Fundraiser fountains looted, reports say

The fountains on downtown Coeur d’Alene street corners aren’t just for decoration – they’re to raise money for nonprofit organizations.

But the woman leading the fundraising effort has heard reports of teenagers taking the money that donors leave in the fountains, and she isn’t sure what she can do about it.

“I don’t know what to say other than it makes me so sad,” Eden Moreland said. “I just wish people had less selfish behavior. It just makes me sick.”

Moreland’s Fountains of Wishes fundraising project is a sister project of the “No Moose Left Behind” statues two years ago, which raised $415,000 for the EXCEL Foundation.

The fountains made their debut May 12 and will be on display until they’re auctioned off at the end of the summer.

Nonprofit organizations asked sponsoring companies to pay about $6,000 for the fountains to be produced.

Money from their sales and the money people leave in them throughout the summer will go to the nonprofits.

The nonprofits collect the change from their fountains regularly.

“The whole ‘tossing a coin in the fountains’ is a big part of this project,” Moreland said.

All told, 16 fountains are scattered through downtown. Another sits at Kathleen Avenue and Ramsey Road, and a small table-top fountain should be completed soon, Moreland said.

The fountains vary in size, material and appearance. One resembles a tree, another a grizzly bear.

Compared with the moose statues, “the art is more appealing to a broader audience,” Moreland said.

Moreland said the project was inspired by the success of the moose statues.

“One night, I had an epiphany about fountains,” Moreland said.

There’s no fundraising total yet, but Moreland said some organizations took home $50 after just the successful opening weekend.

She’s heard more recent reports of people dropping $20, even $30 in change in the fountains, but the nonprofits aren’t getting the money.

“I’m sick of it,” Moreland said.

She said she hasn’t contacted the police – she said she knows there’s no way to guard the fountains at all times.

“I just want people to be kind and honest and not be stealing from the nonprofits,” Moreland said.