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Montana Logging Association members recently gathered for the Association’s annual Christmas party. In addition to celebrating the year’s accomplishments, the party is a fundraising event for the Montana Log a Load for Kids fundraising program.
Through the annual program, MLA collects donations for the Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena, Montana. Funds are raised through direct donations, auctions, and raffles at the May MLA Annual Membership Meeting and the December Christmas Party.
This year’s Christmas party raised $2,827 through an auction and raffle. MLA members generously donate items to be auctioned, including a MT Silversmith necklace, Christmas gift baskets, homemade pies, jackets, hats, woodcrafts, John Deere Lego skidders, and Tigercat diecast toys featuring a feller buncher, skidder, and forwarder that any aspiring logger would love. Also featured was the Bear Raffle for a Jeff Fleming Bear sculpture, a popular tradition at the annual Christmas party for over 20 years.
Throughout the 25-year history of the Montana Log a Load for Kids fundraising program, MLA has donated more than $500,000. So far this year, just over $21,000 in additional donations were raised for the hospital.
Shodair Children’s Hospital provides mental health care for children and offers a nationally recognized genetic program for all ages. It is the only facility in Montana that offers acute and residential treatment services for children and adolescents. Donations to the hospital help cover costs for Montana families who cannot afford care.