‘Poor college student’ helping low-income residents
Sarah Knott is on a serious mission to raise money for Community Action Partnership as a participant in the third annual Cycle Against Poverty.
Knott has about $500 in pledges to date, but her personal goal is $1,000. She says every dollar up to $10,000 will be matched by business sponsors.
“When I found out about Cycle Against Poverty, I jumped on it,” Knott says. “I don’t have any money to give – I’m a poor college student – but I can give my time and energy.”
Knott, 27, has already built an impressive volunteer résumé. She is a CAP, Kootenai County board member, and a Kootenai County Juvenile Diversion mentor who works to build rapport and relationships with clients who are on probation.
She is a member of the Student Organization of Social Workers, where she works on various committees and assists with humanitarian projects in the community; and she has volunteered in the past with Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity and Kootenai County Children and Family Services.
All this plus she works at a local waterslide park and is a full-time undergraduate student at Lewis-Clark State College, Coeur d’Alene. She plans to graduate in May with a bachelor’s degree in social work.
The cycling event is today on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes, which is a converted Union Pacific railway spanning 72 miles from Plummer to Mullan.
Riders hit the trail at approximately 9 a.m. at Heyburn State Park, and can enjoy scenic views of farms, wetlands, bird sanctuaries, historic mining towns, the Coeur d’Alene River and the mountains of North Idaho. Since it is an old railway, the trail is flat and smooth, and closed to motorists.
Cycle Against Poverty is one of CAP’s major fund-raising events to assist low-income clients with basic life needs, including shelter, food, medical care, prescriptions and job-skills training.
“We do not want people to just be able to survive, we want them to thrive by finding meaningful relationships in their lives,” Knott says.
There are more than 42,000 men, women, elderly and children living in northern Idaho who are unable to meet their basic needs, according to CAP.
Kootenai County’s poverty rate is 10.5 percent, which translates to 12,335 people. This number only represents those living in poverty, and not the thousands of people who could easily fall into poverty because of medical expenses, lack of health insurance or accidents.
In 2004, according to CAP, $755,889 in Community Service Block Grant money allowed them to leverage $1,874,425 in state, local and private resources. This figure included donations and services from foundations, corporations and individuals.
According to Knott, the organization serves as a safety net and springboard for low-income people and cares about the needs of each individual as well as the vitality and future of the entire community.
“CAP values each person and commits to helping all people meet their needs by their own talents, potentials and passions,” Knott says. “Their principles align closely with the social work core values of social justice, service and importance to human relationship, dignity and worth of person, competence and integrity.”
Knott says her mother has been her greatest supporter.
“Because she believes in me and encourages me with hope, I have been able to achieve so much more than I ever dreamed,” Knott says.
Knott says one of her LCSC social work professors, Theresa McDowell, has been an important mentor. “Theresa has been such an inspiration to me – she has inspired me to reach for the stars and to never give up.
“My dream is to help my community become people that care and are not afraid to show compassion and sympathy for people in need,” Knott says.
Community Action Partnership is a 50l (c) 3 nonprofit corporation and all donations are tax-deductible. If you would like to contribute to Cycle Against Poverty and Sarah Knott’s fund-raising efforts, call CAP at (888) 725-3663.