Spring 2010 Community Fund grant recipients

• Central Montana Head Start, Lewistown, $5,000 — To help bring the organization’s building up to code and continue to serve 116 underprivileged children in a five-county area.
   
• Clark Fork Coalition, Missoula, $5,000 — To help launch the “Hands on the Ranch” program, which will connect Anaconda and Deer Lodge high school students with stream restoration projects in the upper Clark Fork watershed.
   
• Prairie Development Center, Glendive, $10,000 — To help replace an aging heating and cooling system to serve the business incubator, which supports many businesses and nonprofit groups.
   
• Educational Opportunities for Central Montana, Lewistown, $4,200 — To supply the science lab with three laptop computers. This partnership with Montana State University-Northern provides opportunities for central Montana residents to take college-level courses.
   
• Florence Crittenton Home, Helena, $10,000 — To help enlist a coordinator to provide independent living training about budgeting and money management. Teen mothers and mothers-to-be live at the home, which introduces them to healthy, functional and stable living.
   
• Froid Public Library, Froid, $10,000 — To install a geothermal heating and cooling system in the library. The town of Froid is constructing a 3,000-square-foot library attached to the Froid Community Center.
   
• Great Falls Public Library, Great Falls, $3,000 — To help implement an independent reading project to improve literacy among young adults in Cascade County.
   
• HANDS (Heroes and Neighbors Down at the School), Great Falls, $1,000 — To support the continuation of programs for the summers of 2011 and 2012. The program provides children with a safe learning environment until their parents get home from work.
   
• Lavina Senior Center, Lavina, $5,568 — To repair the front enclosed entryway of the center, the only handicapped-accessible, public facility in town. It hosts community gatherings, meetings, town council activities, weddings, birthdays and other social events.
   
• Madison Farm to Fork, Ennis, $9,800 — To purchase a heat exchanger enabling the farm to connect the hot springs with the greenhouse. This organization promotes local sustainable agriculture through the support of local growers, producers and consumers.
   
• Montana Conservation Corps, Bozeman, $3,179 — To support Montana Youth Service Expeditions, summer programs that immerse teens in monthlong conservation-service adventures that connect them to nature, develop community service, teach practical job skills, develop leadership and teach personal responsibility.
   
• National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, $10,000 — To offset the costs for some communities in Montana to participate in weatherization, education and conservation programs that help meet energy needs for people, including low-income families, across the state.
   
• Richland Opportunities, Sidney, $8,000 — To expand the recycling program, which helps this organization provide residential, vocational and transportation services for individuals with developmental disabilities.
   
• Sanders County Community Development, Thompson Falls, $6,522 — To provide hardware and baskets for hanging flower baskets on Main Street, part of a beautification project in downtown Thompson Falls to enhance local businesses and promote tourism.
   
• Birch Creek Outdoor Education Center, Dillon, $8,731 — To replace 80 old mattresses used in facilities for the University of Montana Western school’s outdoor education programs and meeting facilities.