Red kettles return to Bonners Ferry

BONNERS FERRY — For well over 100 years, the jingling bells and bright red kettles have been a symbol of the approaching holidays, bringing back memories of entering a store, maybe emptying spare change into the kettle on the way through.

The signature Salvation Army’s red kettles will be returning to Bonners Ferry this season, and every bit of the spare change and paper money that drops into those kettles, will stay in Boundary County to aid local people in need.

Community Action Partnership works with the Salvation Army to provide food and services to residents, such as gas vouchers, crisis shelter motel rooms, prescription assistance, back to school backpacks, a chance for children to attend Camp Gifford, emergency assistance, and more.

This year, Janice Coquillard, the field representative for the Salvation Army, turned the program over to Community Action Partnership Community Engagement Liaison Liz Bigsby, who found the perfect person to head up the program: Tawnery Stymus.

“Janice came up and she met Tawnery and I told Janice that I had a go-to gal that is just all over it,” said Bigsby. “She has just knocked it out already.”

“They are offering to set us all up, which they have,” said Bigsby, “with the kettles and bells, and the outfits, and the aprons, and the whole bit, in order for us to just ring that bell.”

Stymus is coming up with new and innovative ideas to stimulate community participation. She hopes to challenge different entities, such as the schools, ministerial, fire departments, and more.

“Tawnery’s twist has far surpassed any vision I had on it and it’s what we need,” said Bigsby.

“All the schools are involved,” said Stymus. “The whole staff has signed up this year. I have the principals going up against the principals. Kevin Dinning is going to do it, from the high school.

“They are going to feel more confident to donate,” Stymus added. “That was my way of looking at it.”

Those donations are important. They are important for the single mother who cannot afford feed her children, for the elderly man who cannot afford his heart medications, for the man who lost his job and needs assistance to cover the heating bill one month. They are important to the person who is facing an abusive situation in their home, and needs a safe place to stay.

“The Salvation Army enables me to provide a lot of stuff to our community. The kettles is a way to bring those funds in,” said Bigsby. “What you are putting into that bucket is going to be a game changer for someone’s life.”

Whether it is emptying pockets of change into a red kettle, or by donating a few hours of precious time, ringing a bell and interacting with the community, it gives people an opportunity to help someone else this holiday.

This is a community that helps one another, that sticks out its hand when a fellow community members stumbles.

“It’s really the people here that are writing that gas voucher, paying for that crisis room for that woman who has fled an ugly situation, and she has nowhere to go. I can get her two nights where she can go and have some peace,” said Bigsby. “It really is this community, isn’t it?”

The red kettles will be at Super 1 Foods and Yoder’s Market this December on Fridays and Saturdays. For people looking to give back or pay it forward, they can contact Tawnery Stymus at 208-217-2075, pick up a bell, and help bring in money to help those in need in our community.