In early October 2011, Bruno Leino, a.k.a. “Papa”, suddenly became seriously ill. We spent 4 days at the hospital telling Papa stories and praying that he would recover. As our parents left for an important family meeting we huddled close together and had our own meeting. When our parents returned we announced that we had a plan. One of our favorite memories of Papa’s true character was when he would look at the great mound of Christmas presents under the tree each year and say, “So many gifts and there are children out there with no boots to wear.”
When, sadly, Papa passed away we already had a mission to work on to help us in our grief and to fulfill a wish we all knew that Papa always held in his heart. In December 0f 2011 we raised enough money to supply 22 children from Harrison, Maine with new, good quality, boots. Now “Papa’s Boots” is an annual mission project, which multiplies each year, both in numbers and area served, formed by us; Bruno’s grand, great, and great-great-grandchildren to honor “Papa” and his wishes to spend less on Christmas gifts and more on boots for children in need. In 2018 we supplied boots to 148 children in the western Maine area.
We hope Papa is proud of us!
Donations may be sent to:
Papa’s Boots, c/o Bolster’s Mills United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 859
Harrison, ME 04040
Bolsters Mills UMC 