2023
Supermarket Sweep to Stock Tumbleweed Program’s Food Pantry Donation: To celebrate the Holland & Hart Foundation’s 25th anniversary, Billings Foundation volunteers supported the Tumbleweed Program with a “Supermarket Sweep” event – a fun-filled grocery store race to shop for items needed for Tumbleweed’s food pantry. Participants donated nearly $500 worth of groceries for the Tumbleweed Program, a non-profit, community-based agency which provides services to runaway, homeless, and vulnerable youth and their families.
Summer Reading Rocks Program with Education Foundation: The Foundation’s Billings office committee was excited to again partner with the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools Reading Rocks program. Several office members volunteer throughout the summer as reading buddies. The Reading Rocks program provides reading activities to elementary school-aged children for six weeks during the summer in conjunction with the School District II’s Free Lunch in the Parks, a program that serves over 50,000 free lunches during the summer. Reading Rocks is designed to help students continue reading over the summer and provides children with free books, reading mentorship, and storytelling by community leaders to keep children engaged in reading while away from school.
Education Foundation for Billings Public School’s 406 BackPack Meals Jersey Day: The Foundation’s Billings office was again proud to participate and support the Education Foundation for Billings Public School’s 406 BackPack Meals Jersey Day, an annual drive to support the organization’s backpack lunch program and teen pantry program. Members raised funds for the program through monetary donations. Donors across the City of Billings wore their favorite jersey to work on February 10 to support the fight against childhood hunger in the community. Across Billings Public Schools, 350+ elementary students receive BackPack meals each Friday, and an additional 300 – 350 students benefit through Teen and Elementary Pantries in the middle and high schools.
2022
Holiday Gift Card Drive for Tumbleweed: The Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office exceeded its gifting goal this year by supporting Tumbleweed by purchasing more than $600 in requested gift cards to restaurants and general merchandise stores. Tumbleweed distributes the gift cards to homeless and vulnerable youth over the holidays and in other times of need. The Tumbleweed program is a non-profit, community-based agency founded in 1976, which provides services to runaway, homeless and vulnerable youth, and their families. Tumbleweed’s crisis counseling and youth services are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Its vision is to end youth homelessness in the Billings community.
Habitat for Humanity Mid-Yellowstone Valley ReStore: In honor of Holland & Hart’s 75th anniversary, the firm celebrated its longstanding value of serving its communities by coordinating a firmwide afternoon of service. Eight members of the Billings office volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity Restore over September 15th and September 16th. The Habitat for Humanity ReStores are independently owned reuse stores operated by local Habitat for Humanity organizations. The ReStore accepts donations and sells home goods and construction supplies to the public at a fraction of the retail price. The revenue generated help Habitat for Humanity partner with local families to build, rehabilitate, and repair safe and affordable homes in the Billings community. The volunteer team helped by cleaning the store, merchandising and creating displays for products, organizing the ReStore and the warehouse, and stocking store shelves.
Billings Public Schools Supply Drive: As part of the Foundation’s annual School Supply Drive, the Billings office raised more than $600 to purchase needed school supplies for Billings Public Schools. Kevin Brook, the Homeless Education Liaison for Billings Public Schools, met Foundation Committee Chair Emily Cross for the school supply delivery. Many of the supplies are provided to families and students who are without consistent housing.
406 Jersey Day – Backpack Program: On February 11th, the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools held its 406 BackPack Jersey Day to increase awareness about its BackPack Meals Program in the community. This program is critical to meet the needs of students who are struggling with hunger outside of the classroom by providing them with nutritious and easy to prepare food to take home over weekends and extended school breaks when other resources are not available to them. A total of 260-275 elementary students receive BackPack meals each Friday in Billings Public Schools, an additional 300+ students benefit through Teen Pantries in the middle and high schools.
The Foundation’s Billings office raised $875 for the BackPack Meals Program, which equates to approximately 167 meals. If an individual made a donation via the Education Foundation, they could wear his/her favorite jersey to work on February 11th in support of fighting childhood hunger in our community.
2021
Habitat for Humanity Mid-Yellowstone Valley: Our Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office and family members met in August, hammers and nails ready, to help build a Habitat for Humanity Mid-Yellowstone Valley home. The team of six worked a full day framing the home. They learned new skills and, as a team, built and put up several walls of the house and garage. It was rewarding to see the excitement on the homeowner’s face when the walls went up!
School Supply Drive Supports Education Foundation: For this year’s Holland & Hart Foundation School Supply Drive, the Billings office raised funds, purchased items, and donated needed school supplies to the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools. Education Foundation coordinates with the Billings School District to provide supplies to students who are in need. Many of the supplies are provided to students who are without consistent housing.
Tumbleweed Holiday Gift Cards: The Tumbleweed program is a non-profit, community-based agency founded in 1976, which provides services to runaway, homeless and vulnerable youth and their families. Tumbleweed’s crisis counseling and youth services are available 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Its vision is to end youth homelessness in the Billings community. The Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office exceeded its gifting goal this year by supporting Tumbleweed in purchasing requested gift cards to restaurants and general merchandise stores. Tumbleweed distributes the gift cards to homeless and vulnerable youth over the holidays and in other times of need.
Billings Public Schools Backpack Meal Program: The Billings office was proud to support the Education Foundation for Billings Public Schools BackPack Meals Program. This program is critical to meet the needs of students who are struggling with hunger outside of the classroom by providing them with nutritious and easy to prepare food to take home over weekends and extended school breaks when other resources are not available to them. The Foundation’s Billings office donated $800 for the BackPack Meals Program, which equates to approximately 188 meals.
2020
Santa By Mail with Big Sky Seniors: This year members of the Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office worked with Big Sky Seniors and adopted seniors in the community for Christmas. Big Sky Seniors provided names of senior citizens and a list of their preferred gift cards. Foundation members from the office mailed gift cards and joyful holiday notes to the seniors to ensure they received a bit of holiday cheer in a year when many were isolated from family and friends as a result of the pandemic.
Holiday Gift Card Drive for Tumbleweed: Although we missed purchasing, wrapping, and delivering gifts to Tumbleweed youth this year due to the pandemic restrictions, the Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office was proud to still support Tumbleweed by sending hundreds of gift cards to be distributed to youth in the community to make their holiday season brighter. The Tumbleweed Program is a non-profit, community-based agency which provides services to runaway, homeless, and vulnerable youth and their families.
Office Supply Drive for Young Families Early Head Start: The Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office members gathered hundreds of dollars in donations, face masks, and diapers for the Young Families Early Head Start. The Billings School District and Young Families Early Head Start partner to both provide quality childcare and development services to infants and toddlers birth to three years of age, including children with disabilities, whose parents are teenagers, as well as low-income parents obtaining post-secondary education and training in college or technical schools, and working parents, at no charge to families.
2019
School Supply Drive with Billings School District #2: For this year’s firm-wide Holland & Hart Foundation School Supply Drive, the Billings office members supported the Billings School District #2 with school supplies. Volunteers collected donations and shopped for school supplies needed in the school district such as pencils, notebooks, tissue, and dry-erase markers. The volunteers delivered the supplies to the district.
Broadwater Elementary School Reading: This year, Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office members attend Broadwater Elementary weekly to read with first grade students. The volunteers provide needed one-on-one attention to students who are learning to read. It is rewarding and exciting to watch the students progress throughout the school year.
Young Families Early Head Start – Playhouse Parade: Young Families Early Head Start is a Billings program that provides care and educational services primarily to teen and low-income families with children from birth to three years of age, pregnant women, and infants and toddlers with special needs. The Playhouse Parade is an annual fundraiser which raffles unique playhouses for children’s backyards. The Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office volunteers worked at the Playhouse Parade to help educate community members about Young Families Early Head Start and to sell raffle tickets.
2018
Big Sky Senior Services: The Holland & Hart Foundation Billings office members partnered with Big Sky Senior Services for the holiday season by shopping for and donating wrapped gifts for local seniors. Big Sky Senior Services is an organization that provides comprehensive support services to help elders and developmentally disabled adults maintain their independence and quality of life by providing homemaking, case management or daily phone support.
Broadwater Elementary School Career Day: Four Billings office members attended a career day at Broadwater Elementary School. We spoke to fifth graders about what lawyers do on a daily basis and how important our education was in our lives today.
2017
Secret Santa with Tumbleweed and Big Sky Senior Living: Members of the Billings office adopted teens associated with the Tumbleweed Runaway Program for teens and seniors from the Big Sky Senior Living Center for the holidays. Using funds raised throughout the year, we shopped for the teens and seniors to fulfill Christmas wishes, and then wrapped and delivered the gifts.
Tumbleweed Runaway Program Sock Drive: The Billings office collected socks and cash donations to donate to Tumbleweed Runaway Program, a non-profit community-based agency that provides services to runaway, homeless, and otherwise at-risk youth and their families.
The Family Tree – Festival of Trees: Every year the Festival of Trees, a project of the Family Tree Center, an organization that implements child abuse and neglect prevention programs in the in Yellowstone County and the surrounding community. The Billings office decorated and donated a tree, which was auctioned at the event to raise funds that are used to support programs and raise awareness of the Family Tree Center. The Family Tree Center. This year the Billings office created handmade Dr. Seuss ornaments to decorate the tree that was sold for $700.00.
Reading with children in the park through the Reading Rocks summer program that provides literacy support and free lunches in various parks around Billings. After lunch, a storyteller reads a short story to the group. The children then pick out a book to read on their own or with a volunteer. Each child is able to take home one book each lunch. The program helps children who may not have access to books at home or who may not regularly spend time reading. Eight Billings office members volunteered as reading buddies for the program to celebrate Holland & Hart’s 70th Anniversary.
2016
Tumbleweed: Tumbleweed provides vital resources to at-risk, homeless teens. Every year, Tumbleweed provides the Billings office with a list of Christmas wishes for several teens. Members of the office sign up to sponsor and buy gifts for a teen, then the office holds a wrapping party to wrap the gifts from the Secret Santas. This year, we sponsored 10 teens.
2015
Festival of Trees: Six members of the Billings office designed and decorated a tree for the annual Festival of Trees. Our tree, themed “A Cavity-Inducing Christmas Tree,” sold for $900, with all proceeds going to the Family Tree Center’s efforts to help prevent child abuse and neglect in Yellowstone County and the surrounding area.
Reading Rocks: Reading Rocks is a summer program that provides free lunches and books to local children. The lunches are hosted at various parks around Billings. After lunch, the children are allowed to select books for free and spend time reading with a volunteer.
Volunteers from the Billings office served as reading buddies for the program. They spent lunch hours helping children pick out books and either read to younger children or listened to older children read out loud. The program helps children who may not have access to books at home or who may not regularly spend time reading.
Broadwater Elementary: The Billings office volunteers throughout the year for projects at Broadwater Elementary. Several attorneys and paralegals volunteer in the morning to help students in a specific classroom with math problems. Other activities include volunteering when the school has dinners or other events. For example, Broadwater was renovated last spring and needed help moving furniture out of classrooms. The Billings office helped move furniture from one building into another.
Additional Projects:
- Annual Firm-wide Food Drive
- Tumbleweed Runaway Program