COEUR d'ALENE - If you are a low-income senior citizen who needs help preparing your home for winter, ElderHelp of North Idaho is eager to lend a hand.

The nonprofit organization has the time and resources to winterize the homes of people ages 60 and older (55 and older if disabled) who are on tight financial budgets. Sealing entryways, eradicating drafts and chopping wood are all on the to-do list, but executive director Jerry Boggs said ElderHelp is flexible and ready for a plethora of jobs.

"We're looking for clients, we're looking to help you out," Boggs said. "Let us come and winterize your home while it's still pretty decent weather so you don't have to worry about it."

ElderHelp volunteers are capable of a variety of tasks, from installing energy-efficient lightbulbs to caulking around doors, windows or wherever cold air is entering the home. The goal is to make sure seniors are safe and comfortable in their homes, and even to lower the costs of utility bills by making houses more efficient in heat retention.

One of ElderHelp's major winter preparation programs is providing firewood to seniors who use wood to heat their homes. The organization contributes wood to more than 90 homes a year, sometimes up to a full cord. Volunteers spend many hours throughout the year splitting and preparing the wood for distribution.

"Most weekends during the year, on Saturdays, we are cutting wood somewhere," Boggs said.

ElderHelp can only do large weatherization projects for homeowners, but it doesn't overlook the needs of seniors who rent.

"If they're renting, we'll do everthing we can for them," he said. "We bend our rules where we feel it's really justified."

Boggs, a retired wildlife biologist and natural resources specialist, said he was upset when he discovered that more than 3,000 senior citizens in the community were living off meager incomes.

"It really ticked me off when I found out people were living off $600, $800 a month," he said.

The first person he helped when he joined ElderHelp three years ago was an 80-year-old man whose income was just $900 a month.

"It just seemed wrong to me that people were in these kinds of financial and social situations in this country," he said. "People fall through the cracks all the time, and those are the people we try to catch."

ElderHelp had its first winterization day Oct. 5. Boggs said he was hoping to work on 10 homes, and was astounded that only five households reached out for help.

"We have a lot of clients, men and women, who are making much less than $1,200 a month. Some of them are in the $600s," he said. "How do they survive on that? Every time the least little thing happens, they're in a crisis. They have enough going on in their lives."

For seniors to receive assistance, they must be residents of Kootenai County. For a single person, the household income cannot exceed $1,200 per month. For a family, it can't be more than $2,000. Those receiving help also must not have any other sources of help readily available to them, and any home repairs need to be of a safety or health-related issue. Boggs said ElderHelp prefers to conduct winterizations on Saturdays because many of the volunteers work during the week.

For assistance with home weatherization, contact ElderHelp of North Idaho at 661-8870. The organization solely relies on grants, donations and money raised from fundraising events. ElderHelp is hosting its annual Punkin Chunkin Fall Festival at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Nov. 2. Funds raised from the event will go to winterization and other projects.

To volunteer with ElderHelp, visit www.elderhelpofnorthidaho.org