There are lots of things going on in the nonprofit world today, starting with a little good news about local donations. Then we venture into the natural world with a water-wise garden tour led by Idaho Rivers United, a few different ways to celebrate World Refugee Day on June 20, and a creative garage sale fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club. 

Also note, the Helping Works blog will be on a brief hiatus until Thursday, June 18. Catch up with you then, and please keep me in the loop about local nonprofits.

Post items on the blog, or email me at awebb@idahostatesman.com. 

Thanks!

AW 

Volunteers deliver ‘Miracle Bears’ to kids at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital

The stuffed animals, made by local volunteers, were part of a fundraising auction at Kid for an Night, St. Luke’s annual fundraising event for the Children’s Hospital that took place June 5.

More than 50 guests chose to donate their bears back to the young patients in the hospital. Wednesday morning, the volunteer committee members who helped organize the party, are meeting at the hospital to deliver the bears.

Domino’s Pizza helps out the Idaho Foodbank with its ‘Pasta for Pasta’ drive

Treasure Valley Domino’s stores and their customers collected 1,400 boxes and bags of dried pasta for The Idaho Foodbank in May.

Domino’s set the challenge: customers who brought in two packages of pasta got a coupon for a free pasta in a bread bowl entree.

The Idaho Foodbank and its 210 partner agencies are sending their thanks to local Domino’s restaurants and their customers.

Water wise garden tour

Are you interested in reducing your outdoor watering and grass mowing? Would you like to meet local Water wise landscape experts, learn about plants and design?

Show your support for nonprofit  Idaho Rivers United by attending the 2009 Water Wise Garden Tour, Tuesday, June 16 at 5 p.m. at the MK Nature Center, 600 S. Walnut St.

The event will include refreshments, a tour of the demonstration garden on site and a guided van tour of four water wise home gardens between 5:45-8:45 p.m.

Tickets are $30 and can be purchased by calling Idaho Rivers United at 343-7481. Space is limited.

The tour is supported by the Boise WaterShed/City of Boise, MK Nature Center, Draggin' Wing Farm, Habiscapes and Meg Roberts.

Idaho Rivers United is a membership organization that works to protect and restore Idaho's rivers and native fisheries. For more, check the website or call 343-7481.

How will you mark World Refugee Day?

The International Rescue Committee Boise invites you to the screening of the film “Betrayal” (“Nerakhoon”) at the Flicks, 7 p.m., Thursday, June 18.

The film, which took 23 years to make, is an epic story of a family's journey from war-torn Laos to New York City. Thavisouk Phrasavath narrates this personal, poetic memoir of himself as a young man struggling to survive war and life as an immigrant, revealing the hidden, human face of war's "collateral damage.

The film is part of a series of films being screened in June in celebration of World Refugee Day, a United Nations initiative that began in 2001 to celebrate the lives and contributions of refugees around the world. 

For more about the film and event, contact Keziah Sullivan, community outreach specialist for the International Rescue Committee, at keziah.sullivan@theIRC.org or 344.1792.

For more about the IRC, visit the website.

After you see the film, partake of World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 20.

The Idaho Office for Refugees hosts a celebration of Idaho’s refugee population, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Boise Center on the Grove.

Refugees, and other international community members, will share their artistic talents with the Boise community, including traditional dancing, singing, spoken word poetry, and music. Visual artists will sell their art and craft work. Vendors and booths will be on site to provide info about refugee resettlement in Boise.

World Refugee Day is a United Nations initiative that began in 2001.

Community garage sale

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County will reap the benefits from Freedom Storage Center's annual community garage sale, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., June 19-20.

Here’s how it works: You rent a storage unit for $20 (all the rent proceeds going to The Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County.), you fill the space and get it ready for the big event, selling your stuff to earn cash for the cause. 

To learn more about the community garage sale or to sign up, please call 853-2323 ext. 2, then 2 and speak to Susan or Heidi at Freedom Storage at 943 W. Overland Rd.

To learn more about The Boys and Girls Clubs please visit the website.