Local food pantry helping bring 1000 pound “Honor Bell” to Colorado Springs

SECURITY-WIDEFIELD, Colo. (KRDO) - God's Pantry committed $10,000 to the Honor Bell Foundation in its efforts to bring a 1000-pound bronze "Honor Bell" to the Pikes Peak Region to honor fallen veterans.

The Honor Bell Foundation cast its first bell in Denver in 2016. They use it to give funeral Bell Honors to military veterans and their families.

"They took the articles from 12 Colorado families. Dog tags, belt buckles," said Honor Bell Foundation board member Larry Peterson. "These articles were melted in with the bronze. It's 99.9% bronze, and the rest of it is them in this bell. That's why we call it a bell forged from honor."

The Denver Bell currently travels to Southern Colorado a couple of times a week. Peterson and the Honor Bell Foundation have been raising money for years to build a twin bell exclusively for the Pikes Peak region. Peterson said rising costs have made that difficult. God's pantry stepped in to help, carrying their own heavy burden.

"We're honoring our veteran who passed away this late spring," said God's Pantry director Carey Adams. "Well, what better way to honor Mr. Floyd Cotton than to bring a bell down to Pike's Peak community?"

It's seven tolls to remember the fallen.

A funeral service, lightening the toll of past service for Peterson.

"Those hidden demons that just never go away. I myself have some of those," Peterson said. "I went to the VA for PTSD. They gave me drugs. They gave me counseling. It helped. But in tolling this bell, it's been the best medicine for me."

You can donate to the construction of the bell on the Honor Bell Foundation's website, or in person at God's Pantry.