RATHDRUM, Idaho — The Rathdrum Senior Center has become a donation hub for those in need amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Volunteers are making and delivering meals for seniors who can't leave their homes and local businesses have been pitching in donated food and supplies.
Volunteers say this isn't just a story about them and what they're doing. It's rather about the whole community coming together.
From the outside, it was the hand off of a meal or two. Older folks in need were lining up to pick up meals at the Rathdrum Senior Center.
The center has suspended its regular activities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, so meals were being made to go.
The center has shifted to become the de facto hub of Rathdrum's community response. People have been donating everything from pet food, to those other supplies that have been a hot commodity lately. An estimated 600 rolls of toilet paper have been donated.
“I've lived here my whole life. That's Rathdrum. When we have an issue or a problem, people will step up," said Rathdrum Parks and Recreation Director Eric Singer.
With only so much work to do in parks right now, Singer stepped up to help out the senior center collecting donations. Local businesses have been chipping in, too.
"It's kind of gratifying for us to be able to come here, pick up food and deliver it to those who need the food," he said.
In terms of financial donations, the senior center said the community has chipped in thousands to help fund the effort. Home delivery services to seniors have expanded.
"It makes you feel like you want to be a part of this community," Singer said.
A community, that in the face of coronavirus, is showing what it's truly made of.