Wings donations serve local community

Troy High School got the ball rolling for the upcoming week of fundraising for Wings of Lincoln County, now it’s up to the rest of the community to take over. During a two-week period the high school raised $2,854.59 for the non-profit, volunteer-operated community service organization that raises money for local cancer patients.

Volunteer Karen Stickney said the support from area schools is heartwarming.

“What I love about Wings is the youth of the community are involved, to me that’s really an exciting thing,” Stickney said. “The kids at the middle schools and elementary schools save pennies, the Troy High School has their contest and the Libby High School has been building something in the metal shop. We don’t know what it is, they won’t tell us, but they’re all excited about it.”

Wings covers three counties, Lincoln, Lake and Flathead, and got its name from the outline of the counties resemblance to wings. 

Karen’s mother, Connie Wood, was one of the founding members of Wings. She passed away in 2013 from her battle with lung cancer. “She was the shining star of wings,” Stickney said. “We want to keep doing it in her honor, but it’s kind of hard to do it without her.”

She said this time of year is especially hard.

However, with a dedicated group of volunteers, Stickney said the organization continues to bring in substantial donations, no matter the state of the economy. 

“Year after year we continue to see the generosity come through. Every year I think we’re not going to be disappointed if we only raise this much money,” Stickney said. “But by the time the events are over I’m just astounded. We were happy with $10,000 in the beginning and now, even with the mine closing down, we see over $50,000.”

Before Wings took shape, the initial idea grew from the idea of every person in Libby donating a dollar to help families traveling, usually to Spokane or Kalispell, for cancer treatment. With fewer than 3,000 residents in Libby, the community has given much more than the nascent goals.

Last year Lincoln County led the three counties in fundraising, bringing in $76,710 and helping 64 families. The total raised by the three counties was $152,706.

Stickney said the program has been around for so long people factor their donation to the organization into their budget.

The only requirement for receiving assistance from Wings is a cancer diagnosis. Beneficiaries can be princes or paupers. The only reason someone would be denied is if they reside outside the three-county area. 

Board members for Wings meet in Kalispell once a month to review the applications. Stickney is the representative for Libby and Troy.

Families can be awarded a grant of up to $4,000 a year for cost associated with their cancer treatment. 

“We pay for mileage, food for them and a companion and we pay for hotels and lodging if they need it to stay for their treatment,” Stickney said. Some patients may also require an airline to ticket to travel to their treatment facility.

Patients turn in their receipts for the travel costs and are reimbursed once a month. For folk who can’t afford to pay upfront, Wings has a process to help people with those situations.

Many people that have been served by Wings come back and help serve with the organization. “As a matter of fact almost all of the local people that help set up all of the events, a small group of about 15 people, help do all the events in Libby,” Stickney said. “A lot of them have used Wings, then come back and say ‘How can I help with Wings.’”

One such person is Kathy Dunham. “I don’t know what I would have done without them,” said Dunham. 

In 2005, Dunham was diagnosed with cancer. “It’s really a lonely thing to get a diagnosis like that,” she said. Dunham still requires regular chemo treatments, but when she had a reprieve she too wanted to give something back. So Dunham and her husband Jon decided to put on a spaghetti feed. They were able to raise $800 and the idea of a dinner fundraiser stuck.

What Dunham finds particularly refreshing about the Wings program is all the proceeds go to families in need; none of the organizers receive a salary for all of the work they do. “I like the idea of an organization where every cent goes to people that need it,” Dunham said.

Dunham still actively helps coordinate the events for Wings Week. She said the organization was a godsend when she was in need and enjoys giving back.

A big chunk of the annual contributions to Wings comes from a dinner and auctions put on at the Yaak River Tavern. Stickney said their work often goes unheralded. 

“The Yaak itself raised $19,000 at their auction. And then the walk, which also involved kids from the Turning Winds Academy, the walkers raised $9,000. So that was pretty awesome I thought to have just a few walkers raise that much money,” Stickney said. “The group of folks up there deserve recognition for what awesome work they do in their small community.”

Stickney said it’s hard to acknowledge everybody who makes Wings Week such a huge success. “It’s hard to recognize so many people without excluding some people because there has been a lot of families who have been there since day one,” she said. 

Starting on May 9, Wings Week brings a whole host of activities to raise money for their cause. The Yaak Wings Walk takes place on May 30 so as to have a higher chance of fair weather.

After losing a couple of volunteers to cancer the group has yet to find replacement coordinators for the Troy area, so next year they will be looking for a new crop of volunteers. Hence, there will be no Wings Walkers gracing Troy this year. 

Stickney recommends people who usually make their donations to the walkers can deliver them to First Montana Bank.

Stickney said Wings Week says a lot about the communities of Lincoln County that come together and raise money for people during their times of crisis. “People are still so generous and the event hasn’t fallen by the wayside,” she said.

“There is a group of dedicated volunteers, from the walkers to the organizers, I’m just the spokesperson today,” Stickney said.