From Kalispell to Colstrip, PPL Montana and its Community Fund are building partnerships with a variety of cultural, educational and health care organizations that make a difference in the lives of Montana families.

PPL Montana is awarding $100,000 from its Community Fund this fall to 18 organizations that are helping address issues ranging from education to economic development. Another $100,000 will be donated in the spring.

“Since we established the fund in 2005, we’ve given a total of $600,000 to more than 95 organizations that are touching the lives of thousands of people and, as a result, improving the quality of life for all of us,” said Lisa Perry, manager of community affairs for PPL Montana. “PPL Montana is proud to be able to partner with these organizations.”

The Community Fund received about 100 applications during this fall’s grant cycle. An 18-member statewide advisory board — composed of civic and business leaders, as well as PPL Montana employees — helps determine how best to distribute the funds.

“Reviewing so many diverse applications is always a challenging process, and we always have tough decisions to make,” Perry said. “But our board weighs the merits of every application and spends many hours evaluating the projects. The applications are a reflection of the good work being done across Montana for the benefit of our residents.”

This fall’s PPL Montana Community Fund grant recipients are:

• Montana Homeownership Network, Great Falls, $10,000 — To provide expertise, financing and training to develop 200 new housing units across Montana for 460 Montanans. This organization, led by former legislator Sheila Rice, is working to address the need in the state for homes that can be rented or purchased by families at or below the median income.
   
• Montana State University Billings Foundation, Billings, $10,000 — To replace the 40-year old electronic lighting system with a more energy-efficient system in the popular Petro Theater, which hosts more than 12,000 people a year.
   
• Rosebud Health Care Center, Forsyth, $5,500 — To replace an obsolete X-ray table, which is a safety hazard for patients with limited mobility, with a modern elevating table. This 11-bed hospital has an attached clinic and a 55-bed nursing home. The facilities are vital to the economy of this small town in Rosebud County and provide health care to residents rather than forcing them to travel to another community.
   
• School House History and Art Center, Colstrip, $1,500 — To ensure continuation of an outreach program conducted by the Schoolhouse History and Art Center. The education director of this organization travels to small communities, schools and senior centers in Rosebud County, touching the lives of young and old with art programs.
   
• World Museum of Mining, Butte, $10,000 — To purchase technology to enable the museum to digitize and preserve much of its historic “Butte, America” collection. This educational facility is one of Butte’s top tourist attractions and is an important piece of Butte’s economic development efforts.
   
• YWCA of Great Falls, Great Falls, $10,000 — To provide 26 hours of tutoring through Sylvan Learning Center to children of residents of Mercy Home, a domestic violence shelter. Many of these children struggle to do well in school and complete homework.
   
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Yellowstone County, Billings, $2,700 — To install a handicap closure push button on the front door of the organization’s new location. The push button will increase accessibility for individuals with disabilities.
   
• Daly Mansion Preservation Trust, Hamilton, $10,000 — To help restore the “Green Room” of this historic home of Marcus Daly, one of Montana’s copper kings. The property had fallen into disrepair until a group of residents formed the Preservation Trust and brought the house back to its original splendor. The home now serves as a community center and is a major tourist attraction in Hamilton, receiving more than 10,000 visitors a year.
   
• Eagle Mount, Billings, $5,000 — To expand the equestrian program for children and adults with disabilities to serve up to 45 people, who will learn balance, trust, respect for horses, self-respect, self-confidence and social skills.
   
• Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture, Bozeman, $2,800 — To support the center’s “Schools in the Gallery” program, an educational curriculum designed to support arts education for 800 students in the Gallatin Valley. This includes exhibit tours, field trips and hands-on activities.
   
• Fishtail Community Center, Fishtail, $7,500 — To purchase a new furnace to allow the center to be open year-round. The new, energy-efficient furnace will help economic development in Fishtail, ensuring the building is available for public meetings and gatherings.
   
• Gateway Community Services, Great Falls, $5,000 — To teach parenting skills to residents of Grace Home, which strives to create healthy families for women recovering from substance abuse. The education will consist of three modules: parents as teachers, nurturing for parents and real-life parenting skills.
   
• Havre Area Chamber of Commerce, Havre, $1,000 — To support the “Leadership Havre” program for high school juniors. This educational program helps prepare young people to be future leaders and teaches about business, economic development and what makes their community work.
   
• Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell, $8,000 — To create a DVD of the museum’s “Traveling Medicine Show,” an educational project that brings the art, history and culture of the Northern Plains Indians to schools in northwest Montana. The DVD will allow the organization to share its lesson with students all over Montana.
   
• Junior League of Billings, Billings, $2,500 — To support the organization’s “New Image” program, which enables released female inmates to get a wardrobe while they are in transition back into the community. The Junior League operates a used clothing store in Billings, site of the Montana Women’s State Prison.
   
• Montana Natural History Center, Missoula, $5,000 — To replace and repair scientific equipment so the center can continue its mission of teaching children about science and the environment. The center has naturalists who visit fourth and fifth grades, operate a Summer Science Day Camp and provide traveling nature programs for Grades K-12.
   
• Safe Space/Suited for Success, Butte, $1,000 — To buy a computer and software to help teach computer skills, write resumes and offer preparation for the general educational development test. This organization helps get people back in the workforce.
   
• Young Families Early Head Start, Billings, $2,500 — To help purchase a new fire alarm system to meet current state and federal regulations. The organization, which recently acquired a new building in central Billings, helps young parents get back into school and complete their education while providing a safe and stimulating environment for their children. 

PPL has 500 employees in Montana who generate and sell electricity. PPL Montana operates coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale and retail energy market. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).

Click here for more information on the Community Fund.