Celebrating Our People
This month we carried on our tradition of celebrating our many donors and volunteers with a night of good food, mingling, and appreciations. This year we held the party at the warm and friendly Burns St. Bistro and even lucked out by having the sun shine!
As a non-profit with a six-person staff, we simply couldn’t have the impact on the Montana community that we do today without the dedication and support of our donors and volunteers. This year we were overwhelmed with gratitude for all who donated at our annual Leadership Luncheon. This year’s luncheon brought in over seventy thousand big ones- our highest amount to date! We feel so lucky to be a part of a community that values social justice work and understands how a little money can go a long ways! Funding is of course important, but we really wouldn’t be who we are without our incredible volunteers! Since last July our vivacious volunteers have clocked in 5,490 hours! They are always enthusiastic to lead workshops, go on road trips, help with our afterschool programs, run our community events, and fill up the heart and soul of our organization.
This is why we think it’s so important to show our appreciation with our annual celebration of all of you! As all good nights do, the evening started out with a smorgasbord of delicious food (shout out to Kathy Witkowsky and Sam Grossman for the food organization!). Our staff got to share some highlights of the year, most notably our Leadership Luncheon, True Colors Anti-Racism Series, and the new video made by B-RAD (Boys Respecting All Diversity).
In addition to thanking every one of our donors and volunteers, we had the honor of highlighting a few or our special NCBI faces who contributed loads to us this past year. Among these specials were our youngest trainers ever, Lily Trotter and Ellie Crepeau. We thanked some of our outstanding youth who are graduating, Gage Taylor, Emma Martinich, Cody Stratton, and McKayla Hansen. We also got to call up some of our most involved community volunteers, Mija, Haley Court, and Nick Littman. Our highlighted donors were Gail and Dave Severson. We also said thanks and unofficial farewells to Tess Schleiwiler and Kelsie Severson who have been invaluable to our office.
It takes a lot of energy, resources, and strong hearts to empower such a large state and we are so grateful to all of you who help out in any way, shape, or form!
Similar Articles
Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, we can agree that this recent election has had a profoundly negative impact on how we...
“I never want to be a stagnant person. I think you begin to fester when you stop growing — and I do not want...
“stay strong through your pain / grow flowers from it / you have helped me / grow flowers out of mine so / bloom...
“The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.” -Sydney J. Harris As we gear up for the changing of seasons, EmpowerMT...
Too often as young people we are told we are the future leaders. People say this as though after years of school, hardship, working...
” How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”- Anne Frank “Empowerer” Spotlight: Abby Donald! This...
“It means a great deal to those who are oppressed to know that they are not alone. Never let anyone tell you that what...
The 2016 Missoula Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration theme was based off of Dr. King’s quote, “Our lives begin to end the day...
It’s been almost one month since we said goodbye to our amazing Mansfield Center YSEALI Fellows Hanty and Aung Lwin, and we sure do...
Dear EmpowerMT Family, Many of us are reeling today from the outcome of yesterday’s election. A more just and inclusive Montana and United States...
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.