COEUR d’ALENE — Interested in giving back to the community by supporting a great local cause?

Why not join the growing list of people lining up to learn more about the University of Lake Coeur d’Alene, home to a fierce but floundering mascot, the Fighting Kokanees?

New to the area — but already attracting attention with its eye-catching Fighting Kokanees logo that proclaims, “Don’t be a Redneck... be a Blue Back” — the “university” is a fundraiser developed by the Sunrise Rotary.

“We wanted to do something besides fancy dinners or live auctions where we beg people for money,” Sunrise Rotarian Jim Landers said. “So we came up with the University of Lake Coeur d’Alene.”

The Rotarians, who meet monthly at the crack of dawn, are hoping generous locals will embrace the fundraiser hook, line and sinker.

The movement is picking up steam. The University of Lake Coeur d’Alene is a certified trademark, Landers said. The motto: “Get the degree you always wanted from the university that never was.”

Well, perhaps it sounds better in Latin.

T-shirts bearing the spoof university logo were sold at the street fair in August during Art on the Green.

“The expressions on their faces were awesome — they just couldn’t figure it out,” Landers said. “They were walking away saying, ‘I don’t get it.’ Well, you’re not supposed to get it!”

The plan is to offer the Fighting Kokanees T-shirts at the Museum of North Idaho (next to City Park) during ArtWalk on Oct. 11. Landers said the Rotarians hope to expand their merchandise to include coffee mugs, hats and more. A website is in the works.

“We hope it catches on and we can have a continuous income without having to auction wine,” he quipped.

Sunrise Rotary Club secretary Karen Cook said the Fighting Kokanees has great potential.

“Our club has such a wonderful bunch of characters who have come up with this great idea,” she said. “It’s just been a kick.”

The Sunrise Rotary Club raises thousands of dollars each year for local causes including crosswalk beacons at area schools, sleep sacks for newborns for the Inland Northwest SIDS Foundation, books for Mountain States Early Head Start and advocate training for the First Judicial District CASA program. The club recently donated $3,500 to Tesh for new computers.

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For your Fighting Kokanees T-shirt, call Landers at 208-819-3579.