus on Kootenai County. Jessica shared that 234 families are currently actively involved with RAP, in addition to other families who continue to receive occasional support. Jessica joined RAP in 2008 and has helped more than 3,000 families since then.
RAP provides financial assistance, caregiver training, clothing, food and other necessities. Just as importantly, its monthly family support meetings give caregivers an opportunity to meet others facing similar circumstances, exchange experiences and know that they aren’t navigating these challenges alone.
Many of the caregivers RAP serves are seniors living on Social Security or disability income. The increasing cost of living in Kootenai County has made an already difficult financial situation even more challenging.
Jessica explained that many kinship families are outside the formal state foster-care system. As a result, caregivers may receive substantially less financial assistance than licensed foster families. Idaho is currently developing a statewide Kinship Care Plan that is expected to be presented to policymakers during the 2027 legislative session. The effort is examining ways to better support grandparents and other relatives who are raising children outside the formal foster-care system, including the financial and other support available to these families.
The children themselves often arrive in their relatives’ homes after experiencing significant trauma. RAP works with organizations such as Head Start to connect families with additional resources and services they may need.
One thing that makes RAP especially remarkable is its extremely lean operation: the organization has no office and no paid staff, helping ensure that donations go as directly as possible toward assisting families.
Our Kiwanis Club has been fortunate to support RAP in several ways. RAP was one of the recipients of the 213 hygiene kits our club assembled this summer, and last Christmas our club adopted a RAP family. Two of RAP’s biggest annual efforts are its Thanksgiving program, which provides turkeys and food gift cards to families, and its Christmas Adopt-a-Family program.
Jessica’s presentation was a great reminder of how much grandparents and other relatives quietly do when children in their families need a safe and stable home—and how organizations like Relatives as Parents can make an enormous difference for those families.
Thank you, Jessica, for joining us and for the work RAP continues to do for children and caregivers throughout our community.
Photograph: (left to right) Linda Mayers, Alice DeShazer, Jessica Gross, Jim DeShazer
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Kiwanis Club of Coeur d'Alene
The Kiwanis Club of Coeur d' Alene meets every Wednesday except the last of the month from noon to 1pm at MacKenzie River Pizza , 405 W. Canfield Ave.
Anyone welcome to join us for a meeting to see what we're all about!
Building Stronger Communities Through Giving!
At the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d'Alene's meeting on October 21, we welcomed Emma Hoagland, Community Engagement Associate for North Idaho with the Idaho Community Foundation.
Emma shared how the Foundation connects generous donors with nonprofit organizations throughout Idaho, investing charitable contributions and distributing grants that help strengthen our communities.
We were particularly impressed by the Foundation's impact right here in North Idaho!
During the 2026 Forever Idaho grant cycle:
💙 $315,000 was distributed to local nonprofits.
💙 40 organizations received financial support.
💙 Approximately $1.2 million has been distributed in our region over the past four years!
We were also pleased to learn more about the Foundation's support for Specialized Needs Recreation (SNR), an organization with close ties to our Kiwanis Club.
Emma also highlighted Idaho Gives, an annual four-day fundraising event that brings Idahoans together to support nonprofit organizations. In 2026, North Idaho donors contributed more than $776,000 to 112 local nonprofits!
📅 Mark your calendars for the next Idaho Gives: May 3–6, 2027.
The Foundation's commitment to strengthening communities aligns closely with our own Kiwanis mission of serving children and improving lives. We look forward to exploring opportunities to collaborate in the future.
Thank you, Emma, for an informative and inspiring presentation!
👉 Read more about Emma's presentation, the Idaho Community Foundation, and its impact on North Idaho on our website:
k00801.site.kiwanis.org/idaho-community-foundation-investing-in-the-future-of-north-idaho/ ... See MoreSee Less
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🥫🚗 320 FAMILIES SERVED — ANOTHER GREAT DAY OF COMMUNITY SERVICE! 💙
On October 8, the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene once again teamed up with Second Harvest Inland Northwest to distribute food to local families at Community United Methodist Church.
The need was clear! Cars began lining up a couple of hours before the scheduled start, so volunteers got to work early. Over the next 4½ hours, 320 families received much-needed food assistance!
👏 We were grateful to be joined by volunteers from the United Women in Faith, Wells Fargo Bank, our Aktion Club, and other community members who generously gave their time.
🌟 A special shout-out to our amazing Aktion Club members! Several joined us for the distribution, enthusiastically pitching in and enjoying the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution to their community. Seeing their pride, energy, and joy in serving others was one of the highlights of the day!
Events like this remind us what can be accomplished when neighbors and community organizations work together.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this another successful food distribution!
📸 Read the full story and see photos on our Kiwanis website:
k00801.site.kiwanis.org/kiwanis-and-community-partners-serve-320-families-at-second-harvest-food-... ... See MoreSee Less
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Celebrating a Great Year of Kiwanis Service! 🎉
Our annual Installation Banquet on September 30 was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an incredibly busy and successful year for the Kiwanis Club of Coeur d’Alene—and, most importantly, to recognize the members who made it all happen.
Throughout the past year, our members gave generously of their time, talents, and resources, participating in a remarkable variety of service projects, supporting local organizations and young people, strengthening our community partnerships, and enjoying plenty of fellowship along the way. Thank you to every one of our members who helped make the year such a success!
And, of course, the banquet marked the beginning of a new Kiwanis year. Kim Cummings was installed as President, Jeanie Nugent as President-Elect, with Kathy Bush continuing as Secretary and Matt Palmer as Treasurer. Mike Lane moves into the role of Immediate Past President, and we welcomed our new and returning Board members.
The evening also included a special recognition as Matt Palmer was named our 2025–26 Kiwanian of the Year, honoring his service and contributions to the club during the past year.
We’re grateful to everyone who served in a leadership role this past year and to those who have stepped forward to lead us in 2026–27. But most of all, thank you to all of our members. Everything our club accomplishes is possible because of your willingness to serve.
It was a great year—and we’re excited to see what we can accomplish together in the next one!
👉 Read more about the past year's accomplishments, our new leadership team, and the Installation Banquet on our website:
k00801.site.kiwanis.org/celebrating-a-great-year-and-welcoming-our-new-kiwanis-leadership/ ... See MoreSee Less
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