BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS OFFERING FREE ‘GRAB-AND-GO’ MEALS FOR CHILDREN AMID COVID-19 OUTBREAK

Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County have opened grab-and-go meal sites amid the COVID-19 pandemic while schools are closed in both Ada and Canyon Counties. Pre-packaged grab-and-go meals will be available to any child, not just Club members, to grab a healthy breakfast and lunch. Parents will be able to get both breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday between the hours of 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

The locations are Riverfront Park in Garden City (next to Boys & Girls Clubs of Ada County), Meridian Elementary School and Boys & Girls Clubs of Nampa. The meals are available for children ages 1-18, regardless of free and reduced lunch eligibility or their school of attendance. Meals will be provided each day while supplies last. No application is needed.

BLUE CROSS OF IDAHO FOUNDATION FOR HEALTH TO DONATE $100,000 TO COVID-19 RESPONSE FUND FOR IDAHO

BOISE — The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is donating an initial $100,000 to the COVID-19 Response Fund for Idaho, a new charitable fund that will provide support for low-income, vulnerable Idahoans, and families affected by the COVID-19 virus.

The COVID-19 Response Fund for Idaho was established this week by three Idaho nonprofits: Idaho Community Foundation, Idaho Nonprofit Center and United Way of Treasure Valley. The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health’s donation to this fund will be dispersed statewide through organizations who work with people affected by the virus, including those enduring economic hardship as a result of lost work.

Donations to the COVID-19 Response Fund for Idaho can be made online at idahocf.org/covid19. Donations will fund grants that are meant to fill gaps not covered by efforts being put in place by public institutions, including cities, the state or federal government.

SDE SEEKS NOMINATIONS FOR 2021 IDAHO TEACHER OF THE YEAR

BOISE — The State Department of Education is accepting 2021 nominations for Idaho’s top teaching honor, Teacher of the Year.

To nominate a teacher, go to sde.idaho.gov/events/teacher-year/ and fill out the online nomination form. Submissions will be accepted through April 27.

Nominated teachers will be notified and will have until June 1 to apply for the honor. Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee, and the winning teacher will be announced in September during a surprise visit to their school.

The 2021 Teacher of the Year will receive a cash award and travel across Idaho talking with other teachers, legislators and policymakers about education in our state. She or he will serve as Idaho’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year and will travel to Washington, D.C. in the spring to meet with other state winners, the President of the United States and other leaders.

TIMBERLINE AND NAMPA CHRISTIAN STUDENTS EARN TOP HONORS AT WESTERN IDAHO SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FAIR

BOISE — Student projects from Boise’s Timberline High School and Nampa Christian High School earned Best in Fair at the 2020 Western Idaho Science and Engineering Fair. They were among 59 projects that 70 students from six Treasure Valley schools presented at the fourth annual event, which the Idaho STEM Action Center staged March 6 at Boise State University.

“Constructing a Multi-rotor Compatible Water Sampling Apparatus and Associated Water Quality Analysis System” by Nicola Medapalli and Jimin Ryu, sophomores at Timberline, earned one of two Best in Fair awards. In addition, Medapalli and Ryu earned a Category Gold award and one of three Stockholm Junior Water Prizes.

Nampa Christian senior Tavian Robertson’s “Quarks” garnered the other Best in Fair award, as well as the Best in Category award in Engineering, Math, and Computer Science. Robertson also received a Category Gold award and several special awards, including the Mu Alpha Theta Award, an Office of Naval Research Award and a U.S. Air Force Award. The Best in Fair winners will represent Idaho at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May.

Treasure Valley Math and Science Center senior Cecelia Wheeler earned Fair Runner Up for her project “How Does Chlorine in the Pool Affect Athletes’ Sense Of Smell?” She also won Best in Category in Animal, Biomedical and Microbiological Sciences, a Category Gold award and an Office of Naval Research Award.

Emmett High School earned the Top School award for the second consecutive year. The award is calculated based on total projects and total category awards, including Silver, Gold, Best in Category and Best in Fair. Biology teacher Robin Wilson coached Emmett High School’s participants, which earned three of the five Best in Category awards, seven of the 12 Category Golds, and 11 of the 19 Category Silvers. Nampa Christian High School math teacher Nikki Roddenburg was named WISEF’s top-performing educator.

BOISE ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES JUROR’S AWARD WINNERS FOR 2020 IDAHO TRIENNIAL EXHIBITION

BOISE-Boise Art Museum (BAM) announced the Juror’s Award Winners for The 2020 Idaho Triennial exhibition. Organized every three years by the Boise Art Museum, The Idaho Triennial is a juried exhibition bringing together exemplary works of art created by a broad selection of Idaho artists. For more than 80 years, BAM has celebrated the creativity of artists living and working in Idaho, and the triennial exhibition has become a respected and treasured tradition.

The Juror’s First Place Award and $1,000 went to Elijah Jensen-Lindsey of Nampa for his work “Renewing the Infinite Vow,” a textile, fir, birch plywood and sound installation.

The Juror’s Merit Award and $500 went to Luma Jasmin of Boise for the mixed-media painting “Frozen Roots II.” Another Juror’s Merit Award and $500 went to Jill Kyong of Moscow for her ebonized walnut and maple creation “Shelf: a Hard Place.”

The juror for this year’s triennial is Grace Kook-Anderson, the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Northwest Art at the Portland Art Museum. She formerly served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art in the School of Art + Design at Portland State University and as the Curator of Contemporary Art at Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California.

BOISE INSURANCE COMPANY RICKETTS ASSOCIATES WINS 2020 MAKE MORE HAPPEN AWARD

Liberty Mutual and Safeco Insurance recently announced that Ricketts and Associates, Inc. earned a 2020 Make More Happen Award, which recognizes their volunteer work with Light My Fire, Inc. and commitment to improving the local community. The award includes a $5,000 donation that will directly benefit Light My Fire, a nonprofit organization supporting fire prevention education and emergency financial support to those displaced by fire disasters.

As a working professional in the insurance industry and a strong believer in fire prevention, Bob Ricketts, Owner of Ricketts & Associates, took the challenge of raising funds to help build a Fire Safe House to teach fire prevention to elementary students in Boise. After exceeding fundraising expectations and contributing to a second Fire Safe House in Meridian, Ricketts formed Light My Fire, Inc. to support families displaced by fire. To date the nonprofit has contributed over $500,000 to fire prevention education and to Burn-Out Funds.

With the Make More Happen donation, Light My Fire will be able to fund the necessary materials that are used for fire safety classes for elementary schools for one year. The donation will also go towards their Burn-Out Funds program that can provide up to 13 families who have been displaced by a fire with temporary shelter and supplies.

The story of Ricketts & Associates and Light My Fire will be featured on the official Make More Happen microsite AgentGiving.com/make-more-happen, giving the nonprofit a chance to earn the additional $5,000. If their story receives at least 500 shares via the microsite, the donation will be doubled to $10,000.