In the wake of a dramatic crash that rocked Toby’s House Crisis Nursery in October, the Great Falls community has been rallying to help the nonprofit rebuild.
An SUV smashed through the facility’s wall on October 21st, causing major structural damage - but fortunately, no serious injuries.
Brianna Juneau reports - watch the video:
The Great Falls Police Department said that two vehicles were southbound on Fifth Street North and a driver made an "unsafe lane change" that forced the other driver off the street and into the building.
The car drove up a deck, crashed through a plate glass window, and came to rest inside one of the building’s sleep and play rooms.
Toby’s House Crisis Nursery provides short-term childcare and support for families in crisis. The nonprofit offers free emergency childcare for children up to age six, along with essential items like diapers, wipes, formula, and clothing.
On Monday, November 3rd, Teriyaki Madness restaurant lent a hand by donating 20% of sales to Toby’s House when customers mention the fundraiser in store or by using the code “fundraiser” online.
“Toby's House is an important, an important asset in this community. And we need to do what we can to help,” said owner Aaron Weissman. “Being part of the community in great falls is really important to us, we want to help this community whenever we can.”
Toby’s House director Leesha Ford described the fundraiser as yet another sign of the overwhelming community support the nursery receives.
“We just are grateful to the whole community for coming together and helping us get the wall back together. We were really thrilled. Providing our services for free is one of the cornerstones of us trying to help make our community a healthy place to raise kids,” she said.
Ford said that the nursery is leased through an owner who also owns a construction company. Most of the wall and the room is put back together and the rest of the repairs should be completed in the coming weeks.
She explained, “They were able to get started with the work right away. Today I got to hang some curtains, the carpet is back in, the kids are just enjoying it as a big play space.”
Ford said the crash, while terrifying, was a reminder of how important Toby’s House is for the community, and how fortunate everyone was that the outcome wasn’t worse. Ford says, “We were incredibly fortunate that everybody was safe. As horrific and as scary as this is, nobody was physically injured, including the drivers of either vehicle. It could have ended up much differently.”
The community can still stop by Teriyaki Madness on Monday through closing to support the fundraiser.
Thanks to efforts like this and other community support, the nursery is not only recovering, but also moving ahead with plans for a new facility that they hope to move into sometime in 2026.
