BRONCO BIDS FOR BUCKS
The Bronco Athletic Association and Boise State Alumni Association host an online fundraising auction and you have until 5 p.m., March 9, to go to www.boisestateauction.com to bid on items, some with starting bids as low as $10.

A game football used in Boise State’s Fiesta Bowl victory over Oklahoma in 2007 autographed by Ian Johnson and a golf outing with former Bronco and current Green Bay Packer Korey Hall are some of the prizes up for bid.

The best part? Money raised goes to the Broncos' athletic and academic scholarship funds. 

If you're one to plan ahead, the BAA and  Alumni Association's biennial dinner and live auction is May 9, at The Boise Centre on the Grove.

For more information contact AnnMarie Kaus, assistant to the athletic director for special events and projects, at (208) 426-5407 or akaus@boisestate.edu. 

HEMOPHILIA FOUNDATION NEEDS YOU
Hemophilia Foundation of Idaho is recruiting talented individuals to serve on its board and is inviting well established, professional, dedicated business people from the Treasure Valley to apply.

Find the foundation at: www.idahoblood.org, send a resume and letter of intent to:  HFI, P.O. Box 7622, Boise, ID   83707-1622. Deadline: March 15, 2009.

GARDEN CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL CELEBRATES MARDI GRAS
The Garden City Community School is an Idaho public charter school currently serving grades K-8, and home to a new visual arts integration/collaboration. 

Boise State University education students from the art education department, teams of pre-service art educators are teaching mask-making techniques to GCCS 5th through 8th graders, using a variety of techniques inspired by the upcoming Mardi Gras season.

This is no coincidence, since Mardi Gras is the theme for the school's annual "FUNraiser" March 7, at the VaC, or Visual Arts Collaborative, in Garden City.

The school is looking outside its own neighborhood as well, participating in a national program called FUNDRED.ORG, an organization working to eliminate toxins in the soil of New Orleans to make the land safer for residents living there since the hurricanes. 

Get the goods on attending the event, and more about the school: www.gardencityschool.org. Or contact Linda Buczynski, visual artsintegration specialist at Linda.buczynski@gardencityschool.org, 919.3635.

GOOD NEWS FOR KIDS IN LOW-INCOME NEIGHBORHOODS
Boise Parks & Recreation’s Mobile Recreation Van has expanded to include Whittier, Ustick, Mountain View and Garfield elementary schools, along with Hawthorne, Whitney, McMillan, Jefferson, Horizon and Summerwind schools in its program.

The Mobile Recreation Unit provides kids at low-income schools, apartment complexes and neighborhood parks with healthy, enriching activities and adult supervision during lunch break and out-of-school hours. The unit made 37,000 visits to sites last year.

Find out more: Roseanne Daily: 854-4917 or rdaily@cityofboise.org.

FREEDOM ALLIANCE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
Children of men and women killed or disabled while serving in the military can apply now for scholarship help. The fund organizers are encouraging eligible students to apply early.  To be eligible, an applicant must be: 

— the dependent son or daughter of a U.S. soldier, sailor, airman, Marine or Guardsman who has been killed or permanently disabled (100% VA disability rating) as a result of an operational mission or training accident, or who is currently classified as a Prisoner of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA).

— a high school senior, high school graduate, or registered as a full time undergraduate student and under the age of 26.

Find out more: www.fascholarship.com, or call 800-475-6620. The application deadline is July 31, 2009.

CALDWELL CONSIDERS C.A.T.C.H.
The City of Caldwell hosts a public workshop, 6:30 p.m., Monday, March 2, at the Caldwell Police Department's community room, 110 S. 5th Ave., Caldwell, to talk about starting a C.A.T.C.H. program, a.k.a. "Charitable Assistance to Community’s Homeless" in Caldwell.

IDAHO READS! VISTA GRANTS HELP SPREAD THE (WRITTEN) WORD
The Idaho State Department of Education is accepting applications for Idaho Reads! VISTA grants to help to improve literacy and volunteerism in communities across Idaho.

The State Department of Education awards 30 "Volunteers in Service to America" (VISTA) positions each year.

Through the Idaho Reads! VISTA project, the 30 schools select a person who will coordinate a variety of activities to promote family literacy and improve children’s reading skills, including recruiting, training and coordinating part-time literacy volunteers, organizing and conducting family literacy or parent involvement activities and more.

Volunteers receive a monthly living allowance and can also receive an education voucher for their year of service.

The deadline to apply: March 15, 2009. 

Applications must be postmarked by this date. For more information or to download an application:  http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/vista/.

Questions? Tina Naillon, Idaho VISTA Coordinator, 332-6904 or TMNaillon@sde.idaho.gov. 

META MONEY MILESTONE
META, a nonprofit microenterprise program of Mountain States Group, Inc., has awarded its 100th microloan to a local resident.

META, funded from the Office of Refugee Resettlement as well as banks, foundations, private companies and donors, helps refugees, minorities, women, and other entrepreneurs at a disadvantage, with small business loans from $500 to $15,000. 

Usman Iskandarov, an Ahiska Turk who came to the Treasure Valley four years ago as a refugee from Russia, is the recipient of the hundredth grant, which he'll use, combined with his own savings, to buy a tractor truck and launch Chunta Transport, named for the Russian town he lived in before coming to Idaho.

META has supported nearly 200 entrepreneurs and has now approved 100 microloans in the start-up and expansion of their respective southwest Idaho businesses over the past six years. 

For more information about META, contact Ron Berning: 336.5533 ext. 230, meta@mtnstatesgroup.org.

JACKSONS FOOD STORES GIVE "GIFT OF PEACE"
The Idaho Partners Against Domestic Violence and Jacksons Food Stores' partnership, the "Give the Gift of Peace Dove Campaign" raised $50,539 for programs addressing domestic violence in Idaho.

Store customers donated over $25,269 in single dollar donations during the month of December 2008 for the prevention of domestic violence and teen dating violence through community awareness programs and free legal services for victims of domestic violence and their children.

Jacksons matched the amount donated by customers.

For more: Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence: 384-0419.

JOHN WILLIAM JACKSON FUND HELPS YOUTH PROGRAMS
The John William Jackson Fund has given $35,000 to Idaho youth programs.

The awards will be given  at 6:30 p.m., March 4, at the VengaWorks Venture Centers, 943 W. Overland Rd., Meridian. The event is open to the public.

Some of the award recipients include The Idaho Mountain Search & Rescue Unit, Inc., $3,900 for youth mountain safety training and for the purchase of new equipment; The Treasure Valley Family YMCA, $4,900 to promote interest in rock climbing and mountaineering for Treasure Valley youth; The Boise Philharmonic, $4,900 to facilitate greater access to symphony music by supporting the Verde Percussion Group’s outreach program for children. 

To date, The John William Jackson Fund has awarded grants totaling more than $120,000. The Fund was established nine years ago in memory of John William Jackson, who lost his life in a climbing accident in Central Asia. Learn more: www.johnwilliamjacksonfund.org.

ALL ABOUT THE RED CROSS
"Write-in for the Red" allows tax form donations
Idaho taxpayers can contribute to the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho’s Disaster Relief Fund by writing in a voluntary donation on line 41 of their 2008 Idaho individual income tax form. 

The Write-in for the Red campaign earmarks donations for the Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts and provides much needed funding for temporary shelter, food, clothing, health and mental health support after a disaster.

Donations made on the state tax return may be taken as charitable deductions on the 2009 return.

For more information, contact the American Red Cross of Greater Idaho at 1-800-853-2570.

American Red Cross of Idaho seeks board members
The American Red Cross of Greater Idaho is calling for nominations for people interested in serving on the chapter’s board of directors. 

Board members are responsible for ensuring the chapter has the financial resources needed to fulfill its mission, actively communicates the Red Cross mission to the community, and supporting the organization through volunteerism. 

Interested? Send a letter of interest, resume, and application by 5 p.m., March 13, 2009. Applications are available online at www.redcrossidaho.org and should be sent to the Red Cross’ Boise office, 146 South Cole Rd., Boise, ID 83709. 

The candidate review process will consist of interviews and reference, conflicts of interest and background checks.

SUPPORT THE SHAMROCK
The St. Patrick's season is here, and Albertsons stores across the West have kicked off their annual “Shamrocks Against Dystrophy” campaign, which runs through St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.

Buy a shamrock for $1, $5, or $10 at the check-stands, and all the money goes directly to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

BARBACOA BUCKS
The Boise restaurant, known for lots of things, including a uniquely dazzling presentation of guacamole, is throwing a fashion show fundraiser, "Giving Fashionably Back to the Community," March 15, at Barbacoa, 276 Bobwhite Court, Boise, to benefit the Warm Springs Children's Home and the Idaho Foodbank.  

Six local designers will show their original pieces, which will be auctioned at the end of the show. Boise State athletes will model the wares. The event includes door prizes from Renew Medispa, and a special menu for this "variation of a black tie event," as organizers describe it.

More details: Tracy Crawford or Karisa Lidyoff: 338-5000. 

CALLING ALL EAGLE NON-PROFITS
The Eagle Community Fund in the Idaho Community Foundation is accepting applications from charitable (505(c)3) organizations. Get your application at Eagle City Hall. The deadline to submit is April 1, 2009. Grants will be announced late May or early June.