Nutrition, wellness and physical exercise are important to Sydney Green.

The 22-year-old began working in the service industry at age 10 to help out her dad, who sold food at the local fair.

"I would start peeling potatoes or shucking corn," Green said during a recent phone interview. "I fell in love with it."

She took a break from the food scene in high school. As the COVID-19 pandemic descended on the world, Green had to make a life adjustment just before she began working at Pilgrim's Market.

"The week before I started my shift, I officially found out I was a Type 1 diabetic," she said.

Rather than rest during pandemic shutdowns, Green discovered a new passion: line dancing.

"I needed something to do, something that wouldn’t drop my blood sugar completely," she said. "I would be in my living room, watching YouTube, learning to line dance."

Green is earning a hospitality business management degree from North Idaho College, where she also went through the culinary arts program. She and school colleagues Meg Haycock, 20, and Rebecca Crippen, 17, who work in catering and food service, took an event planning course that inspired them to create a new event that would combine elements of wellness and fun with philanthropy and support for local food service workers.

The inaugural Hospitality Hoedown benefit for CDAIDE will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Coeur d'Alene Eagles.

"We knew a little about CDAIDE but not the full scope of what they do," Green said. "There's so much more that I didn't know that I'm learning."

CDAIDE is a nonprofit that supports those in the food service and hospitality industry by providing resources when they face challenges, such as losing wages due to injury or transportation needs.

"Two of the staff members at the Eagles have worked with CDAIDE in their hard times, so that just tied it with a bow," Green said.

As a barista and ice cream server, Haycock said she feels great about supporting CDAIDE, especially since she broke her foot in October and knows what it's like to lose out on money for missing work.

"Luckily I have some great support back home," she said, "but if I didn’t and CDAIDE was there to support me I would have been so grateful."

CDAIDE Executive Director Jason Nye said it has been wonderful working on this event with these young ladies.

"They are intelligent, creative and hardworking," he said. "They have amazing passion for their community and the hospitality sector in particular. I'm so pleased they have chosen to help CDAIDE."

The Hospitality Hoedown will feature a buffet of dishes donated by local restaurants, line and swing dance lessons and raffles. Tickets are $15 each. Guests must be at least 18.

“This honestly means everything to me," Green said. "I wish CDAIDE could be everywhere and help everyone in this industry."

Visit hospitalityhoedowncda.com for event tickets and info. Go to cdaide.org for more about CDAIDE.