GREAT FALLS — The 2018 NeighborWorks Great Falls Community Leadership Institute (CLI) Team is giving $4,000 to the Children’s Museum of Montana.
On Thursday, the CLI presented the museum with a check.
Each year, leaders in the community are chosen to attend a national NeighborWorks America training that aims to strengthen the voices and skills of the community, resident and volunteer leaders.
Every year, each participating team creates an action plan for making positive changes in their community and are given a grant.
In 2018, the Great Falls CLI Team chose the Children’s Museum of Montana to be their recipient.
Great Falls CLI Team Leader Julia Doney said, “My heart has always been with the Children’s Museum. I have two young kids myself.”
Money from the grant will benefit one of their most impactful programs, the children’s educational summer camps, which started in 1996.
The Museum “exists to ignite passion for learning through hands-on exploration of science, math and culture.”
Julia added, “The youth is where it starts. We need to instill the want to learn and give them the opportunity to thrive. So, when they grow up in our community, they can help expand. At the museum there’s all sorts of things to do. They can be creative here. Imagination is key later in life.”
The Children’s Museum on Montana Executive Director Sherrie Neff said the summer camp at the museum was very successful this past summer.
Sherrie said, “There are a wide variety in our community of types of summer camps. The Children’s Museum goes out of its way to make sure that they are very hands on, that they keep to our mission’s statement of educating history, science and culture. We did arts, we did science, we did music, we did legends and myths and different types of topics that might intrigue one individual over another to keep a variety going on.”
The $4,000 donation will help pay for additional staff, marketing, art supplies, new additions, and much more.
This October, NeighborWorks Great Falls will send 8 people to Chicago for this year’s Community Leadership Institute.
The chosen action plan for this year focuses on expanding the annual MApril Community Clean Up.
Click here to visit the Children's Museum of Montana website.
