(originally published June 7, 2025)
By Chuck Malloy
WEISER – With a name like “Angel Wings Network,” you’d gather that this must be a special nonprofit organization. It goes far beyond that, according to Mabel Dobbs, the executive director.
“It has become my ministry,” she says.
She’s right. Angel Wings Network is doing the Lord’s work, without sermons, a choir and congregation.
“I’m 83 years old and I know of people who retire, sit down, do nothing and get old,” she says. “This (Angel Wings Network) has become so much a part of my life. The cool thing is that my board of directors are just as committed as I am. It’s gratifying that we do what we do with people who are all volunteers.”
Angel Wings provides services for cancer patients, mostly transporting them to and from treatment appointments throughout the region. The “angels” in this case are the 15 volunteer drivers who give up untold hours to be with patients.
One of those drivers, Eleonore Huggins, who has been driving for about 10 years – traveling somewhere around 100,000 miles over that time. But that’s not the downside of her volunteer job.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends,” she says, wiping away tears over her sadder stories. But she brightens up when talking about the friendships she has made.
“It’s very rewarding – extremely rewarding,” says Huggins, a member of the Payette Lions Club. “They don’t cry about their condition, and they are very positive. It makes you think about how incidental personal problems can be. For instance, I don’t grow fingernails well. How stupid is it to think about that when people have no eyebrows, no breast or no hair.”
But with Huggins, and other drivers, conversing with the patients is one of the best aspects of the job.
“We can talk differently with them, and it’s not all about their condition. They always are so grateful,” she says. “I’ve been a real estate agent, I’ve rodeoed, raced Dune Buggies and raced sailboats. I’ve been in construction and farming, so I’m well versed in just about any conversation that the person next to me wants to talk about.”
And she’s always up for grocery shopping, going to a show or dining with her client friends.
“With one of my good friends that I’ve lost, we went to every Mexican restaurant on the way home from treatment to find the best salsa … and we still hadn’t found it,” she said, chuckling.
Although the drivers don’t get paid, they are reimbursed for expenses. The network has raised thousands of dollars for gas and restaurant cards. So, drivers and patients can count on getting gas and at least one meal for every trip. Angel Wings also offers extensive “goody bags” to patients, including “prayer blankets.”
None of that happens through wishful thinking. As Dobbs says, “Without fundraising, nonprofits don’t work.” So, there are many “angels” in this community, and beyond, who recognize, and respond, to the needs of this nonprofit network.
Generally, Angel Wings serves people within 70 miles of Weiser … but angels don’t operate with those restrictions. Angel Wings is available for anyone who needs it from neighboring rural communities – and there’s no question about the need for the service in this peaceful rural area.
“There is a huge need,” Dobbs says. “You’d be absolutely astounded at the number of people who have no one and no family. We have become a lifeline in a lot of ways.”
Some of the patients may have family, or a spouse. But the spouse, for whatever reason, may not be able to drive or treatment times may conflict with working schedules of family members. In either scenario, Angel Wings comes to the rescue.
And one person who makes it all work is Kelli Banks, the “super angel” who coordinates driving schedules and who cheerfully fields calls – sometimes during the late hours at night. There’s no question about the value she brings.
“We have a large number of clients who would not be able to get treatment without a ride to get there,” she says.
Indeed, these angels do have their wings.
Chuck Malloy, a long-time Idaho journalist and columnist, is a writer with the Idaho Nonprofit Center/Idaho Community Foundation. He may be reached at ctmalloy@outlook.com
*Curtesy Photos & Article
