Scott Williams swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Griffin Bohm, left, prepares his handmade shelters for delivery to the Walmart store where they will make life easier for Salvation Army bell ringers during the winter red-kettle campaign. In the background is Bohm’s father, Pat Bohm.
Bell ringers for the Salvation Army will have an easier time braving the elements in Shawano this year thanks to the thoughtfulness and hard work of a local Boy Scout.
Griffin Bohm, a junior at Shawano Community High School, has built two sturdy shelters as his Eagle Scout community service project to help bell ringers stay warm and dry this holiday season.
The shelters have been stationed outside the Walmart store, 1244 E. Green Bay St., where volunteers on Friday will kick off the holiday season red-kettle campaign to benefit the Salvation Army of Shawano County.
Bohm, 16, said he has seen bell ringers struggling in rugged winter weather, and he wanted to offer assistance by putting a roof over their heads. He is glad that his red-and-white structures will help volunteers fulfill their mission of community service.
“I think we did a good job,” he said. “I think these will hold up well.”
With help from his fellow Troop 32 scout members, Bohm got the shelters finished just in time for the Salvation Army’s 2015 fund-raising drive outside area stores during the holiday shopping season.
Sue Dionne, who helps organize the red-kettle campaign, said she was impressed by the Boy Scout’s selfless gesture, as well as the quality of his work.
“I think it’s awesome,” she said. “He did a fabulous job.”
The fundraising drive, which continues until Dec. 24, involves bell ringers at four Shawano locations and countertop red kettles at 30 other spots throughout the county. The goal is to raise at least $35,000 — matching last year’s total — to support the Salvation Army’s programs assisting low-income families in Shawano County.
The Shawano Women of Today service group is again providing volunteers to maintain and empty the kettles periodically.
Recruiting bell ringers to stand outside and greet holiday shoppers is sometimes difficult, especially when winter weather turns cold and snowy. Having the new shelters available outside Walmart, Dionne said, probably will mean more people willing to step forward as volunteers.
“That’ll make a difference,” Dionne said.
Bohm, who has been in scouting for many years, needed an idea for a project to complete the requirements for Eagle Scout rank before his 18th birthday. When he got the idea of the Salvation Army shelters, he knew it would be challenging but worthwhile.
He first gathered donations that included lumber from Torborg’s Lumber, building materials from Qualheim’s True Value and paint from Dearco Glass Paint & Decorating. Then he recruited and organized fellow scout members to help with labor.
“It went smoothly, because we had a lot of help,” Bohm said.
The completed shelters stand about seven feet tall and are equipped with shingled roofs, carpeted floors and double-hung doors. Slightly larger than telephone booths, they are big enough to accommodate two people each.
Bohm’s father, Pat Bohm, an assistant scoutmaster for Troop 32, called it was one of the more difficult Eagle Scout projects he has seen. The father offered some assistance, but he mostly left his son alone to figure out everything on his own.
“That’s why they have to do this — to gain that experience,” Pat Bohm said. “This is how they do it.”