POULSBO — Donations to the Poulsbo Lions / Raab Foundation Bellringer Fund total $1,925 as of Thursday morning.

Donations can be delivered to the North Kitsap Herald, 19351 8th Ave. NE, Suite 205, Poulsbo. Or mail to P.O. Box 1244, Poulsbo, WA. 98370. Names of donors will be published each Friday in the Herald.

The Poulsbo Lions Club/Raab Foundation Bellringer Fund provided 102 Christmas dinners for local families and helped more than 300 people in financial crisis in 2011-12. Thanks to the $33,061 contributed by North Kitsap residents during the campaign last winter.

The fund is a proud local tradition that dates back to 1946, when Frank and Mabel Raab founded the fund as a way for local residents to meet the needs of their neighbors. The fund is part of the Raab Foundation, but is administered by the Poulsbo Lions Club.

Bellringer Fund chairman John Macdonald, a Poulsbo CPA, said every penny goes to local needs. Contributions are tax-deductible.

The Bellringer Fund will use about $5,000 to provide those Christmas food baskets. The remainder of the funds will be distributed to North Kitsap Fishline, Kingston ShareNet and St. Vincent de Paul Society. Those organizations will use the money to help people in financial crisis: Help paying rent or mortgage so they can stay in their homes; help paying utility bills so they can keep the lights and heat on; help getting to where they need to go if the family car is in need of repair.

Week 2
— The Stottlemyers, $200. In Memory of Wally and  Ellen Stottlemyer, and Art DeCarufel.
— William and Helene Schmidt, $250.
— Jerry and Judith Jurgens, $100.
— Rosemary and Dolph Jaeger, $500.
— Anne Thomas, $100. In Memory of Chuck.
— Anonymous, $200
— Bonny and Richard Boyde, $75.

To-date total: $1,925