Founders of the Idaho Falls African American Alliance, Dave and Eloise Snell, are amazed by the growth of their organization and the impact it has made over the past 17 years.
When the Snells moved from Utah to Idaho Falls, they realized there wasn’t much representation of Black culture and traditions in the community. They wanted to create a community for Black members of the Idaho Falls community to feel seen.
The alliance began when one of their friends was taking care of a young African American man. The friend asked if Eloise and Dave could help send the young man to the finals of a debate competition. Dave and his friends raised money and were able to send the young man to the competition.
“It felt good to be able to help someone. So we thought ‘Ya know, we can do this. There are lots of other kids out in the community who we can share with and we can just collect the resources and hand them out’,” Dave said.
Since then, the alliance has been able to hand out scholarships every year to college students.
The alliance holds an annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Banquet. The banquet features a silent auction, dinner and a keynote speaker. This year former Cincinnati Bengals head coach, Marvin Lewis, was the banquet’s keynote speaker.
The Snells are proud of how the community has responded to the alliance. They are amazed by the support the community has shown.
“What I give is what I give from my heart and I know what they give, the community, is from their heart. And so I appreciate that,” Eloise said.
They hope to continue uniting with the community.
For more information on the alliance, visit www.ifaaa.org.