Mayor Staples raises funds for community
Mayor Dick Staples with his “chief advisor,” Wilson, prepare and look forward to the next four years of service to the City of Bonners Ferry.
Photo by TONIA BROOKS
BOISE, Idaho — Bonners Ferry Mayor James R. Staples participated in the annual Mayor’s Walking Challenge along with 80 mayors across the state; challenge champions earned $1000 for their community.
The Mayor’s Walking Challenge is put on every year by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health; this year, the foundation awarded $76,000 for mayors who met the goal set by the challenge.
The challenge is conducted every year in October and this year saw a record of 81 mayors participating and 76 accomplishing the goals set forth by the foundation.
According to the Blue Cross Foundation, mayors can choose the funds to help for COVID-19 relief efforts or programs, projects or equipment that encourage children to be active.
“We thank all of the mayors who participated and congratulate those who set great examples for their communities by walking,” said Kendra Witt-Doyle, Executive Director, Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health. “We appreciate the commitment of Idaho mayors who want their communities to be healthier for everyone.”
Detailed in the report that 1 in 3 children is overweight or obese, resources such as the funding mayor Staples received help encourage children to be active and develop healthier eating habits.
In previous years mayors used the funds to make park improvements, grants for city recreation programs, walking paths, crosswalks, and supporting youth-focused nonprofits.