Flathead Gives is set aside as a day to celebrate the giving spirit of Flathead County.  Flathead's generous community comes together to raise dollars for local nonprofits through a celebration over a two-day period hosted by Flathead Community Foundation. The Giving Day kick-off will honor the participating local nonprofits on May 2nd at 5:00 pm.  We invite you to come and enjoy the festivities at the Kalispell Center Mall.  You will be able to visit with the nonprofits and donate in person at our Giving Stations (checks, currency, credit cards, are accepted).  This in-person event will happen May 2nd at 5:00 pm and conclude May 3rd at 6:00 pm.

 

In an effort to 'counteract the negative' when local Flathead County schools shut down for safety issues in the fall of 2017, Molly Thibert and her tribe decided to start a small school snack drive for children in our county schools.

Most elementary schools have a mid-morning snack time.   Some of the kids don't have snacks to bring from home, so they are not only hungry, but also dealing with the fact that their situation as different from most of the other students in their class.   Hungry kids cannot focus and they can't learn as well in the classroom.   Kids need calories and fuel often and many local elementary children are just not getting what they need.   Kids are also very hungry after school; they are ready for a snack as soon as school is over.   Kids will often have a snack on the bus ride home, or have a snack as soon as they get home.   Some students don't have access to snacks as mentioned above, so they will go from lunch until dinner without eating anything.

Molly put together a grass roots effort to provide these kids with two snack per day.   The kids receive a brown lunch sack on Mondays with ten snacks in it - two for each day they are in school.   They are able to keep it in their desk and pull it out at snack time, just like the other kids in their class.   On each bag is written an encouraging note or funny joke:   You are smart; Be brave; You are special; Have an awesome day.

When the first snack bags were delivered, Molly and her dedicated team were surprised at the overwhelming response from school teachers and administrators.   This snack program was suddenly filling a gap that had gone unnoticed!   So far, with close to 50 people donating funds and snacks, the Flathead School Snack Program is providing more than 100 students with these weekly snack bags.

Molly and her team of volunteers are hoping to expand the program to other Flathead Valley elementary schools.   They have determined that the cost is $10-$11 per month to support the snack sacks for these students, so they are seeking donations of non-perishable kid-appropriate snacks and/or monies to purchase the same to feed these children consistently and expand the program to include more children.