Pictured, from left, are Ellison, Gina and Caden Hilburger, Junie Eimiller, Rob Hilburger and JoAnn Murray. The family on Tuesday delivered Christmas gifts for 42 area children through the Salvation Army's Angel Tree program. P-J photos by Eric Tichy

For many years, Bannon Eimiller and his mom, Junie, would volunteer ringing bells shortly before Christmas for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign.

Afterward, the pair would select a tag from the Angel Tree program that helps provide gifts for hundreds of thousands of children around the country each year.

The last tag the two of them selected — from a Christmas tree located at Tops Markets on Washington Street in Jamestown — was for an 8-year-old boy who wanted a skateboard.

“So that’s what my son picked out, along with a helmet and safety gear,” Eimiller said. “My son was a lifelong dedicated skateboarder — he absolutely loved it and knew Pete Scheira well from all the years of buying products from him at Jamestown Skate Products.”

On May 9 of this year, Bannon was killed while riding his skateboard along Route 430 in the town of Ellery. In his memory, Eimiller and her family established B.E. Strong 716 through the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. It is named after an Instagram account Bannon and a friend established while in school to showcase their passion for weightlifting and strength training.

Bannon Eimiller

“The mission of the charity is to honor my son, Bannon, and his huge heart and compassion that he had for others,” Eimiller told The Post-Journal.

After a successful fundraising effort and through donations, Eimiller wanted to make sure local children had something to open on Christmas morning. Harking back to their time ringing the bells and selecting a tag from the Angel Tree program, the family had an ideal starting place.

“We were able to go down to the Salvation Army and, rather than go initially when they launched the campaign, we decided to wait until the deadline was over to see if there were any tickets that were left,” she said. “And so we went down to the Salvation Army and they actually had more left over than I think they had in previous years. They asked me how many I wanted to take and I said, ‘Let’s just take all of them,’ so no kid was left without at least some Christmas gifts. So we bought gifts for 42 families.”

With the help of Eimiller’s brother and his family, along with Bannon’s godmother, the group went shopping over the weekend. Gifts for all 42 families were dropped off at the Salvation Army in Jamestown on Tuesday — just in time for Christmas.

“Bannon would be so happy that we are able to do this for kids in need this Christmas, and it’s all because of the amazing generosity of people who gave to our charity before, during and after our Italian dinner fundraiser in November,” she said.

Junie Eimiller and JoAnn Murray are pictured Tuesday afternoon outside the Salvation Army in Jamestown. The gifts were purchased with funds raised through the B.E. Strong 716 foundation created after Eimiller's son died in May.

Major John Merchant said the Salvation Army in Jamestown, through its Angel Tree program, provided gifts to more than 600 local children this year. The contribution from B.E. Strong 716 was a large reason why.

“Now we don’t have to worry that those children aren’t going to get what they want,” Merchant said.

Moving forward, Eimiller hopes the foundation can be used to promote skateboarding safety and driver awareness on the road. “Unfortunately, it took this accident for me to be enlightened to how many bad accidents happen involving skateboards,” she said. “So the goal is to raise awareness about skateboarding safety.”

This past week, the Eimillers met with Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist and other city officials. The foundation is looking to donate funds for a planned skate park in the city to be used for amenities, including benches and tables.

“He was a lifelong, passionate skateboarder,” Eimiller said of her son. “He skateboarded from the time he was little. It was a passion of his. He would even build, with my dad at home, homemade skateboard ramps. He loved it so much, so skateboarding and somehow donating to that local skate park while at the same time raising awareness about safety is the next goal.”

Individuals and businesses can make a tax-deductible donation directly to the foundation by visiting crcfonline.org/BEStrong716 or by mailing a check to its office at 418 Spring St., Jamestown.