After a spur-of-the-moment decision to fundraise for their community, teachers at Sandpoint High School Raised $1,260 to help fund the Hoot Owl Cafe’s free Thanksgiving dinner.

“My mom called me and said, ‘the high school wanted to present you with something,’” said Savannah Mort, the organizer of the Thanksgiving dinner and the Hoot Owl’s weekly soup kitchen. “I was definitely surprised.”

Teachers read the article about the cafe’s plans for Thanksgiving dinner in Nov. 12 issue of the Bonner County Daily Bee, said speech teacher Lisa Barton, and were inspired to help out. About 50 teachers in total chipped in.

“It’s such a sweet story, and we wanted to do something,” she said. “Over the next 24 hours, we said, ‘we’re going to come around, empty your pockets if you can.’”

The donation will pay for a significant amount of the Thanksgiving dinner, Mort said, which is planned to be about three times bigger than most years because of the challenges brought on by COVID-19.

Right now they’ve ordered about $1,500 worth of food, she said, although preparations are still being made.

Any funds left over will go toward the Hoot Owl’s annual Christmas Eve dinner, which drew around 100 people last year, Mort said.

Teachers began fundraising Thursday, and finished Friday, Barton said. On Monday, they dropped off the donation.

The opportunity to give back was a big morale booster for staff, she said.

“We’re all looking for something hopeful,” Barton said. “Things can seem a little bleak sometimes.”

Mort, whose daughter attends SHS, said she was glad to know that her daughter was surrounded by such generous people.

“It definitely brought tears to my eyes,” Mort said. “It was just a huge, huge, huge blessing.”