Grant will support the organization’s Food Service Training and Job Placement program to provide assistance for Idaho adults with employment barriers

BOISE, ID — January 10, 2023 —KeyBank has awarded a $150,000 grant to Create Common Good (CCG), a non-profit organization that prepares at-risk adults in Idaho to be successful in food service careers. The KeyBank grant will allow Create Common Good to expand its ServSafe Training career-prep program to include certification and job placement assistance for inmates upon release. 
Since 2008, Create Common Good has worked with Idaho populations facing economic hardships, helping bridge the gap between those with a desire to work and the community’s employment needs. The ServSafe Training program provides food service career training for Idaho Department of Corrections inmates to gain the confidence and skills needed for future employment.
“Create Common Good’s work, through programs like the ServSafe job training program, offers the confidence and training so desperately needed for our incarcerated populations to gain sustainable employment, escape poverty and hopefully reduce recidivism,” said Scott Schlange, president of KeyBank Idaho. “KeyBank is proud to support this valuable and much-needed community initiative, and we look forward to the program’s expansion.”
“The generous support of KeyBank Foundation will allow CCG to expand our Food Service training program to incarcerated individuals within Idaho’s correctional facilities,” said Cyn Dalton, CEO of Create Common Good. “It is our aim to reduce recidivism by assisting them with skill acquisition and job placement.”
Food created through the ServSafe Training program may also be distributed to Opportunity Zone, a program that serves food insecure families and children.

About Create Common Good
Create Common Good (CCG) has been training adults with barriers to employment for thirteen years: refugees, the nonchronic homeless, those with substance abuse or non-violent criminal histories, and/or mental health concerns. Our two-tiered program is eight weeks but can be extended for individual needs. Trainees learn proper food protocols including temperature control, sanitation, storage, and allergens. During the 150+ hours of classroom and kitchen instruction, the trainees also are evaluated and mentored in job soft skills: following instructions, teamwork, attendance, time management, resume building, mock interviews and peer interaction. Upon graduation, CCG will assist with applying for and securing employment.

About KeyCorp
KeyCorp's roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $190.1 billion at September 30, 2022. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.  

Hometown heroes are the focus of annual college bowl game set for Dec. 27

​Boise, ID - In recognition of the service and sacrifice of thousands of first responders nationwide, SERVPRO will host the fifth annual SERVPRO First Responder Bowl at SMU's Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. The University of Memphis Tigers will face off against the Utah State University Aggies. Kickoff is set for December 27, 2022, at 3:15 Eastern Standard Time on ESPN.

"This game shines a spotlight on hometown heroes across the country," said Christian Isaacson, a disaster restoration specialist with SERVPRO of Boise. "We are proud to be part of a company that honors all first responders for willingly putting the welfare of others ahead of their own personal safety."

Nationwide, SERVPRO franchises, including Boise, were asked to submit the name of a first responder from their hometown to be considered for special recognition at the game. This year, SERVPRO is honoring Cpl. Phillip Zonn and POFC. Geobani Guerra of the Prince George's County (Maryland) Police Department. Zonn and Guerra were both separately traveling home from their shift when they approached a vehicle that had been involved in an accident. The two officers bravely worked to cut the unconscious and injured driver free from the burning vehicle before it was engulfed in flames.

The First Responder Bowl caps off a year of significant support from SERVPRO for first responder communities across the country. Following Hurricane Ian, SERVPRO, in partnership with First Responders Children's Foundation (FRCF), a nonprofit organization that aids the children and families of first responders, provided $150,000 in financial grants to 80 first responders affected by the storm. (https://1strcf.org/ian/). In addition, SERVPRO performed, at no charge, mitigation services to begin restoring the homes of ten first responders affected by Ian.

SERVPRO is also celebrating community and individual participation in the game. First responders nationwide will enjoy the game with first responder tailgate boxes, filled with tailgate goodies, purchased by their local SERVPRO franchisee and delivered to their local fire stations and public safety offices in time for the game. Fans in the Boise area can show their support for first responders by taking and posting a selfie with the hashtag #MySelfieGives while watching the game in person or on TV. SERVPRO will donate $100, up to $25,000, to the FRCF for each selfie posted during the game.

Tickets for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl are available now at https://www.firstresponderbowl.com/ticket-op. First responders are eligible for up to four complimentary tickets to the game. SERVPRO, as a presenting sponsor, also honors first responders at 12 additional bowl games, including the Armed Forces Bowl and the Frisco Bowl, with the "Honor a Responder" award.

SERVPRO specializes in disaster cleaning, restoration, and construction services, helping to remediate damage, making it "Like it never even happened," for both commercial and residential customers. For more information on SERVPRO of Boise, please contact Christian Isaacson at (208) 375-0300 or [email protected]. For more information about SERVPRO, please visit www.servpro.com.

About SERVPRO
For more than 50 years, SERVPRO has been a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup and restoration services, construction, mold mitigation, biohazard and pathogen remediation. SERVPRO's professional services network of more than 2,000 individually owned and operated franchises spans the United States and Canada, responding to property damage emergencies large and small – from million-square-foot commercial facilities to individual homes. When disaster strikes, homeowners, business owners and major insurance companies alike rely on SERVPRO to make it "Like it never even happened."

BOTHELL, Wash. – If you do not carry National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) insurance, now is the time to buy it. Wildfire season is slowing down, and once the fires are out, people and communities are at risk for another threat, flooding.  Wildfires leave the ground charred and unable to absorb water. This creates a flash flooding potential for years to come, even in areas that rarely experienced flooding in the past. Sometimes these flash floods can pick up ash and large debris, turning into mudflows that are highly destructive.
Unlike many causes of damage, flooding and mudflows are generally not covered by a homeowners’ policy. An uninsured flood loss can eat into your life’s savings. Floods are the most common and expensive natural disaster in the U.S.  Just an inch of water in an average-sized home can cause $25,000 in damage. A NFIP policy protects against such losses and can ensure that a flood doesn’t bring financial ruin.
Flood insurance is easy to get, the only requirement is that you live in an NFIP participating community. These include cities, counties and other jurisdictions that manage development. You don’t need to live in a floodplain to purchase a policy. If you live outside a floodplain, insurance will likely cost less than for those living in a higher risk area.
Buyers should be aware of the 30-day waiting period for an NFIP policy to go into effect. It is important to purchase a policy now to protect your property against the continuing threat of flooding. You can usually purchase flood insurance from your current agent. If that isn’t possible, NFIP representatives can help you find one.
As with any insurance, be sure to talk with your agent about the specifics of your policy. Find out more about your risk and flood insurance at www.floodsmart.gov. To purchase flood insurance or find an agent, call 1-800-427-4661.

BOISE ART MUSEUM ANNOUNCES
 
Willem Volkersz: The View From Here
October 8, 2022 – January 8, 2023

Montana-based artist Willem Volkersz (b. 1939) is a significant contemporary artist known for his neon and paint-by-number-style installations.  He was a pioneer in the use of neon in art and developed early and sustaining loves for photography, travel, American roadside culture, Americana, and Folk and Visionary Art.  Volkersz came to the United States from Holland in 1953, after the devastation of World War II, and brought with him a rich history that is reflected in his works of art. Volkersz has often said that he has an immigrant’s fascination with America, and as a teenager, he began hitchhiking and driving throughout the American West, camera in hand. The artworks featured in The View From Here were produced over the past 25 years and draw upon the artist’s eight decades of life experience. They touch upon his early life in Holland under Nazi occupation, his immigration to America, and his current life in the Western United States. The artworks also suggest the ways these personal experiences and passions connect to wider social issues of enduring relevance for everyone.
 
Volkersz studied art and architecture at the University of Washington before earning an MFA in painting at Mills College in Oakland, CA. After teaching at the Kansas City Art Institute for 18 years, he went to Montana State University-Bozeman in 1986 to direct the School of Art and teach until his retirement in 2001. His work has been featured in 46 solo exhibitions and in over 200 group shows in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, China, and Taiwan. He is the recipient of many awards, including a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, grants from the Mellon Foundation and Gottlieb Foundation, and a 2020 Montana Governor’s Arts Award. He has been a visiting artist and lecturer at almost 100 institutions in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China.
 
This exhibition is organized by Brandon Reintjes, senior curator at the Missoula Art Museum (MAM), and travels throughout the Northwest through 2024 to the South Dakota Art Museum in Rapid City, SD; Boise Art Museum, ID; Missoula Art Museum, MT; and Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem, OR.
 
Organized by the Missoula Art Museum, Montana
 
Sponsored by Bev and George Harad