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Cusick volunteer wins van in giveaway
CUSICK — Shawna Hulet knows what it’s like.
She knows what it’s like to become disabled and unable to hold traditional employment. She knows what it’s like to rely on food banks for meals, not just for herself, but for her family. And she knows what it’s like to pay bills with help from social services.
“I was that parent in line with a little kid, trying to get assistance and stuff to get by,” said Hulet, 45, of Cusick.
Years later, Hulet has dedicated much of her time to helping disadvantaged residents in Pend Oreille County. She was a longtime volunteer at the Cusick Food Bank and now runs a non-profit food collection and distribution program — all while acting as the primary caregiver for an eight-member household half comprised of children, two of whom are medically challenged, and dealing with medical challenges of her own.
“I try to take my good days where I am able to do some stuff and give back to the community,” Hulet said. “Because … the community has given back to me.”
It was this community spirit that moved her best friend Teri Burroughs, 62, of Newport to nominate her three months ago for a Community-Driven Vehicle Giveaway, held quarterly by Camp Chevrolet, Lithia Dodge and Subaru of Spokane.
Hulet had been having capacity and mechanical issues with both her cars, but she never thought she would win the giveaway, believing others needed the prize more.
She thought wrong; last week, the dealerships declared Hulet the winner, surprising her and Burroughs with her prize: a 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan.
“I was speechless,” Hulet said. “I was just in shock.”
Though used, the van was freshly cleaned, came with new tires and only had about 87,000 miles on it, Hulet said.
“It’s not brand-brand new, but it’s new to me,” Hulet said. “And it's under 10 years old, so it's probably the newest car I've ever owned in my life.”
Previously, Hulet drove a Subaru Legacy and a Honda CR-V, the former being from 1996. Neither car could fit all eight members of her household, so they ended up using both at times, resulting in gas and other expenses Hulet struggled to afford on a lower income. Moreover, the cars required repairs as frequently as every month.
“There was always something going on,” Hulet said. “And I need to fix this just so we can keep being able to get to appointments, and I do a lot of nonprofit work.”
Hulet and her family commute to Spokane for medical care, so she was often forced to cancel or reschedule her appointments, posing her an additional medical challenge. Already, Hulet has undergone several surgeries, and she continues to experience back problems that limit her physical activity.
“I don’t want to have to keep canceling appointments,” Hulet said.
After a long time of volunteering for the Cusick Food Bank, Hulet recently transitioned to running the Rapid Food Rescue Program for non-profit organization Innovate Ione.
Her work for Rapid Food Rescue involves collecting food from businesses, restaurants and convenience stores otherwise set to be thrown away, freezing it, then distributing it to homebound seniors in the community. She plans to expand their client base to include any disabled or low-income residents who cannot visit traditional food banks.
“I'm just making sure none of my neighbors go hungry,” Hulet said. She is also organizing the Holiday Smiles Project, which aims to gift stockings to Pend Oreille County children during the holiday season.
Before she won the giveaway, Hulet was not always available to deliver food to clients, as neither of her cars were reliable vehicles. Despite that, she said volunteers have distributed upwards of 1,500 pounds of food total since late May or early June.
“Even though she's sometimes just barely getting by, she’s still out helping everybody else,” Burroughs said.
Burroughs believed Hulet deserved better, writing two pages during the nomination process about her family, needs and contributions to the community.
“It was paid to her, and now she's paying it forward to others as well,” Burroughs said. “She was already doing that, but this enables her to do it more.”
Now that the van is saving Hulet on expenses, she can afford to pay for other things; on an upcoming trip to Portland, she is taking her grandchildren to the zoo, an activity she said was too expensive beforehand.
Furthermore, the van is not only capable of seating Hulet’s entire household, but of storing coolers and bags for Rapid Food Rescue as well as grain and feed for Hulet’s at-home farm.
Having won the giveaway, Hulet gave her daughter the Subaru Legacy and kept the Honda CR-V as a backup vehicle.
“It’s still kinda overwhelming that I was a recipient of that,” Hulet said. “And something in my story of what I do or what I need resonated with them, and they showed me.”
