Posts published in “Malloy”

The name of Dan Gandy’s nonprofit in Pocatello tells everything about what’s in his heart. And if you have admiration for veterans and first responders, you’ll love what he’s doing.

The 52-year-old Gandy, a former Marine, is providing veterans and first responders with a year-long introduction to Jiu Jitsu – free of charge. He has no ambition for personal gain.

“I don’t want to make money off it – I just want to help people,” Gandy says.

Gandy’s other motivation is a love for Jiu Jitsu, and the challenging training that goes with martial arts. He says it has helped him through some dark times of his post-military life, including the death of a son in 2021.

“When I left the Marine Corps, I carried the same weight that so many veterans and first responders know so well – the loss of structure and the feeling that the world kept moving while I was trying to figure out who I was supposed to be,” he said. “Eventually, I realized I needed something healthier – something that grounded me, instead of pulling me farther away from myself.”

Jiu Jitsu ended up being a turning point in his life. Now, he is pursuing a master’s degree in clinical rehabilitation counseling while working as a real estate agent and an operator of a blacksmithing business.

As for his ultimate career goal, he said, “I want to provide the help that so many veterans need.”

Gandy, who started his Jiu Jitsu scholarship program in January, expects more participation over time. At the moment, he has three participants – a Marine veteran, an Army veteran and a Pocatello police detective. A Blackfoot police officer has shown high interest in the program.

As with other nonprofits, fundraising is an essential part of Gandy’s operation. He estimates the cost of hosting a class of five is $6,500 a year.

“This is a scholarship program that funds veterans to train at any academy they choose eventually. However, until we grow enough to support all our participants, we have partnered with Colossal Fight Company, where we are trained by an excellent staff of black belts,” Gandy said.

Scott Card, the Pocatello police detective, says there are obvious benefits to Jiu Jitsu training.

“The Pocatello Police Department does an amazing job of training us, but you can never train enough for a job that can kill you,” he said. “I have a wife and three kids that are under eight years old, and I want to be able to come home. If I can spend a couple of hours a week, on top of my regular gym workouts, then I can better myself with my defensive tactics. I don’t want to end my life knowing that I didn’t train hard enough. And I don’t want to take someone else’s life, or get myself in a situation where I could have avoided a more serious confrontation.”

If given a choice, the 30-year-old Card would rather use his hands than a gun to neutralize a confrontation. With Jiu Jitsu, submissions tend to happen quickly – which is good in Card’s line of work.

“I’m in this job to help people and make the community safer, and I don’t want to hurt anybody,” Card says. “I haven’t used Jiu Jitsu skills yet, and that’s fine with me. But I’m a detective, a member of the SWAT team and the street-crime team, so my chance of being in a violent situation is greater than the average officer.”

As for the program, Card said, “Dan is so generous with his time and I’m grateful for him wanting to help veterans and first responders in our community. From a police perspective, the more training we have, the more likely we are to keep everyone safer – suspects, victims and even ourselves.”

For veterans, Gandy says, “Community support doesn’t just fund training. It restores hope, connection and purpose. It gives someone the chance to rebuild a life in the same way I’ve built mine. This is not a business or a hobby for me, it’s a lifeline.”

Chuck Malloy, an Idaho native and long-time journalist and columnist, is a volunteer writer with the Idaho Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Center. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

Imagine the desperation LaRita Shepherd must have felt three years ago, sleeping in her car or along the Boise River. And she had a 7-year-old daughter who was living somewhere else.

LaRita says that as bad as those days were, they still felt safer than staying with her abuser. She tried to leave several times, but each attempt ended with him finding her again. With a shelter feeling out of reach, her only “safe haven” became her car or the banks of the Boise River. In the chaos of survival, substance use took hold as she tried to cope.

“The summers were extremely hot and the winters were beyond freezing,” she said.

Along the way, someone told LaRita about CATCH, a nonprofit agency that helps homeless families find housing and get back on their feet. Now, LaRita and her daughter are living in an apartment in Boise. LaRita is off drugs, working fulltime and pursuing a career in cosmetology. Her daughter is thriving as a fifth-grade student.

And LaRita is a testimony about the value of CATCH.

“CATCH gave me the self-confidence I have today,” she says. “They’ve given me and many others a second chance at life. Life just seems to make sense now.”

LaRita’s is not the only success story, and she’s far from the only victim of domestic violence living on the streets. According to CATCH, nearly half of the families they’ve worked with over the past year (44 percent) were fleeing domestic violence. In Southwest Idaho alone, that amounts to 100 of the 227 families CATCH has served since 2024. It’s a pattern that Jeremy Blades, the organization’s director of housing services, says he’s seen again and again.

That’s 100 of 227 families served by CATCH in Southwest Idaho since 2024. Jeremy Blades, CATCH director of housing services, has seen this story play out many times.

“The moment a survivor chooses safety, they often lose their housing, financial stability, social support and legal protection all at once,” he said. “Leaving your abuser often means leaving everything behind.”

Stephanie Day, the executive director of CATCH, has seen homelessness from all angles, but she was surprised by the numbers that recently were released. The reality doesn’t match some of the myths – that unemployment, alcohol and drugs are the leading causes.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I’ve been a social worker for 20 years, and we didn’t have a good grasp of how rampant the problem was with domestic violence. I think much of the community will be surprised with those numbers, too.”

According to Betsy Bowling, a regional director for housing services, domestic violence survivors – such as LaRita -- require specialized support.

“We typically start with safety planning – they often can’t live just anywhere. Domestic violence victims lack resources and require more time with case managers as they rebuild safety and stability.”

Blades says that finding housing can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years.

“But waiting doesn’t mean waiting alone,” he says. “Through our network, more than 40 partner organizations, families receive immediate support including shelter placement, food assistance, healthcare and other vital services while they wait for more safe and stable housing.”

Of course, housing – and money – don’t grow on trees. The holiday season is over, but the needs are glaring for an organization that last year provided housing for 440 people. That includes 105 families and 208 children. Donations can be made through catchidaho.org.

“When you support CATCH, you’re not just helping families find housing,” says Ryan Den Heuvel, director of development. “You’re helping families rebuild, regain stability, and write a new chapter – one where their future is defined not by crisis, but by hope that can reshape their families’ trajectory for generations.”

LaRita Shepherd, for one, is an example of where “new chapters” can go.

Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a volunteer writer with the Idaho Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Center. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

One thing seems certain about this year’s legislative session. With a daunting budget shortfall lying before them, it’s a good bet that trimming budgets will be high on the lawmakers’ “do” list.

That means saying “no” to a lot of heart-wrenching causes in state government and, perhaps, to nonprofits as well. Kevin Bailey, who heads the Idaho Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Center, is well aware of the challenges and lends a sympathetic eye to legislators who have to make hard decisions.

“It’s a difficult job,” he says. “There will be around 700 bills introduced, along with dozens and dozens of special interests making requests.”

The community foundation is one of the groups with a “policy agenda” for this session, but it’s one than legislators might be receptive to in this cost-cutting environment. Nonprofits receive almost no general-fund dollars.

“It’s largely maintaining appropriations for grants that are paid with federal dollars, such as Meals on Wheels for seniors,” Bailey says.

The center’s wish list includes maintaining property tax exemptions for nonprofits, supporting appropriations that enhance nonprofits’ ability to provide essential community services and keeping the federal and state tax codes friendly toward charitable giving. The agenda also backs initiatives that promote increasing the supply “of high-quality affordable childcare, policies that allow for innovative/pooled employee benefit solutions, and policies that ensure a stable and affordable health insurance market for employers, which affects all businesses (nonprofit and for-profit alike).”

Bailey says that Idaho legislators generally are supportive of nonprofits, and for good reason. “Idaho runs on nonprofits,” he says.

He makes a good point. Something I have learned in my 10 months writing about nonprofits is that this state is full of good people doing good things – with minimal, if any, help from the government. And this is what Bailey sees every day in his job.

“I think about it from the aspect of my own family life,” Bailey says. “Nonprofits are places of worship, after-school programs, childcare, places we send our kids for summer camps, the discovery center, the performances we see at the Morrison Center. Nonprofits are like oxygen … we take them for granted, but people will notice if you take them away and our communities will die off.”

For conservative-minded legislators, nonprofits help keep government small by providing social services that substantially are not paid by taxpayer dollars.

“Nonprofits are a good deal for the taxpayer because in many ways, they save the state from having to create its own programs,” Bailey says. “Not all nonprofits are perfect, certainly there are exceptions, but nonprofits are local, generally small and are well managed. Almost all have 10 to 25 board members who make decisions about the community and organizations that they shepherd. If that’s not democracy in action, then I don’t know what is.”

As with other groups, Bailey says, there are advocates at the Statehouse lobbying for the center’s policy agenda and other issues of interest to nonprofits. As Bailey sees it, there’s a critical need for having that presence.

“Nonprofits should be at the table when it comes to public policy,” he says. “If you are not at the table, then you’re on the menu.”

Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a volunteer writer with the Idaho Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Center. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

Andrew Rogers is 33 years old, lives in an apartment in Sandpoint, works at the local Safeway store and is self-sufficient.

It’s a “normal” lifestyle by any measure – something that didn’t appear to be possible 12 years ago. Autism didn’t hold back Andrew and his life changed for the better when Panhandle Special Needs Inc. entered the picture.

As he explains, “It opened doors for things I couldn’t do. I learned how to manage a budget, shop, do housecleaning, how to cook different foods and how to do laundry.”

Megan Albertson, administrative assistant for Panhandle Special Needs, saw a much different person in 2013.

“When he first came to us, he struggled with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and a fear of anything new. And that was in addition to his diagnosis of mild intellectual disability with a development age of about eight and a half years,” she said. “His parents were convinced he faced significant barriers to independence and would never be able to live on his own.”

Living on his own didn’t happen overnight – the special needs staff spent many hours, and Andrew spent a lot of classroom time, learning the basics of independent living. In 2017, he moved into his own apartment – beaming with pride – and by 2018 his goal was met.

“He proved to himself, his parents and our staff that he was fully capable of independent living, just like we knew he could,” says Albertson. “We continued to challenge him with more advanced skills – things like portion control, problem solving and cooking complex meals.”

Andrew’s parents moved to Arizona three years ago, and Andrew went with them for a brief period. He decided that he wanted to move back to Sandpoint.

“I couldn’t get into an apartment – it was literally impossible,” he said. “I couldn’t get a job and they didn’t have services for people with my level of disability. Here, they have everything.”

Look at him now, says Albertson. “He’s here, living 100 percent independently.”

Andrew’s is not the only success story within Panhandle Special Needs. The Sandpoint-based nonprofit organization has been around for 50 years, serving people with disabilities in Bonner and Boundary counties. Trinity Nicholson, the executive director for 25 years, has on file a long list of testimonials from participants, caregivers and even staff members who sing praises about the work environment. It all speaks well of the value of Panhandle Special Needs and Nicholson’s leadership.

PSNI serves about 200 clients a year, offering a wide range of services and employment opportunities. There are not a lot of places like this. Board members are unpaid and funding predominantly comes from Medicaid, with in-house programs providing some revenue. As with nonprofits in general, private donations play a big part in the service’s viability.

“We see people moving here from other states to get services,” Nicholson says. “We serve families, not just individuals. As demands grow, we don’t want to be just OK in doing a lot of things. We want to be really good at providing services.”

In the process, Bonner and Boundary counties are a better place to live. Over decades, Panhandle Special Needs has served scores of disabled people and, in many cases, sparing families from severe financial hardships. Andrew Rogers has an idea how his life would be without this service.

“I’d be living with my parents for the rest of my life.”

Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a writer with the Nonprofit Center, a program of The Idaho Community Foundation. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

It takes a village.

To Angela Gifford, executive director of Village of Hope CDA (Coeur d’Alene), those words are more than a rallying cry, or a book title. It’s the foundation of her entire operation.

And it’s a big one.

Village of Hope provides support and resources for more than 250 child-foster families, and Gifford’s “village” includes social-worker support, practitioners communications experts and a healthy number of volunteers. The heroes are the foster parents who have big hearts, but not always the capability to host foster kids with a wide range of problems.

“Everyone can do something,” Gifford says. “The kids in foster care in North Idaho are our kids, and they need us to step up – each and every one of us. Not everyone can, or should, be foster parents or work with kids, but everyone can do a little something to support those that are doing it – bringing dinner, tutoring a child, providing diapers, helping prep curriculum, raise awareness donations. There are so many ways to be the village.”

As Gifford says, there’s nothing easy about caring for foster kids – many of whom are victims of abuse. Some troubled kids bounce around to multiple foster homes, going through a string of bad situations. But Gifford’s “village” and social workers do not quit on the kids, or the families.

There are success stories. Meet Katelyn Miller of Rathdrum and Tabitha Norris of Post Falls.

On Christmas Eve of last year, Katelyn took in a newborn boy (Sonny), and it was not for a short-term placement. She’s had experience working with foster children, which inspired her to say “yes” to welcoming Sonny. Katelyn’s 8-year-old son, JJ, was excited about getting a baby brother, but there were many things to work out.

“They said for me to bring a car seat,” she said. “How am I going to get a car seat? And clothing? What kind of formula is he going to be on? What special needs will he have?”

But Katelyn wasn’t doing this alone. The Village of Hope was there to address all those issues and even provide a crib months later.

“The Village of Hope has been amazing,” Katelyn said. “I’m so glad I answered the call on Christmas Eve, and he’s healthy and safe. He lights up my life in ways I never expected.”

Tabitha Norris and her husband, Paul, had a challenge of a different sort. In June, they adopted a 17-year-old boy from South Idaho who had bounced around foster homes for more than a decade. And Tabitha has plenty of challenges of her own with advanced stages of Muscular Dystrophy.

“I think that has given me a huge heart for kids who are struggling with trauma and disabilities themselves,” she said. For her son, named Raymond Paul Norris, he now has stability in his life and a mom and dad who care.

Raising a teenager is not easy in any scenario, but Tabitha says the rewards far outweigh the challenges. Raymond is being home-schooled during his senior year and enjoys basketball, baseball and rock climbing.

“He’s so joyful – so bouncy and fun,” Tabitha says. “He has changed our lives. He is our hero.”

The Village of Hope has been with Tabitha and Paul through the entire journey, Tabitha says. “They have gone above and beyond, always asking how they can support us.”

Officially, Raymond has “aged out” of the foster-care system, but he’s now working as a junior volunteer with Village of Hope.

Gifford gladly celebrates success stories, but they are not typical in her world. She sees social workers who are overworked, foster parents who do not have enough training and families that are at risk.

“North Idaho has not caught up to offering affordable housing, and families are losing health coverage for their kids,” she says. “These families are at risk and we need to be doing more on the prevention side. We work with families to help kids overcome trauma and set healthy goals, but there are so many other odds that are stacking up against them.”

Gifford is correct. She has a nice “village” in place, but there’s much more that needs to be done.

Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a writer with the Idaho Nonprofit Center, a program of The Idaho Community Foundation. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

Making America great again.

We’ve heard all about that for more than a decade, with political parties sharply divided over what constitutes greatness. Politicians will continue to grapple with that topic.

For my money, what makes America great again – while putting a shine on the Gem State that is as bright as the morning sun – are the roughly 300 people who attended the recent Idaho Nonprofit Center’s annual conference. Collectively, they had compelling stories to tell, a passion for their causes and a desire to make their communities a better place.

Donna Murray-Brown, who delivered a splendid keynote address, described what she saw on the faces in the crowd.

“I saw what I see every day in this sector: extraordinary individuals who believe with every ounce of their being that they can make a difference – and, that working alongside other visionaries, they will make a difference,” she said.

Murray-Brown has plenty of expertise in the field. She is principal of the Louisville-based DMB Coaching and Consulting, LLC, which helps strengthen leadership, culture and strategies for nonprofits nationally and beyond. She’s a former president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association and served as vice president of strategy and development at the National Council of Nonprofits in Washington, D.C.

“Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with and learning from nonprofit leaders across the country,” she said. “And no matter where I go, I see the same spirit I saw in Boise – people fueled by vision, driven by purpose and determined to serve their communities in ways that create lasting change.”

Over the two-day session, I met with some of those nonprofit leaders. There’s not enough space to mention them all, but the leaders I met had a clear purpose for their work and a vision for what they want to accomplish. They are dedicating their lives to solving real-life problems in their communities, and not waiting for the government to take action.

In Sandpoint, there’s an organization called Panhandle Special Needs, which focuses on training adults with disabilities in independent living skills that empower them to lead more self-sufficient and fulfilling lives.

In Twin Falls, there’s a place called Valley House, a shelter for the homeless. It’s not a hand-out, but a hand-up for those wanting to get back on their feet. There are strict requirements for their services, along with some tough love. The winners are those who come out at the other side as productive citizens.

I visited with a representative of the Salmon-based Mahoney House, which offers support and services to survivors of domestic violence (men included) and sexual assault. And there was the Mental Health Coalition of Teton Valley, which serves a gorgeous part of the state where too many suicides occur.

My experience over those two days was educational and exhilarating. But it was a mere sample of what Murray-Brown sees in her travels.

“The energy is inspiring, even as I know many are carrying heavy burdens: growing demand for services, limited resources, staff shortages and lingering burnout from years of serving through crisis,” she said. “My keynote was meant to encourage them and to offer practical ways to keep moving forward while serving the public good day by day.”

Yes, these are the people who are making America great – again and again. Murray-Brown hits the target with her thoughts.

“As a community called America, we all benefit from nonprofits. They are catalysts for change and the source of human solutions to our toughest challenges. And there is great power when each of us contributes – whether by giving our time, our treasure, or our voice – to fuel this work. That investment makes stronger communities possible in every corner of our country.”

Murray-Brown provides leadership and inspiration where it counts.

Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a writer with the Idaho Nonprofit Center/Idaho Community Foundation. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com

(image/Tandem Lens)