Late donation bumps Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund to $33,061

POULSBO — Retired college professor Fred Springsteel of Poulsbo donated $500 to the Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund Monday, bumping the 2011-12 campaign total to $33,061.

The campaign had closed Friday, unbeknownst to Springsteel. So when he walked into the Herald office on Monday with a donation in memory of his parents, coordinators gladly added the donation to the campaign total. With Springsteel's donation, the fund's campaign total is $7,471 more than that collected in the 2010-11 campaign.

Donations are accepted year-round for the fund, which helps provide food, emergency shelter and emergency financial assistance to North Kitsap residents in need.

The fund was founded in the 1940s by Frank and Mabel Raab as a vehicle for neighbors to help each other during emergencies. The Poulsbo Noon Lions Club administers the fund for the Raab Foundation.

North Kitsap Fishline and others periodically turn to the Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund for help providing assistance to families facing eviction, emergency assistance paying utility bills, and keeping homes supplied  with heating fuel. This year, the Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund supplied 100 Christmas food baskets to local families.

All told, the Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund and its donors assisted more than 300 families in 2011.

Springsteel made the donation "to the memory of my parents, Guy and Charlotte Springsteel, both grads of Bellingham Normal, now WWU."

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