COEUR d'ALENE - When this group says they're going to "give 'em the bird," they mean it, and there are no finger flips involved.

The birds these people are talking about are Thanksgiving turkeys that will be given to the Kootenai County Community Action Partnership Food Bank in Coeur d'Alene.

The effort is called Turkeys for All, a newly formed 501c3 charitable organization started by Jim Myers, of Coeur d'Alene.

"I've always believed that if you're doing well, it's incumbent to give back," Myers said.

Born in London, and now a United States citizen, Myers said he has lived in Coeur d'Alene for about seven years, and during that time, he has done some fundraising and volunteer work for the Community Action Partnership Food Bank.

Myers said he has witnessed what he calls the "annual fire drill" that takes place a few weeks before Thanksgiving - a yearly, stressful scramble to round up enough turkey donations to ensure that each family reliant on the food bank receives one of the birds.

Myers said he was struck by the idea for Turkeys for All while working on a fundraiser for the food bank.

"It was almost a parody of Christmas for All, but I thought wouldn't it be cool if we collected enough money through the year, and then at a given point, we could go to the poultry suppliers and buy in bulk?" Myers said.

And like Press Christmas for All, this newspaper's annual holiday charity program, Turkeys for All has no overhead or administrative costs. All the work is done by a volunteer board. Myers paid the legal fees to set up the nonprofit out of his own pocket.

That means 100 percent of Turkey for All donations will go to buying turkeys.

When they created the bylaws, Myers said, they structured them so they could expand their giving to the food bank beyond Thanksgiving, if there are enough donations.

"I was a customer of a food bank myself, about 20 years ago," Myers said.

He was out of work at the time, with custody of a teenage son, so his empathy for those in need comes from personal experience.

Myers now works for an east coast financial services company. He just got married two weeks ago to Deborah Miller-Myles, a Coeur d'Alene Realtor.

He said they're planning a wedding reception at their home, and will ask guests to consider donating to Turkeys for All, in lieu of gifts.

Myers' wife Debbie also sits on the new nonprofit's board, along with Robert Hagen, a Coeur d'Alene family practice physician; Sherry Niblock, marketing director for Panhandle State Bank; and Danielle Matoy, an active community volunteer with administrative experience. To donate, checks should be made payable to Turkeys for All, and mailed to 213 E. Lakeview Drive Coeur d'Alene, 83814. Info: www.turkeysforall.org or www.facebook.com/TurkeysForAll