Bonner Homeless Transitions

We want to thank Salvation Army Sandpoint Idaho Area and Sandpoint Kiwanis for their generous donations to children. The children in our program benefit greatly from these donations!

Our program manager at Blue Haven South just celebrated a birthday. All of the board and staff showed up at her gloriously decorated office to wish her well. Happy Birthday Joanne Headlee-barlow!

It’s time again for the Warm Hearts Campaign sponsored by Umpqua Bank. Columbia Bank has participated for the last eight years and now have partnered with Umpqua to continue the drive. They have been very supportive of our program and are continuing the support. We greatly appreciate them! They will also be supporting Priest River Ministries Advocates for Women and the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho. Many thanks for such great community involvement!

Warm hearts By CAROLINE LOBSINGER Staff WriterNo one should spend the winter cold,

Volunteers from Community Resource EnVision Center have been working hard to prepare for Festival of Trees being held tonight at the Fairgrounds. Doors open at 5:30. Bonner Homeless Transitions extends a great big thank you for their contributions to our community!

Avenues for Hope is just around the corner. We are participating so that we can continue our mission “to help homeless families and victims of domestic violence develop self sufficiency and improve the qualities of their lives.” The statewide campaign begins December 12 and runs through the end of the month. A $25 donation will help us continue our mission. More information to follow as we move closer to the opening day.

Sandpoint Teen Centeris open! Kudos to this non-profit.Below is their mission statement. We at Bonner Homeless Transitions appreciate what you do!

“We are a non profit organization dedicated to helping teens develop the skills and qualities of tomorrows leaders. Located in Sandpoint ID, Sandpoint Teen Center provides a fun and safe environment for teens to socialize and engage in positive and enriching activities designed to help them develop leadership qualities, interpersonal skills and community awareness.”

Santa is coming to town thanks to Heart and Homes Northwest. Kudos to this agency because they want to give back to their community. They partner with non-profits and their buyers and sellers can choose the non-profit they wish to support when they buy or sell a house! Thank you to Heart and Homes for bringing Santa to Newport, Washington AND supporting local non-profits!

A great shout out to (www.nimsef.com) North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund for providing scholarships to kids in economic need, including a season pass to (www.schweitzer.com) Schweitzer Mountain Resort, bus pass, rentals and eight weeks of lessons! Barry Campbell has helped set up scholarships for our kids. We are so appreciative of the organization’s generosity in helping our less fortunate neighbors to be able to enjoy our nearby mountains.

Sharing the joy of skiing The North Idaho Mountain Sports Education Fund is a non-profit organization looking to bring skiing to Bonner and Boundary County youth.

We are so appreciative of the generous donation that Mountain West Bank made to our organization. Pictured is our Executive Director, Rebekah Little and Scott Boekenoogen. Going above and beyond, Scott has offered to teach our adults budgeting classes, as well as teaching our younger guests about finances and budgeting. Kudos to Scott!

Our local Sandpoint United Methodist Church has been very supportive of our program and we, also, want to thank them for all they do with their soup kitchen, including their Thanksgiving dinner!

This looks like a fun "kid" night!

We want to extend a great big thank you to Jon Totten of Dogsmile Adventures for the time he has spent with the children in our program. His organization “creates opportunities for people to discover healing and potential through sailing on Lake Pend Oreille and Lake Coeur d’Alene.” He has helped our children who have experienced obstacles and challenges. More information in the article. Kudos to this kind and caring man!

Dogsmile Adventures helps others heal through sailing Dogsmile Adventures will hold its annual celebration and "Race to Alaska" film premiere online Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m. at dogsmileadventures.com. Those interested should sign up now for the online silent auction, with bidding open from Nov. 1-14. Individuals can sign up for the online auction at onecau...

One of our case managers, Mary Jo Knutson, is speaking to the Rotary Club of Sandpoint Idaho, about our program. She addressed the club then opened it up for questions. She was impressed with the commitment that the members have to helping people. They showed interest in our program and asked for ways to help. She described our two main fund raisers, the upcoming Avenues for Hope and our Little Black Dress Gala in March.

The partnership between Bonner Homeless Transitions (BHT) and Kinderhaven Foundation is transforming lives in Sandpoint, providing not just shelter, but a vital system of support for homeless families and individuals. Through their commitment to self-sufficiency and quality of life, this powerful collaboration offers residents assurance, support, and resources, fostering resilience and community integration. BHT's ultimate goal - transitioning residents into permanent housing and strong community contributors, continues despite challenges. ㅤ Read more: https://vist.ly/gxiq

We currently need to set up an apartment and are in need of numerous items, including a twin or full bed and couch. A hide-a-bed would be ideal. We also need kitchen items, just about everything it would take to furnish an apartment. Please call 208-265-2952 if you can help. It will be greatly appreciated!

Members of the local Methodist Church have been very supportive of our program. They make sure we have plenty of the basics each month. They donate non-perishable food, paper products, cleaning supplies and more. Kudos to this great team!

A huge shout out to Dan Shook of Bonner County Bicycles for his generous donation to one of our children. The 12 year old was experiencing a very difficult situation and then her bike broke down. Enter Dan! He offered her a bike and put a smile on her face. She was very appreciative. Kudos to Dan!

Before and after. Thanks to Prock's Paint Bucket we have a new art room at Blue Haven North. Volunteers used paint donated by our local Paint Bucket to transform this room so that our children can be creative and express themselves in their artwork. We are so appreciative!

We want to say thank everyone who was involved in beautifying the grounds at Blue Haven North, the facility we are leasing from Kinderhaven Foundation. Students and teachers from Echo Springs School helped with some of the cleanup. A group of volunteers from Cedar Hills Church Sandpoint worked hard to trim and cleanup. Ponderay Garden Center donated bark for more improvements. A great big thank you to all!

Today is World Homeless Day. What can you do to help? This site suggests donate, volunteer, learn more and advocate. The goal of WHD is very similar to ours, self sufficiency. More information in the article.

We will be celebrating the expansion of our program this month. The date has yet to be determined but we will post when it takes place. It will be an opportunity to learn more of what we do to alleviate the struggles of our homeless neighbors.

This is a Canadian site with good information.
https://www.homelesshub.ca/resource/what-world-homeless-day

We need to postpone our first anniversary celebration at Blue Haven North which had been slated for this Tuesday, the 10th. Pictured are paintings by the children and the playground in the back yard. The children are doing well with many activities for them. We are grateful to Kinderhaven Foundation for use of the facility. We will post our new date for the first “birthday party” as soon as it is decided.

Karen Battenschlogg, left, has been with Coats for Kids since 2014. Tomlinson Southeby’s and Safeway has been supporting the program for 35 years. This year, Selkirk Association of Realtors, STCU and Papa Murphy's Pizza has joined in as local supporters. Donations can be dropped off at the sponsoring businesses. Debbie Love of Bonner Community Food Bank will help with the distribution in November.For more information, see article or contact Karen at 208-610-4299.

Coats 4 Kids aims to end winter's chill The collection of winter items by Coats 4 Kids is underway, and gently used and clean winter items as well as new items are being accepted. The program also accepts cash and check donations, which are used to purchase new coats.

Best of luck to Lydia. We enjoyed her very much when we picked up socks from her. Yes, La Chic Boutique collects socks from it’s customers and donates them to our organization! Thank you Lydia, for your time and donations.

Come to our first anniversary celebration of Blue Haven North. Kinderhaven Foundation turned the facility over to us and we have been serving families and single women with children for a year now. There will be an open house at 900 Spruce at noon to 2:00 on Tuesday so that the public can see how we are serving our homeless neighbors.

We are celebrating our first anniversary of Blue Haven North, a facility previously managed by Kinderhaven. We will be hosting an open house on October 10 from noon to 2:00 at 900 Spruce Street. Board members will be available to answer questions and conduct tours. Light refreshments will be served. (Kinderhaven was forced, by legislation, to stop operating it’s home. They turned the facility over to us and we continue our mission of serving our homeless neighbors.)

BHT celebrates partnership with Kinderhaven Bonner Homeless Transitions and the Kinderhaven Foundation are celebrating the fruits of their year-long successful partnership.

0ur children are at the Nazarine Church receiving school supplies donated by the Salvation Army. They also received vouchers from our local Big Five. We certainly appreciate these donations and so do the kids!

The children in our program were able to attend summer camp thanks to Angels Over Sandpoint. The Angels provided vouchers to the children and nearly all of our kids attended camp. Kudos to the Angels! We thank Anna Samovlova for the use of her photo (not our children.)

Photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash These children play the ancient game of tug-of-war. The photo was taken on the day during the festival of children’s creativity. Young actors from different cities of Bashkortostan Republic shared their experience, performed dances and songs. – Download this photo by Anna Samoylova on Unsplash

Angels Over Sandpoint are at it again, being angels! They are offering grants for community projects that help people. They have been very supportive of our program for which we are very grateful. Go to angelsoversandpoint.org for more information. (Pictured are the Angels that provided over 1,000 back packs to school kids in the community.)

Angels open fall community grant cycle Twice a year, the Angels Over Sandpoint distributes grants through its community grants program to various groups requesting funds for specific needs.

Thank you to the Angels for all you do! And thank you for your support of our program.