BOISE, Idaho – The Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge will raise the Potato at the Fourth Annual Idaho® Potato Drop to help raise awareness and funding to help prevent homelessness. The event’s new “GlowTato” will rise at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 31 in Capitol Park in downtown Boise. The “Potato Rise” is a free family-friendly event to help the homeless and rally support for the 44 nonprofits statewide who have been working hard to raise funds to provide housing and critical services to Idaho’s homeless through this month’s Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge.

Idaho Housing and Finance Association and the Home Partnership Foundation along with 29 business sponsors of the Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge hope the new “Potato Rise” helps to bring a strong finish to the campaign’s fundraising efforts to help the homeless this winter. The Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge concludes at midnight just as the “GlowTato” drops to mark the start of 2017.

“Celebrating New Year’s Eve is about hope for the future and we want to help raise the hopes of the homeless this winter,” says Gerald M. Hunter, President of Idaho Housing. “Idahoans are amazingly generous and we are asking them to raise their level of giving this year. As we raise the potato together, we also raise our hope in bringing the state’s homeless in from the cold and snow to help make a better New Year for others.”

People from Idaho and around the country are encouraged to donate $25 or more at www.avenuesforhope.org. Online donors can direct gifts to any of the 44 participating nonprofits or to a shared gift pool to be divided between all participants. Additionally, a text-to-give donation option is available to support this important cause. Donors can use their cell phones to text HOUSING to 50555 to give $10 to help prevent homelessness.

Avenues for Hope launched on December 8, 2016 and has raised more than $240,000 to date. As a part of the challenge, the more funds raised by the nonprofit, the more matching funds and gifts they are eligible to win. The goal of the campaign is to finish strong and provide safe and stable housing for as many homeless families and individuals as possible.

The Fourth Annual Idaho® Potato Drop is a fun-filled day of family activities – including sports, live music, a family tent with kids’ activities, food and drink, a professional wrestling show and the Toyota Rail Jam – which kick off at 1:00 p.m. December 31. The “Potato Rise” presented by Avenues for Hope is at 6:00 p.m. and at midnight the “GlowTato” drops followed by a spectacular fireworks display. An event schedule and map is available on the event’s website.

Campaign dates: December 8 at 8 a.m. through 12 midnight on December 31, 2016
Donations accepted: http://www.avenuesforhope.org
Campaign video: https://youtu.be/dcJV5amI1js
Social media hashtag: #IdahoHomeless
Campaign logos/graphics available for download: https://avenuesforhope.org/#npo-resources
Results announced: Early January 2017

44 Nonprofit Organizations participating in the Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge

NORTH IDAHO
Affordable Housing Foundation, Inc.	Family Promise of the Palouse	Sojourners’ Alliance
Bonner County Homeless Task Force	Lewiston-Clarkston Partners Habitat for Humanity	St Vincent de Paul North Idaho
Family Promise of Lewis Clark Valley	Moscow Affordable Housing Trust, Inc.	The Women’s Center, Inc.
Family Promise of North Idaho	The Salvation Army	Union Gospel Mission Association of Spokane
SOUTHEAST IDAHO
Aid For Friends, Inc.	Idaho Falls Rescue Mission	Pocatello Habitat for Humanity
Blaine County Housing Authority	Lemhi County Crisis Intervention / The Mahoney House	South Central Community Action Partnership
CLUB, Inc.	Mini-Cassia Shelter	Southeastern Idaho Community Action Agency
Family Services Alliance	NeighborWorks Pocatello	Volunteers Against Violence
SOUTHWEST IDAHO
Advocates Against Family Violence	First Story	The Jesse Tree of Idaho
Boise Housing First	Good Samaritan Home	NeighborWorks Boise
Boise Valley Habitat for Humanity	Home Partnership Foundation	The Salvation Army
CATCH, Inc.	Hope House, Inc.	Shepherd’s Home, Inc.
The Community Builder	Idaho Youth Ranch, Inc.	Society of St. Vincent de Paul of SW Idaho
Concordia University School of Law	Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter	Women’s & Children’s Alliance
Corpus Christi House, Inc.	International Rescue Committee

 

About the Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge
The Avenues for Hope Housing Challenge is designed to rally support for 44 participating nonprofits who manage the day-to-day work of serving more than 4,000 homeless Idahoans. 2016 is the sixth year for Avenues for Hope, which has awarded more than $970,000 to nonprofits statewide since it began in 2011.

Organized by Idaho Housing and Finance Association and its foundation, the Home Partnership Foundation, the campaign helps both the chronically and temporarily homeless, including domestic violence victims, veterans, people with disabilities, vulnerable youth, seniors, and low-income Idaho residents. Donations support emergency shelters, homelessness prevention services, and affordable housing programs throughout the state.

Avenues for Hope sponsors include Academy Mortgage, Bank of Commerce, Bank of Idaho, Bank of the Cascades, Barclays, Boise Housing Corporation, Citizens Community Bank, Eide Bailly, Evergreen Home Loans, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, First Mortgage Company, George K. Baum & Company, Guild Mortgage Company, Idaho Housing and Finance Association, Idaho Independent Bank, Idaho Potato Drop, Idaho Power, KeyBank, Mountain West Bank, New Beginnings Housing, Northwest Integrity Housing, P1FCU, The Pacific Companies, Skinner Fawcett LLP, Stifel, Thomas Development Co., Wells Fargo, and Zions Bank Corporate Trust.

About the Home Partnership Foundation
The Home Partnership Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) organization created by Idaho Housing and Finance Association 11 years ago with a mission to help people build a strong foundation for their lives through stable, safe, and affordable housing.

The foundation strengthens communities across Idaho by encouraging tax-deductible charitable gifts to support shelters and shelter services for the homeless and disadvantaged, help avoid eviction actions to stabilize households and prevent homelessness, encourage asset-building and education to achieve economic independence, build equity-sharing funds to make workforce housing attainable, and facilitate tax-advantaged land donations for affordable housing purposes.

Website: www.homepartnershipfoundation.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HomePartnershipFoundation
Twitter: https://twitter.com/avenuesforhope

About Idaho Housing and Finance Association
Idaho Housing and Finance Association is a financial services and housing business organization. IHFA’s mission is to improve lives and strengthen Idaho communities by expanding housing opportunities, building self-sufficiency, and fostering economic development.

Website: www.idahohousing.com