The ICL Foundation

The Idaho Children's Lighthouse Foundation serves community youth in need. We provide light and hope where there is darkness. Through our mentorship program, WorkForce CDA, and mental health services, we support all elements necessary for the development and success of our community's youth.The lighthouse effect is the idea that ordinary people, wrestling with their own struggles and imperfections can make a difference in the life of a child. The smallest of interactions can bend the arc of our personal journey. Our life experiences are an opportunity to impact the lives of others.Living, learning, and leading the way to positively engage with youth to build trust and to see beyond the labels that define us. We all have the capacity to be a lighthouse.

Mentorship Program

The Lighthouse Impact: through positive, healthy relationships, children achieve higher success in school, avoid risky behaviors, understand the dangers of underage substance use, and develop strong self-confidence.What do we do? Our Lighthouse Program pairs mentors with youth ages 8-13.Parents play a big role when voluntarily enrolling their sons in our program by highlighting their child's strengths and needs. A mutual understanding between the adults is imperative to participation success.Our network of volunteers, donors, and supporters believe in the connection of human stories and that the smallest interactions can bend the arc of any personal journey.

Boys Core Group 2024

Now accepting applications for male mentors for our Pilot Program Boys Core Group from May to November.Our hope is the mentorship relationship continues. There are no special skills needed for male mentors, just the willingness to be a present and supportive person for your youth. A signed liability waiver will be the only requirement.

Contact Us

Enroll a Youth

Parents and guardians play a big role when voluntarily enrolling their children in our programs by highlighting their strengths and needs. A mutual understanding between the parent and the mentor/professional is imperative to the success of the relationship.

We are asking for donations to our pilot programs

Founding Member Benefits

Cultivating 10 donors for our first $25,000

Partnering at the $2500 level

  • Access and invitations to all Foundation Events

  • Logo placement on the website and mentions at all events

How your donation will impact community youth

  • Recruitment of mentors

  • Cover expenses related to activities

  • Cultivate relationships with partnering agencies

Investing in our youth will help grow our community and reduce crime, poverty, and the decline of mental health. It all starts with educating and supporting our kids.The Foundation was developed out of the demand for youth services outside of the foster care system. We have identified a huge need for support and guidance for the male youth in our community. Our program would pair male mentors with boys aged 8-13, helping to positively teach them how to be men.Our program serves youth who are lost in the struggles of growing up with a lack of support. These boys that are surfing through the median of life are the ones that can be success stories if they had someone to invest in them, to listen to them, and encourage them to go after their dreams.In the words of Josh Shipp, “Every kid is one caring adult away from being a success story. The difference between them becoming a statistic or a success is you.”

Board of Directors

Anissa Brady - Board Member/Programs Director
Anissa and her husband, Jeff, have made North Idaho their home since 2013.
Since that time, she has worked with a local volunteer-based non-profit organization, that serves foster children.
After reading, The Lighthouse Effect, by Steve Pemberton, she was inspired to move forward with a seed of an idea.
The volunteers she works with are dedicated lighthouses, shining a light for a child to navigate what is sometimes a stormy sea of life.
Working in the field of child services has given her a unique perspective on how mentors can make an incredible difference in a child’s life.
Moving the idea into an action plan takes collaboration, which led to co-founding Idaho Children’s Lighthouse Foundation.

Kristin Linville Ludwig- Board Member/Director of Development
After moving to Coeur d’Alene in 2005, Kristin quickly became involved in volunteer organizations and local political campaigns, advocating for the good of the community. She worked with the founder of the Coeur d’Alene Backpack Program at its inception in 2010, and has been the lead volunteer planner on Wine, Women
& Shoes for Idaho Youth Ranch since 2012.
In 2017, she joined the staff of North Idaho CASA and evolved into the Director of Development, elevating the program to include additional services for foster children and their families. Due to the demands and needs of that demographic, she became the Co-Founder of the Idaho Children's Lighthouse Foundation and currently holds a seat on the Viking Booster Club Board of Directors. In late 2023, she joined the Development Team at The Idaho Youth Ranch as Corporate Sponsors and Events Manager of North Idaho. She was awarded the Rising Star Adult Volunteer Idaho Philanthropy Award in 2020 for her work with IYR.
She is a proud mom of 2 young adult sons. Kristin enjoys being among the trees, spending time with her friends, taking Barre and Pilates classes, and loved coaching soccer for 12 years through Hayden Parks and Recreation. She continues to advocate for the hope and healing of the youth of our community and believes in the good of humankind.

James Perkinson - Board Member/Mentorship Chair
James Perkinson is the large group account manager at Advanced Benefits that helps challenge the status quo of healthcare to employees for employers. He has been in the insurance and finance industry since 2008 and thoroughly enjoys taking complicated and complex issues and breaking them down into understandable content. James regularly volunteers in his community from projects to charity events like The Coeur Group, Make-A-Wish North Idaho, Sweethearts Ball, and many others. He loves competing in Spartan races in the Pacific Northwest and is breaking into triathlon racing as well.

Brad Banta - Board Member/Workforce CDA Chair
Brad has lived in Kootenai County for more than 30 years. He has been a member of the Hagadone Hospitality family for over 35 years, and currently is the Director of Services. He holds a Business Degree from EWU, and has served on the Board of Directors for Spokane Media Federal Credit Union for the past 27 years, where he has held the chairmanship for the last 22 years. Brad enjoys living in the Pacific Northwest with the four seasons, offering alpine skiing in the winter and cherished Priest Lake getaways the other three, whenever time allows. Brad is married to his wonderful wife Kim and has 2 grown stepsons and a son in high school. He always looks forward to spending time with family and close friends.

Josh Clubb - Mentorship Recruiter
Josh is an 18-year veteran of Law Enforcement. He began his career in the Bay Area of California where he worked numerous assignments including Patrol, SWAT, Narcotics and Investigations. A few years ago Josh moved his beautiful wife, three children and two dogs to North Idaho in pursuit of a quieter pace of life & a more patriotic community. Josh is currently a patrol Deputy for the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office where he serves as a School Resource Officer (SRO) in the city of Hayden, ID.
In the course of his duty, Josh witnessed far too many child-victims introduced to the justice system. When he is not in uniform, you will most likely find Josh paddle-boarding, trail-running or hard at work on a jiu-jitsu mat in the area!