CdA homes tour to benefit institute

Volunteers with the Human Rights Education Institute are going door to door to raise money.

To five different doors. And they’re inviting the public to come along.

The institute’s first home tour – slated to become an annual event – is set for May 18. Five homes in Coeur d’Alene’s historic Fortgrounds neighborhood will be on the guided tour.

Bob Bennett, executive director of the institute, said the home tour was inspired by a tour he took with his wife in Puerto Vallarta.

A committee has been working for months to pull the tour together, he said.

In future years, the group may consider touring homes in other areas of town, adding the event to its series of annual fundraisers that include a gala and a banquet.

The institute, housed in a former railroad battery building on the edge of Coeur d’Alene’s City Park, was opened with $1 million in seed money from Idaho Falls philanthropist Greg Carr. The city-owned building is leased to the center basically rent-free – the improvements the institute made to the property were credited toward lease payments.

Bennett said the institute still relies heavily on public support.

The institute plans to continue expanding its programs, he said. A summer camp for middle school students is planned.

“We’re going to focus on leadership, but also how to deal effectively with racism, bigotry and bullying,” Bennett said.

The estimated 100 students who attend the camp will be asked to come to the camp each day as somebody other than themselves.

“Maybe if they’re a boy they have to be a girl,” Bennett said.

The home tour will depart from the institute, which Bennett said will give him the opportunity to tell people about the institute and its programs. Historian Robert Singletary will provide history on the Fortgrounds neighborhood.

Guided tours for the adults-only event will be from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. May 18.

Tickets cost $35 and are available at the institute or by calling (208) 292-2359.