Quick Takes
short stories about our partners’ impact
Read how our partners are working to inspire, innovate, and improve the lives of people across Montana!
Teaching through Experience
For Ed Worrell, teaching the visually impaired is personal. After losing his vision at age 24, he attended the Montana Association for the Blind’s Summer Orientation Program (SOP). He returned to teach the following year and now is part of the nonprofit’s three-person team of computer technology instructors. This summer, students will learn how to […]
Fortifying Our First Responders
Retired Billings Police Officer Justin Bickford is not alone. An on-duty shooting, followed by personal trauma, led to his administrative leave, mental health treatment, and eventual retirement from the force. An inpatient program in Tucson, focusing on PTSD, anxiety, depression, and anger, helped him out of “mental health hell.” Back in Billings, he took T-6’s […]
Feeding Food Pantries
The Livingston Food Resource Center (LFRC) is more than a food pantry. It’s an economic development driver, job training ground, and nonprofit aspiring to lift people out of poverty. “Our vision is to fight the root cause of hunger, which is poverty,” according to Executive Director George Peirce. The LFRC recently expanded its Community Bakery […]
Divine Providence
When enrollment trends at private schools recently took a sharp upward turn, Divine Mercy Academy was ready. The Catholic school in Belgrade just hired four new teachers and completed a capital improvement project, including a two-story addition with new classrooms, common space for assemblies, lunch and school activities, a commercial kitchen area, and restrooms. DMA’s […]
Overcoming Trauma
COVID-19 has taken a toll on everybody’s mental health, with young people especially hard hit, according to a report issued in December by the U.S. surgeon general. REBOOT Recovery recognized this reality in April 2020, extending its Crisis Edition video series free of charge to the general public. REBOOT has long helped veterans, first responders, […]
Helping Others Helps Us
A great way to help yourself is to help others. According to a 2020 Psychology Today article, “Helping Others Is Good for Your Health,” assisting others can improve one’s own physical and mental health, happiness, and longevity. With that in mind, ROC Wheels in the Bozeman area is engaging area veterans to build assistive devices […]
Warriors with Impact
Tomy Parker had pretty much hit rock bottom. A triple amputee, Parker lost his legs and the fingers on one hand while serving the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. He struggled with trauma, addiction, and incarceration before turning his life around. Now sober, Parker competes in endurance races using a wheelchair provided by Impact Montana. He […]
What Makes Us Human
“Relationships are the foundation of the human experience, but as our work team progressed through RW360, I realized how little time I spent building relationships,” says Thomas Risberg, who directs the Sober Life Program at Alliance for Youth. The nonprofit organization recently completed RW360’s Relational Wisdom program. Relational Wisdom is an enhanced form of emotional […]
Small and Mighty
Most Christians know the story of the mustard seed—a tiny seed that grows into a tree of great stature and reach. Fellowship Baptist Church in Lockwood, Montana, exemplifies that concept. With a congregation of just 30 members, Fellowship Baptist Church’s reach extends far beyond the pews. Church Administrator Ray Willis, a missionary since 2008, says […]
Helping 1,000 Children
“I never saw a request that went unmet,” says Dee Kale, CarePortal coordinator for Kalispell’s Easthaven Baptist Church. Along with hundreds of volunteers, Kale helps area children in need by providing basics, from books to beds. Kale works with Aaron Scofield of Promise686, which launched its Montana operation in January. Scofield serves a seven-county network […]