Hope House

Helping to fill the needs of Bonners Ferry residents. By Amiee and Stan Christopherson.

Hope House, a free community clothing closet, is located in Moyie Springs in the

Tamarack Trailer Court at the northwest corner of Roosevelt and Division. Hope House began when a local church felt led to find ways of expressing God’s love to the community, with no “strings” attached.

Hope House has been in operation at its current location for just over three years and currently serves over 150 Boundary County families. Hope House does more than offer like-new clothing to the community; they also provide toiletry items, baby items, household basics and food.

“We have people walking through our doors from various situations. Some have very little due to having to start over for various reasons, others just need help finding clothes for their family,” states Aimee Christopherson, Hope House director. Hope House is working to be a collaborative community program to serve those in need, or who just need a little help.

Recently, due to an abundant supply of donations from our generous community, Hope House was able to offer a free clothing give away at the Valley View Elementary cafeteria. This event helped embody many of the things they strive to do. Not only were they able to distribute a large amount of clothing, but they also involved individuals from all parts of the community. A group of 8th graders and various community members helped to sort and organize the donations for the event, while Mrs. Davis’s second grade class, with the help of Penny Blackmore, collected items to create over 75 hygiene kits that were distributed at the event.

Aimee stated, “We support a lot of families and seniors that are trying hard to make ends meet, but just need a little extra help from time to time.” When you walk through Hope House’s doors, it is easy to see just how generous our Bonners Ferry community is. “It’s because of our generous community that we have the ability to offer great quality clothing,” Aimee emphasizes. However, one area in which they still lack is being able to provide quality shoes to hand out, especially for the teens. “It is hard for me to tell a teen that I don’t have anything in their size, especially when I look at their shoes and know that the shoes they are wearing are often too large, too small or just plain worn out. I remember how difficult those teenage years were, and wish we had some way to help.”

Now, thanks to a donation from our Bonners Ferry Rotary Club, they will now be able to help make sure teens have appropriately fitting shoes. “I remember watching one of our kiddos run track in a pair of used shoes we had given them, but by that spring track season, they were quite worn down. I kept thinking, ‘I wonder how much better they could run if they had shoes that actually fit and were in decent condition,’” shares Aimee. This new program is just getting started, and Aimee and the Hope House crew are excited to see where it goes. Their hope is that others will help by adding to the fund or even donating shoes in great condition.

If you want to check it out, stop by on a Tuesday from 12:30-4pm, and they would love to give you a tour. You can also like them on Facebook to follow upcoming events, cool stories and needs that arise. Soon their website will be up and running as well.

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