​Forty-five years ago, Rita Case discovered a calling that would change her life.
Case — who will be the keynote speaker Sept. 18 during the Women's Gift Alliance's annual dinner at the Hagadone Event Center — calls it her "spark."
"My spark happened with the bicycles," the Rick Case Automotive Group president and CEO said.
It was 1981. Rita and her late husband, Rick, owned 14 bicycle stores in Ohio.
"We would see these kids come in and they would really want a bicycle, especially during the holidays when the showrooms would be beautiful with ribbons and bows," Rita said.
One day, while observing these little ones longing for their own bicycles, Rita started thinking of how she could help.
"My bicycle gave me freedom – I could ride around the streets, to my friend's house, I could go to the grocery store," Rita said. "I remembered how much I loved mine. I thought, 'How could we get these kids bicycles?'"
She developed a program through which she asked community members to bring in bikes they were no longer using to be tuned up and given to deserving children that holiday season.
"People were bringing in the bicycles because it was a win-win," Rita said. "They felt good about bringing in the bikes, having some place to take their bicycle."
Once they had a good number of bikes, they connected with nonprofits to configure distribution.
"That's when we learned about the Boys and Girls Club," Rita said.
Located in underserved neighborhoods, Boys and Girls Club staff knew which kids needed bikes the most.
Rita realized how the clubs provide positive, safe, caring spaces for kids and teens after school, as well as support for education, peer bonding and exercise through sports and other activities.
"That's when I started building Boys and Girls Clubs," Rita said. "That led me to education. I realized the Boys and Girls Club is great, but if they don’t have the proper education, they won’t get to the next grade. If they don’t get to the next grade, they won't have hope."
The Cases then built scholarships to help kids pursue college.
And this led Rita to start a shoe giveaway. She said in her research, she found that something as simple as a new pair of shoes can make all the difference for a young person who may not want to go to school wearing ragged or poorly fitting shoes.
"They need this self-esteem," she said. "They need to feel that, 'I belong.'"
This spark led her to yet another philanthropic path — Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps people build or improve their homes.
With stable housing, families can focus on education, Rita said.
"I built a foundation of philanthropy and passion on education," she said.
Rita said when people ask about her true goal, she tells them her goal is to "get that child out of that zip code."
"Every city has several zip codes that are generationally a prison to that family, generation after generation, and those zip codes are where the Boys and Girls Clubs are," she said. "The only key out of those zip codes is education."
She works to break the negative cycles and replace them with positive ones. Those who make it to college shine the brightest through their adversity, she said.
"If you can do that, you've given them a way to get out of that zip code, and that is generationally changing," Rita said.
She shared how the shoe giveaways make big differences in kids' lives.
"When they look up at you and grab you like you’re their mother and hold you at your waist and hug you with all the love they’ve got because you gave them a pair of shoes," she said, "that's the spark."
Rita, who splits time between North Idaho and Florida, has been a member of the WGA since about 2013. She said she appreciates how the nonprofit provides women opportunities to give back for such a reasonable fee, which can be paid in increments.
Membership is based on an annual contribution of $1,100.
Rita said a philanthropic group such as WGA is perfect for women; while men tend to be independent in their giving, women many times form clubs or groups and come together to support a cause.
"WGA really answers for that," Rita said.
Janice Baldwin, emerita board member and a founding member of the WGA of Kootenai County, said Rita is an example of an extraordinary woman who has a spirit about her that ignites generosity.
"She has a beautiful gift for bringing people together and encourages others to share from their good fortune with their time and resources to serve nonprofits in Kootenai County," Baldwin said. "Giving and caring for others is contagious. She has vast experience in the philanthropic world as well as being a highly successful businesswoman who leads by example in her giving."
When Rita is in North Idaho, she is fully vested in developing relationships with leaders in the nonprofit world, Baldwin said.
"Two of the many local annual gifts she provides for the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County are Operation Warm Coats and Soles for Souls, providing winter coats and summer shoes for hundreds of grade school kids," Baldwin said. "Kootenai County has so many generous people here. We’re looking forward to hearing from her at the annual gathering because she will inspire both the women and men who attend."
Tickets for the WGA annual dinner are $100.
Info: womensgiftalliance.org