What makes a humanitarian? Is it enough to just be kind or does it require enormous giving? Or is it a title conferred on those who have changed aspects of other people's lives for the better?
All three pertain so long as a life has been devoted to human-centered activities. On Saturday, April 9, longtime Ketchum resident Sally Donart will officially be described as a humanitarian. She is receiving the second annual Christensen Humanitarian Award at a luncheon in the Sun Valley Lodge Dining Room. The award was created last year by the Light on the Mountain Spiritual Center. Ketchum residents Ann and Doug Christensen received their namesake award for their tireless work for non-profits in Idaho and beyond.
"I'm dumbfounded and very honored," Donart said. "I admire the Christensens so much. For me to be chosen right after them it's hard for me to believe."
The good-natured Donart, not surprisingly, is much admired as well. She discussed her life as a volunteer with the credit invariably going elsewhere.
"How did I pick up on volunteerism? It was the circumstances of my time and place. I was born three years before the Depression began (in Summit, N.J.). We were aware of people in depressed circumstances. I think that influenced me. During the depression everyone was trying to save coal. Our school closed for at least three months due to the cold. They said, 'Go out and do good.'
"My mother's influence was on environmental issues. She had a real respect for natural cycles of nature, birth and death. I also got a lot of my interest in nature and the environment from my husband. His father was in state legislature. All those contributed to the idea of being an activist," Donart said.
While still in Weiser, as the president of the Parent Teacher Association she attended seminars on community health.
Eventually, she was named president of the Idaho Mental Health Association, and was instrumental in getting legislation passed to fund regionally based health services. She was a board member on the Governor's Comprehensive Mental Health Planning Board and the regional vice president of the National Association for Mental Health. The Idaho Statesman honored her with an Outstanding Citizen Award for her work in this area.
"Not many people knew mental illness from mental retardation. The whole point was to keep families together while they got some counseling so the fabric of society wouldn't break down."
Eventually, inspired by the work, Donart went back to school when she was 58, and earned a master's degree as a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor.
Among her early volunteer activities in the area was life guarding at the old Bald Mountain pool before moving here in 1972. People still tell her she taught them to swim that summer. Other volunteer activities include work with the Hospice of the Wood River Valley; the College of Southern Idaho; Episcopalian Diocese of Idaho; as the executive director of Crisis Hotline; chair of the Blaine County Democrats; two terms on the vestry for St. Thomas Episcopal Church and countless hours in pro bono counseling. She currently serves on the board of Citizens for Smart Growth.
She is deeply committed to the ecumenical movement. Donart's inclusive nature is what keeps her work both as a psychotherapist and as a humanitarian vital and award worthy.
