Holiday Fundraisers in Our Community

This holiday season our community has a number of holiday fundraisers and events that all have a shared purpose of giving back to the less fortunate. Seeing that we live in Bozeman, the most popular annual events seem to be 5ks that raise money for a number of different charities.

Huffing for Stuffing is a 5k event that donates all of the proceeds from race registration and donations to the local food bank in town as well as putting some of the proceeds toward helping less fortunate families have a stress-free holiday without having to worry about how they will keep everyone fed. This event took place on Thanksgiving day, and was a very fitting way to give back to the community if you ask me.

The Santa Run for Education was another 5k race that everyone in the community was welcome to participate in. When registering for this event, you were given the option of which school you or your children attend and the registration fee was donated to that school. There was even the option of listing a sport you participate in and having your donation be given to that sports’ funds. This was held downtown starting at the Wilson gym, where you could find hot cocoa, cookies, raffle items, and even a Mr. and Mrs. Clause to take pictures with. Our very own Principal Schnee could be found volunteering at this event, handing out prizes and helping with announcements.

A more relaxed event during the holiday season is the Christmas Stroll. This annual event is held in downtown Bozeman every year on the first Saturday of December. The entirety of downtown is closed down for this event, allowing the public to walk around freely, visit their favorite stores, and get a good look at local foundations and charities all advertising their cause and providing food and drinks. One such group is the Knights of Columbus who were selling elephant ears, a fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar, as a way to raise money for the church. And while this event is a good opportunity for charities to get their cause out there, it is also an opportunity for local artists to get exposure for their work.

A worldwide foundation that does a fundraiser in town is Kiwanis. On December 3rd they put on a pancake breakfast with an admissions fee included. All proceeds from this event went towards their mission. Kiwanis is an international organization that has dedicated them to bettering themselves to all children around the world.

Not all of the events this holiday season benefit humans though. Heart of the Valley put on an event on the 10th of December allowing families to come and have their pets take pictures with Santa. Entry to this event was free but all donations to Heart of the Valley went towards keeping the animals there well fed and warm through the winter season.

Another event that is benefiting animals is a cat food drive being put on by a student here at GHS. A box was set up in the commons of our school and any cat food donations went toward keeping the feline companions in our town well fed this winter.

GHS has put on many fundraisers this winter to help not only the community as a whole but also our student population. One such fundraiser is the winter coat drive dedicated to making sure all of our students stay warm through the winter. This fundraiser asked for monetary donations or donations of winter coats that could be distributed to less fortunate students who might not be able to afford a warm coat. Individual clubs in the school have set up their own Christmas charities and fundraisers as well.

The DECA club organized a “Cans for Slushies” promotion: bring in some canned food that can be donated to the local food bank and get a slushie for $1. This went hand in hand with the schoolwide event “Can the Hawks,” allowing our two local high schools to compete and see who can collect the most non-perishable canned goods that can also be donated to the food bank with the victor being Ms. Geissler and Mr. Kusak’s homeroom class.

The Rotary club, advised by Mr. Aytes, was also running their own fundraiser. They were selling Candy Cane Christmas Grams. All proceeds went to a family they are helping support through Haven Home. Haven Home is a Gallatin County support service dedicated to helping domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors get the assistance they need

Below are the phone numbers of several of the charities listed above. If you feel inspired by the good deeds these organizations are doing, feel free to give a donation and support your community. If you need any of these services, please contact one of the organizations listed as well.

Heart of the Valley: (406) 388-9399

Bozeman Food Bank: (406) 586-7600

Haven Home: (406) 586-7689