Shodair Children's Hospital began as a home for orphaned and abandoned children in 1896. Children would be placed on "orphan trains" in the south and if they were not adopted at one of the stops, would end up in Helena, Montana, the last stop. Montana Children's home and Hospital was developed to care for these children. It was later renamed Shodair Children's Hospital after benefactor Louis Shodair.

In addition to being the first in the state to care for orphaned children, Shodair was the first health care organization here to treat children with polio, the first facility with a department of medical genetics and the first with a chemical dependency unit dedicated to adolescents.

In 1997, Shodair began its second century of service to our state's children and families. Shodair is a nonprofit, nondenominational children's hospital that is committed to providing for the care of treatment of children suffering from illness, diseases and other physical, mental and emotional conditions that impair the health and well-being off children.. Today, Shodair provides comprehensive services in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and in Medical Genetics.

Shodair Children's Hospital is Montana's only representative of the Children's Miracle Network (CMN), an affiliation of 165 children's hospitals and hundreds of local and national sponsors throughout the U.S. and Canada. The Network raises funds for child health care services and educated the public about the many special health needs of today's children.

Vada Popham, from Great Falls, Montana, is just one of the hundreds of children whom Shodair Hospital helps each year to realize their potential as true champions. Vada represented Shodair Hospital and the state of Montana as this year's Champion Child.

All money raised in MONTANA through CMN stays in the state to help as many children as possible receive the services they need at Shodair. In 1999, over $188,000 was raised - funds that are used to provide patient services.

With more and more children and families living without health insurance, the amount of unreimburesed health care services that Shodair provides to Montana children has grown dramatically in recent years.

For more than 103 years, Shodair has been a valuable Montana asset. The legacy represents the contributions of thousands who see a future in providing care and instilling hope in the most vulnerable among us. The Montana Logging Association and its members are proud to be a part of Shodair Children's Hospital and Log A Load For Kids program.