COEUR d'ALENE - How much wood can the Wood Chick chuck when the Wood Chick does chuck wood?

"As much as any of the men do," said Kay "Wood Chick" Burke, manager of an ElderHelp of North Idaho program which, for a small fee, delivers cords of firewood to lower-income seniors.

But right now, the Wood Chick is not chucking -or delivering - any wood because the 1977 Chevy truck Burke, 60, relies on to do her job is experiencing several major problems and has been in the shop for weeks.

"I'm stuck. I'm not driving anything," Burke said. "It's an old, worn-out motor. It's smoked ever since I've had it."

Under Burke's supervision, ElderHelp delivers dry firewood to more than 100 disadvantaged seniors for a fee of $50 a cord so they can stay warm during the frosty winter months. The fee covers gas, equipment, site inspection, maintenance and wood processing. But Burke said ElderHelp will not turn away a senior who is in a dire situation.

"There's not going to be a senior on my watch that's going to be cold," Burke said. "I really wish we could just do it for free, but we have no choice."

However, it's not possible for the Wood Chick to do her job at all without transportation.

Burke, of Hayden, is disabled and suffers from a back injury that limits her ability to walk and perform physical labor.

"I can't lift over 15 pounds," she said. "I can't bend a lot. If I were to chop something, I would probably jar my back to the point where I couldn't walk. I want to take care of myself as long as possible."

Because of these limitations, Burke spends a lot of time in her truck. She works countless hours several days a week organizing and transporting volunteers, completing paperwork and delivering firewood all over North Idaho. Her vehicle is her mobile office and her shelter when she spends several hours at the wood splitting site on Prairie Avenue.

"I have to be protected from the elements, and so does all the paperwork," she said. "We work outside. It tires me out pretty good, the wind and the cold."

ElderHelp volunteer Tom Hamilton of Hayden regularly brings his teenage daughters to volunteer with him alongside Burke, who is a dear friend to them all.

"My girls love Kay," he said. "She's had a pretty meaningful impact on their lives."

Hamilton is on a mission to rally support for Burke, who has a passion for her job and wants to get back to it. Burke's monthly income is just $700 a month, so it is difficult for her to repair the truck or purchase a new one to continue helping the community's seniors. Hamilton said a new truck is the answer.

"The (old) truck's not worth sinking any more money into," he said. "It had an exhaust leak earlier this year, and frankly it almost killed her ... she doesn't need a booming stereo, she just needs something reliable. And it has to be automatic; she can't drive a stick."

Hamilton has spread the message on social media and is asking anyone in the community who can help to contact him to get Burke and ElderHelp's firewood program back on the road.

"I always admire people like Kay," Hamilton said. "Out of the money she tries to get by on every month, she does more to give than she does to take care of herself."

Burke said ElderHelp's main truck is also experiencing problems, so the firewood program itself is stalling. Some volunteers can transport wood deliveries, but her Chevy could hold about three-quarters of a cord, and even more when it was able to haul a trailer behind it. She said that truck helped move at least 400 cords of wood in the last year and a half.

"I do my job because there isn't anybody else who wants the job and because there is a great need," Burke said. "I love helping people. I feel like God put me in this position to help people and I love my job."

"The best thing about Kay is the ripples," Hamilton said. "It's the people who have the least that often give the most. When I look at somebody like her - in her mind what she does may be small, but a lot of what she does is inspire other people."

A vehicular donation to ElderHelp will be tax deductible and anyone interested in helping, donating or learning more can email Hamilton at thamilton@gfworldwide.com.