2006 Community Fund Recipients

Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts, Billings, $10,000
To support the family portion of the theater’s Arts Education School Performances, which presents five programs for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

Butte Family YMCA, Butte, $5,000
To provide a fenced, landscaped area that can be used for outdoor activities and prevent soil erosion in a currently barren area of the grounds around the newly built YMCA.

Cheyenne Children Services, Lame Deer, $2,000
To provide back-to-school backpacks filled with school supplies for low-income children of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Last year 800 children received backpacks from Cheyenne Children Services.

Children’s Sunshine Camp, Butte, $10,000
To upgrade the facilities at this free, live-in summer camp for children from primarily low-income families. The camp accommodates more than 200 campers each year.

Colstrip Ambulance Service, Colstrip, $6,000
To provide standardized training for the 12 volunteer emergency medical technicians who serve the Colstrip area.

Colstrip Medical Center Foundation, Colstrip, $7,000
To purchase computer software that will enhance the center’s diagnosis and treatment of occupational health injuries.

Community Giving Assistance towards Employment, Glendive, $7,000
To repair the Prairie Development Center, which houses the Food-to-Table agricultural marketing cooperative.

Conrad Mansion Museum, Kalispell, $5,000
To upgrade the electrical system in the Conrad Mansion, a Kalispell landmark and tourist attraction.

Consumer Credit Counseling of Montana, Great Falls, $1,600
To place four computers inside the Boys and Girls Club in Great Falls. During tax season, Consumer Credit will use the computers to assist low-income taxpayers with their returns. At other times, children will be able to use them for educational purposes.

Family Services, Billings, $5,000
To provide more than 500 children from low-income families with back-to-school backpacks filled with school supplies and gift certificates for clothing.

First Baptist Church Community Parking, Thompson Falls, $7,350
To pave a parking lot that provides needed public parking for the main business district of Thompson Falls.

Friends of the Madison Valley Library, Ennis, $5,000
To provide additional reading material, videos and computer software for the Children’s Area at the library.

Friends of Musselshell School, Musselshell, $2,610
To provide repairs for the former Musselshell School, which serves as a community center for residents.

Friends of Wedsworth Memorial Library, Cascade, $8,390
To increase technological resources available to community residents through the library, which serves a large rural area.

Habitat for Humanity Mid-Yellowstone Valley, Billings, $3,500
To provide improvements and personnel training for ReStore, a Habitat-run business that generates income to build houses for low-income families.

Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, Havre, $1,000
To provide the Havre Leadership High School program, which teaches students the skills necessary to become community leaders and volunteers.

Headwaters Trail System, Three Forks, $5,000
To construct a pedestrian bridge over the Madison River that would enhance access from the trail system to Headwaters State Park.

Lavina Public School, Lavina, $7,800
To help remodel the vocational training shop so students can learn about automotive and farm mechanics, metal fabrication, electrical work, natural resource management and construction.

Lewistown Area Chamber of Commerce, Lewistown, $10,000
To provide maintenance and repairs for the Charlie Russell Chew-Choo Dinner Train, which attracts tourists year-round to Lewistown.

Montana Conservation Corps, Bozeman, $10,000
To support ReCorps, a summer program that engages young teens in challenging conservation and community service projects. 

Montana School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, Great Falls, $10,000
To help update the library for sensory-impaired students with more current resources in large print, Braille and audio. The school, which serves children from across the state, is the only one of its kind in Montana. Its library hasn’t been updated in more than 25 years.

Rimrock Opera Company, Billings, $3,000
To support performances of an anti-tobacco program, “The Night Harry Stopped Smoking,” at area schools.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Missoula, $10,000
To develop hands-on, science-based programs that will teach children about the unique plant and animal species that are part of western Montana’s natural environment. About 4,000 students each year are expected to participate in the programs.

Scottish Rite Childhood Disorders Clinic, Billings, $5,850
To assist CommunicCamp with three week-long camps designed to help build the communication skills of children with moderate-to-profound speech and language impairments. 

Snowy Mountain Development Corp., Lewistown, $5,000
To assist in restoring the Utica Community Center in Utica, providing a focal point for events in the small rural community.

Special K Ranch, Columbus, $7,500
To build a lamb barn for the ranch’s work with more than 200 sheep, which is a major source of income for the facility. Special K Ranch is a working ranch for developmentally disabled adults.

Sun River Watershed Group, Great Falls, $7,000
To support volunteers, partners and the Montana Conservation Corps in reducing erosion on the lower Sun River, monitoring water quality at 30 locations along the river, and educating local citizens and schools on watershed issues.

The Writer’s Voice of Billings Family YMCA, Billings, $7,150
To support “Poets on the Prairie,” an arts education and literacy program for rural students.

Treasure County Senior Citizens Club, Forsyth, $3,750
To establish a Rosebud County Library satellite at the Hysham Community Center. Treasure County does not have a library.

Tumbleweed Runaway Program, Billings, $7,500
To help this community-based agency renovate and furnish a skills room at a new center that it’s establishing in an old house. The program offers crisis intervention and life skills training to runaway, homeless and at-risk youth.

United for Disabilities of Sanders County, Thompson Falls, $10,000
To fund the Cherry Creek Boat Ramp improvement project, which includes a boat ramp, improved gravel parking, a floating dock, picnic facilities, signage and landscaping. This will be the only access point to the south side of the Thompson Falls Reservoir.

Yellowstone Park Foundation, Bozeman, $4,000
To provide scholarships to enable students to attend “Expedition: Yellowstone!” — a program that introduces elementary and middle school students to Yellowstone’s natural and cultural resources.