Spring 2011 Community Fund grant recipients

• Broadwater High School, Townsend, $5,900 — to establish a program to collect and raise insects to control weeds and reduce chemical spraying.
   
• Butte Science Mine, Butte, $10,000 — to build four electricity-themed exhibits at the Science Mine, a new educational organization in historic uptown Butte.
   
• Clark Fork Valley Elks Lodge, Thompson Falls, $10,000 — to back a community effort to renovate the Little League baseball field, including installing underground sprinklers, replacing the dugouts, repairing the batting cages and concession stand, and providing handicap access.
   
• Friendship House, Billings, $10,000 — to host seven students over the course of the school year at this after-school faith-based program started in 1957.
   
• Montana Conservation Corp., Bozeman, $10,000 — to develop a network of hiking trails throughout the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation with the help of youth from the tribe.
   
• Montana High School Business Challenge, Helena, $5,000 — to help fund a growing eight-week business education program supported by the state Chamber of Commerce and attended by 1,600 students who learn about management, marketing, inventory and cash flow.
   
• National Center for Appropriate Technology, Butte, $5,000 — to help the center work with low-income neighborhoods and assist communities in adopting energy conservation practices and energy-efficient technologies.
   
• Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, $10,000 — to fund artist/teacher instruction and supplies for the museum’s after-school art program for children in Grades K-12.
   
• Raising Our Community Kids Safely, Miles City, $10,000 — to update the facility’s housekeeping and provide vehicle maintenance in support of its after-school and summer program for low-income children.
   
• Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Lewistown, $9,700 — to restore and enhance forests, meadows, river areas and aspen in the Judith-Moccasin Landscape. In cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, the project will include planting seeds, trees and shrubs.
   
• Sanders Community Hall, Hysham, $3,832 — to cover the cost of replacing wood shake shingles on the gables of the 1910 hall that were damaged by hail and woodpeckers. The hall serves as a community center for Hysham.
   
• Women’s and Family Shelter, Billings, $10,000 — to support the position of Children’s Program Supervisor and help assist children living in the shelter to overcome problems common among the homeless such as anxiety, poor play skills and limited access to books. About 50 children stay at the shelter on any given day. 

Fall 2011 Community Fund grant recipients

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Helena, $10,000 — to support a matching grant to enable the organization to continue the Big Brothers Big Sisters program at Helena’s high schools and elementary schools. The program mentors children to develop and improve self-confidence, decision-making, classroom behavior, academic performance and school preparedness. This organization has a 44-year history in Helena and has involved more than 300 participants.
   
• Billings Public Schools Backpack Meals Program, $3,500 — to help provide nutritious meals to hundreds of chronically hungry, low-income students on weekends and holidays. The goal of the program is to keep children fed so they can learn and grow into prosperous, engaged adults, an important first step to break generational poverty.
    
• Black Eagle Community Center, $10,000 — to make mandatory improvements to the kitchen, including new sinks, flooring and refrigeration. The original clubhouse was used by smelter workers of the Anaconda Refining Company. It was sold to the Civic Club in 1981 for $10, and since then has hosted meals, receptions and community events. PPL Montana operates a hydroelectric facility in Black Eagle.
   
• Denton Field Restoration Project, Miles City, $10,000 — to help restore a historic landmark in Miles City, which was built in 1939 by the Works Project Administration.  This athletic facility hosts football and baseball games, with nearby tennis courts, swimming pool and a city park. About 125 events are held here throughout the year, significantly contributing to the economy of Miles City and eastern Montana. More than $250,000 has already been raised in the community toward renovations. These funds will be used to upgrade the bathrooms to ensure they are handicapped-accessible.
   
• Eagle Mount, Billings/Red Lodge, $5,000 — to help provide adaptive ski instruction and skiing for more than 160 children and adults with disabilities. Programs will take place at Red Lodge Mountain in January, February and March. There will be two four-week sessions, which will provide exercise, learning, muscle memory training, socialization and fun for participants.
   
• Samaritan’s Food Pantry, Forsyth, $2,000 — to help replace an old refrigerator and freezer used in the pantry. The pantry, which operates out of the basement of the old hospital, has been serving the Forsyth community for 17 years. In the previous six months the pantry has helped 493 people in need of a nutritious meal.
   
• Great Falls Food Bank, $3,500 — to purchase refrigerators and freezers at the pantries supporting the Food 4 Kids Program, which provides food for hungry children on  weekends and holidays.
   
• Great Falls Scottish Rite Childhood Language Disorders Clinic, $10,000 — to fund 139 speech and language therapy sessions to preschool children with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy, hearing loss or cleft palate.
   
• Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, $1,000 — to help high school juniors develop their leadership skills and learn first-hand about the importance of being involved in their community.  The successful program is entering its 11th year, and has a waiting list of students eager to participate.
   
• Hi-Line Hockey/Valley Event Center, Glasgow, $10,000 — to upgrade the kitchen in the Valley Event Center, a multi-use facility that accommodates 1,000 people and serves as a community hub for sporting events, disaster refuge and conventions. A unique facility in northeastern Montana, it contributes to the economy by offering a venue that can host large gatherings, drawing people from other communities.
   
• Missoula Children’s Theatre, $5,000 — to support “If Forests Could Talk,” an upcoming assembly program developed in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service. It will be presented across the state to children in Grades K-5, with a goal of increasing awareness of the connections between healthy forests, ecosystems, people and economies.
   
• Red Feather Development Group, Bozeman/Lame Deer, $10,000 — to support the Youth Builders initiative, which works with high school students from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to create safe, energy-efficient and comfortable homes for seniors. Students learn how to build roofs, construct wheelchair ramps, replace windows, renovate kitchens and baths, install flooring and much more. This year-round program intends to pave the way toward future employment while keeping youth constructively engaged.
   
• The University of Montana spectrUM Discovery Area, Missoula, $10,000 — to enable the program to take its Brain science exhibit to three Montana Indian Reservations at no cost to the schools. The mobile science program travels across the state, sharing hands-on science, turning school gyms into museums, and providing field trips and family nights. Students will be able to explore brain form and function, brain waves and images, traumatic injury prevention, and more.
   
• ZooMontana, Billings, $10,000 — to create an adult volunteer docent program at the zoo. Docents can educate thousands of visitors yearly as they share their knowledge about wildlife, ecosystems and conservation. Their interaction is expected to create a much more meaningful visit to the zoo, resulting in repeat visitors and additional support.