BOISE, Idaho — A campaign to promote acts of kindness and raise money for the Idaho Foodbank kicks off on Monday.
The IdahoKind campaign is aimed at generating 1,000 kind acts between Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Valentine's Day.
According to Carlyn Blake, the development manager for The Idaho Foodbank, local philanthropists Duane and Lori Stueckle have offered to match all donations given to the Idaho Foodbank through the campaign, up to $100,000.
"They came up to us and said 'we've got $100,000 we'd love for you to use as a challenge match, but we really want it to be more than just a $100,000 match; we really want it to be about Acts of Kindness,'" Blake said. "We've found during the holidays Idahoans are so generous and so kind, but after the holidays donations do tend to drop off a little bit, so this idea came about to generate a thousand acts of kindness through just wanting to continue that kindness past the holidays."
If the foodbank can meet the match, the money raised will pay for more than 1 million meals for Idahoans grappling with food insecurity.
Blake said there are several ways to participate in the IdahoKind campaign.
"The first is to give so that we can make that $100,000 match good, but there are other ways to participate as well and that is by sharing on social media using the hashtag IdahoKind, any act of kindness. And it doesn't have to be just an act of kindness to a foodbank by volunteering or donating - it's really about all acts of kindness all over the state," she said. "It might be being a shoulder for a friend or it might be thanking somebody for picking up things that you left out in your front yard, and thank goodness you put it up by the house so it didn't get stolen, or it could just be the person who bought you a cup of coffee at your local coffee shop. Any act of kindness is really what we're trying to track, with the idea that we can continue all of this kindness after the holidays."
Duane Stueckle said in a statement that the campaign is aimed at helping those who are struggling during the pandemic.
"Lori and I are grateful to be able to support our neighbors during this historic time of challenges. Now is the time to take action – to do whatever we can to help one another and organizations doing good work in our communities," he said. "We are confident that with your donations the match challenge will be met and we will be able to provide food for up to one million meals to Idahoans." He adds, "As we welcome 2021, we are hopeful that a kindness campaign encourages Idahoans to be aware of how we can help one another and spread goodwill."
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