Faces of Idaho -- Edith Bales

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POCATELLO -- Edith Bales can be found at yard sales, baby sitting or maybe even mowing a friend's lawn.

Those are some of the activities that Idaho Community Action Network members do. Bales said ICAN members can assist one another through voluntary services.

Bales has been a member with ICAN for about seven years, and takes part in the organization's activities while being a first-year student at Idaho State University's College of Technology.

Once a month, Bales and other ICAN members go to the Idaho Food Bank on Second Avenue where they receive food donations. She said the members usually take the charitable donations and distribute them back among their families.

Bales said the families receive up to about 100 pounds of food from the Food Bank.

But food packages are not the only donations to ICAN.

Sometimes members throughout the community donate items, such as appliances and furniture, which the organization either sell at yard sales or raffle off at various community events.

"Mostly we help each other. We all help one another, like because someone can't mow their lawns. Or sometimes, we'll help each other with yard sales," Bales said. "And we donate all our food to our own members."

Bales said some services to as far as helping an ICAN member work on a car.

However, ICAN does not limit itself to just charitable donations and good Samaritan services.

Bales said the organization has dealt with political issues, such as health care, immigration and government assistance with low-income families. She said ICAN has gone to as far as protest the Idaho Legislature with protest letters.

Bales said one issue that she has supported has been helping immigrant workers sign up for insurance. She said although illegal immigrant workers do not necessarily have a social security card, they do have a tax number, which the government uses to collect taxes.

"They usually cut the social programs first," she said.

By Yann Ranaivo

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