The Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund is raising money to meet local needs. It’s a fine tradition and we encourage readers to pitch in. Every dollar makes a difference in the life of a neighbor.

Local churches and organizations like North Kitsap Fishline and ShareNet provide a safety net in the community, providing food, emergency shelter and emergency financial assistance to neighbors in need.

One of the major threads in that safety net is the Bellringer Fund, founded in the 1940s by Frank and Mabel Raab as a vehicle for neighbors to help each other during emergencies. Chances are good you know someone who has been helped at some time by the fund.

The Poulsbo Noon Lions Club administers the Bellringer Fund for the Raab Foundation. Fishline and others periodically turn to the Bellringer Fund for help providing assistance to a family facing eviction, emergency assistance paying a utility bill, and keeping a home supplied with heating fuel. Last year, Bellringer supplied 100 Christmas food baskets to local families.

All told, Bellringer and its donors — you — assisted more than 300 families in 2011.

Donations can be dropped off at the Herald, 19351 8th Ave. NE, Suite 205, Poulsbo, WA 98370; and at Union Bank, 19950 7th Ave. NE, Poulsbo. Checks made out to the Bellringer Fund can be mailed to the Herald, P.O. Box 278, Poulsbo, WA. 98370. As donations are received, they will be listed in the Herald through December. Donations may be made anonymously.

The North Kitsap Herald is also collecting toys for Fishline Food Bank. New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the Herald office between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.