Shelley couple giving back to the community

SHELLEY — Television’s Mr. Rogers once shared his mother’s advice, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.â€

One couple always helping in our community is Ross and Cheryl Foster. They moved to Shelley about 18 years ago and raised their five children here.

“As the kids started to grow up, they got involved in sports. So I decided to help as a coach in baseball, football, wrestling and rodeo, whatever they were into. Cheryl and I made a decision early on that if we wanted to live in a good community, we needed to give back to it. That’s just who we are,†Ross said.

Cheryl got involved in the schools, first as an aide in kindergarten, later as an adjunct teacher, and most recently as a secretary at Shelley High School. She is an avid runner, and her passion led her to become involved in the community’s Spud Run for many years as part of Idaho Annual Spud Day. Along with a strong committee, she gathered registrations and fees, set up the course and ordered medals and snacks. She was always on the sidelines cheering people on. She continues to be a very stable influence at the high school, becoming close with students who sometimes face tough situations.

The Fosters both devoted time to the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts through the years and have been active in their church’s youth groups also.

“It’s a blessing to live in a small community,†Ross said. “It’s a great place to raise kids. Other dads and moms stepped up to help our kids and we wanted to do the same. There are probably at least 20 people here who my kids know very personally because they would help them and steer them in the right direction. We wanted to be part of that, not only for our own kids, but for others.â€

Five years ago, Ross left his job and decided to open Ace Hardware in Shelley. Being small business owners has given them the opportunity to meet even more people, provide some jobs and give back to teams and community projects, not only financially, but through the donation of time, energy and leadership.

He and Cheryl have been active in the Shelley-Firth Kiwanis Club for a long time.

“I learned early on that if you want to know what’s happening in the area, the Kiwanis is where a lot of the action is,†he said. “It’s the only service club here. Everything runs through it. We think this Kiwanis group is a great place to spend our time.â€

Cheryl is the advisor for the Kiwanis Key Club at the high school. She never ceases to be amazed at how often students step up to serve in a variety of ways – from filling food boxes at Christmastime to beautifying the community.

Besides heading up Spud Day every autumn, Kiwanians focus on helping children’s causes, including giving warm coats, school supplies, food for struggling families and providing scholarships. Five years ago, the Fosters began heading up the big task of running the scone nugget booth at the Eastern Idaho State Fair in Blackfoot.

“It was a lot of long hours, but people came and helped and it was a team effort, but we raised thousands of dollars to help with many things in the community,†he said. Something that has been a useful tool is the online app JustServe. It is a place for any organization to post service projects and request volunteers.

“Two years ago, harvest vacation had already started on the Monday following Spud Day,†Ross said. “We posted on JustServe that we needed people to come help clean up the city park, (something students usually did in a matter of minutes with released time from school). The post went up Sunday and by Monday morning we had 50 or 60 volunteers show up.â€

The Fosters are now working with a group to carry on the role of the local food bank.

“We just do what we do, we don’t sit back,†Ross said. “Allow others to help you and then give back. That’s how you have a strong community.â€

Quoting Mr. Rogers again, “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say, ‘It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.â€