01/18/2026
To the Methodist Churches and communities of Libby and Troy,
As we begin 2026, we want to pause and offer our sincere thanks for your prayers, your support, and your continued trust in the work of Bears'nStuff.
What began years ago in the Methodist Church — through donated fabric, yarn, encouragement, and open hearts — has grown into a quiet but meaningful partnership between the communities and a group of men inside a Washington State Prison. Though we will likely never meet one another, the connection is real and deeply felt on both sides.
Life inside prison is, by its nature, dehumanizing. You are reduced to a number, a past mistake, and very little else. Bears'nStuff changes that. Through this work, men are reminded that their hands still matter, that their effort still has value, and that even while paying their debt to society, they can contribute something good to the world.
The past year was not an easy one. Like many nonprofits, Bears'nStuff felt the strain of a tight economy. Market revenue was thin, and cash donations were limited. Still, the work continued. When money was scarce, more items were donated directly to organizations to support their fundraising efforts and outreach — quilts, bears, bags, artwork, hats, and stockings — all created with care and purpose.
In 2025 alone, Bears'nStuff was able to provide more than $7,000 in combined giving through cash donations and donated handmade items, supporting food pantries, crisis services, basic needs programs, senior outreach, and Blackfoot Reservation-wide Christmas efforts. These numbers matter, but what matters just as much is how they came to be — through donated materials, volunteered time, unpaid mileage, countless hours of labor, and the steady faith of people who believe this work is worth doing.
We are especially grateful for the working relationship we share with this community. Your support does more than help fund food banks or crisis centers — it restores dignity to people you may never meet. The men who create these items ask for nothing in return except the knowledge that someone is helped. That knowledge brings purpose, accountability, and a sense of humanity that prison life often strips away.
As we look ahead to 2026, Bears'nStuff continues, though not without challenges. Our supply of handmade items remains strong thanks to incarcerated workers, outside volunteers, Girl Scouts, and community crafters.
Bears'nStuff is run almost entirely by one person — Cyrus — who carries the responsibility of organizing donations, transporting items, setting up booths at fairs, and ensuring that the money raised returns to this community where it belongs.
What we need most now are people willing to help him on the outside — a few weekends, a shared table at an event, a willingness to tell the story of who we are, what we do, and why it matters.
By helping Bears'nStuff, you help the towns.
By helping the towns, you help people in crisis.
And by sustaining this partnership, you help remind men inside that they are still human.
Thank you for walking alongside us — even when the path is unseen.
With deep gratitude and respect,
On behalf of Bears'nStuff and the men who work quietly behind it,
Bill Rodgers 379032
Bill Rodgers is the senior Bears'nStuff board member at WSP
