CARE left without director

The event has become a staple of fall, but with no Whitefish CARE director the annual Back to School Bash has been canceled. The event was originally set to take place this week.

Former director Michelle Kuntz resigned this summer to pursue other opportunities. The Whitefish School District has been unable to fill the post, which is largely voluntary.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Dave Means said. Means is special services director for the district and serves on the CARE board of directors.

Whitefish CARE has been a part of the Whitefish district for more than a decade and works to promote healthy activities for kids through both in-school and out-of-school functions. The director is expected to write grants and do fundraising for the position, but also to fund CARE activities for students.

Kuntz, who held the position for six years, said she is sad to leave, but felt it was time for her to move on personally.

“It’s such a wonderful position,” she said. “I will still be a volunteer with the program.”

Means said two people have picked up applications for the position, but the district hasn’t received any back.

“How it’s designed as a volunteer position makes it hard to find someone who is willing to do grant writing to earn a salary,” he said.

Kuntz recognized that it can be daunting to step into a volunteer-type position, but pointed out that the program has a foundation of already established fundraisers. Some of the events raise $3,000 to $5,000 each for the program.

“It’s largely about organizing people,” she said. “Everybody wants to help out, but not everybody wants to be an organizer of people. I don’t want people to think they have to hold bake sales — it’s pretty turn-key for somebody to come in and take over. I want the program to succeed. I’m always available to help with the transition.”

The CARE board is evaluating the position and will decide whether to continue advertising the position or look for other ways to fill in the gaps left by the program.

The largest is the Back to School Bash. Held each fall, the Bash is a free event that served to provide information and fun. A number of school and youth-oriented groups had booths at the event, in addition to the carnival-like activities held each year.

“Without the coordinator we just didn’t have enough time to put together the Bash,” Means explained. “I think it’s a good activity to bring kids and families together with all the organizations that have after school activities. It’s something we hope we can bring back in the future.”

CARE has historically directed the mentoring program that brings in adults to spend time visiting with students.

“The program has a lot of benefits,” Means said. “We have a volunteer that will coordinate that while we continue our search.”

However, the lunch buddies program that pairs high school and elementary students together to have lunch won’t continue unless a director is found. The CARE director has also coordinated Red Ribbon week activities and brought in speakers at the middle and high schools to talk about drug and tobacco use.

Means said the CARE director was based at the high school and helped coordinate a number of activities and was accessible to students.

“They served as a community liaison — they brought the community into the school,” he said. “I hope we can get that back.”