COEUR d'ALENE - Summer officially starts this weekend - even if the weather this week feels more like winter going on spring.

Before the heat wave hits, Kris Wright is launching the "fan brigade," a drive for donations of new and gently used fans for the county's homebound senior citizens.

The Meals on Wheels coordinator first began collecting fans last year after she was asked if she had a fan that could be donated to an elderly woman who was sweltering in a mobile home with no air conditioning.

"I took her a fan and she was so grateful," Wright said. "She was just so excited about getting that fan. She was sitting on her porch because it was so hot in her trailer."

The elderly have an increased risk of heat stroke and heat exhaustion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their bodies do not adjust as easily to changes in temperature, according to the CDC, and they are more apt to have chronic medical conditions or be taking prescription medications that change their body's response to heat or inhibit perspiration.

"A lot of these people are living in trailers and they are older, older, older trailers," Wright said. "They don't have air conditioning."

Many are on limited income and can't afford to buy a fan, she said.

Donations of new or gently used fans can be dropped off at Lake City Center, 1916 Lakewood Drive, Coeur d'Alene.

"They're thankful," Wright said. "They're just thankful. They really think it's nice. It's from the heart."

Information: Lake City Center, (208) 667-4628