Groups/Organizations - Other
Welcome to the 2009 edition of Uncover Missoula.
• AniMeals. Call 721-4710 or drop-off donations at 2200 S. Grant St., Suite B, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. Provides food to animal shelters, rescue missions and pets of homebound elderly and disabled people on fixed incomes. Currently AniMeals is delivering food to hundreds of animals. Dog and cat food or financial donations welcome.
• Basset Rescue of Montana. Call 626-4331. bassetrescueofmt.tripod.com. A full nonprofit rescue-rehabilitation shelter for the basset hound. Assists bassets in Montana, Idaho, and North and South Dakota and offers them a place to rehabilitate until a new home is found. Offers a mentor program for 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, etc.
• Beta Sigma Phi. Box 2571, 59806. An internationally based social and service nonprofit group with seven Missoula chapters. Meets September through May at various times and locations.
• Big Sky Upland Bird Association. Meets the last Wednesday of most months, 7:30 p.m., Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks office, 3201 Spurgin Road.
• Bitterroot Banquet and Ballroom, 43828 Eastside Highway, Stevensville. 237-0773 or 239-6661. www.partydecor.net. Bitterroot Banquet & Ballroom is walk-in ready with walls adorned and service tables set up and dressed with tablecloths and skirts. It has teamed up with Party Decor, a professional event design and decorating company that oversees the entire event from signing the contract to cleanup. Party Decor will figure out the number of tables and chairs necessary as well as desirable placement, considering both crowd management and aesthetics, and will also communicate with your caterer, bartender, cake decorator and D.J. as to the arrangement of the service tables and dance floor. Party Decor will shop for, purchase and rent any needed supplies, sparing you much time and aggravation.
• Camp Bighorn. Use adventure activities set in God’s creation to teach campers of all ages how they can relate to and understand God, themselves and others. 1850 Montana Highway 135, Plains, MT 59859; 826-3144 or visit www.CampBighorn.com.
• Children’s Network and Fun Book Fundraising. 728-3254. Assists nonprofit groups with fundraising; 15 years of assisting local children’s groups and causes in the community.
• Christ-centered Singles (CCS). A Christian singles group meeting to grow in Christ, fellowship, friendship and fun. Open to all singles ages 20s-60s. Weekly Bible study and various gatherings throughout the month. Call for meeting locations and schedules. Contact Colleen Enderle at 251-2555, Pastor Fred Jones at 239-4300 or Missoula Alliance Church at 251-3983, www.cmamissoula.com.
• The Clark Fork River Market, now in its fifth year, takes place every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. The market is located in downtown Missoula, adjacent to the Clark Fork River, just east of Caras Park under the Higgins Bridge and in the Riverside Parking Lot. Plenty of free parking is available in the adjacent Bank Street Parking Garage. The market offers locally raised meats, including bison, beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. A wide variety of local vegetables, fruit, herbs, flowers, berries and bedding plants are also available, along with salmon and halibut from Alaska, wool goods, honey, salsa and more. Coffee, espresso and delicious local baked goods are available, as well as hot lunch and breakfast items, made by area chefs and bakers. Local musicians provide entertainment; the market includes a large shaded area with tables and chairs. The Clark Fork River Market begins its season on the first Saturday in May, and is open every Saturday, rain or shine, until the third week in October. The market accepts SNAP cards, VISA/Mastercard and debit cards. Gift tokens available. Check out www.clarkforkrivermarket.com for updates, music schedule and more. Call market manager Mary Ellen Carter at 396-0593 or e-mail maryellen@clarkfork.org.
• The Community Dispute Resolution Center of Missoula County. 543-1157. A nonprofit organization staffed by trained volunteers who provide low- and no-cost mediation services to parties in conflict. This includes neighborhood disputes, divorcing and never-married parents who need help designing a parenting plan, parent-teen conflicts, landlord-tenant disputes, and a wide variety of other work, family and relationship misunderstandings. The CDRC also assists the courts in small claims cases. All cases are confidential.
• Consumer Credit Counseling Service. 2110 Reserve, 543-1188. Providing credit education, budgeting help and debt-repayment programs to individuals or families in need of assistance.
• Five Valley Crimestoppers. Gives cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest of criminals. Informants remain anonymous. Group serves Missoula and Ravalli counties. Missoula, 721-4444; Ravalli, 363-0062.
• Five Valleys Memorial Society. 728-2648. A nonprofit consumer advocacy organization whose primary purpose is to educate its members and the public in death-related matters and to promote dignity, simplicity and economy in making final arrangements for the time of death. It is neither a prepayment plan nor funeral insurance. It is nonsectarian. With more than 200 similar societies throughout the United States and Canada, there is a lifetime transferable membership fee of $35 with no charge for children under 18.
• Forestry Triangle. For women and wives of USDA Forest Service, University of Montana Forestry Faculty, State Forester’s Office, Bureau of Land Management, Soil Conservation Service and the Weather Service. This social group meets the first Wednesday of the month. The group was organized to increase the social pleasures of members visiting or newly arrived in Missoula. Many retired ladies enjoy renewing acquaintances. For information call JoAnne Stewart, 273-6437 (stewartmontana@q.com), Grace Lucas 543-8497 or Sharon Dolan 728-7649.
• Free Cycles Missoula. Provides bikes, parts and tools for those in need, through a community bicycle shop, bike safety and maintenance classes, trailer building, and check-out bikes. Call 541-7284 or go to freecycles.org.
• Friends of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. Works to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Fort Missoula, Missoula County and the wood-products industry in western Montana. The main museum is open year-round with four exhibit galleries; the buildings on the grounds are open from May through October. Meets quarterly at the museum, Fort Missoula. Elections held in April. Call Robert Brown, executive director, 728-3476.
• Friends of the Library. Contact the Missoula Public Library, 721-BOOK, 301 E. Main St.
• Garden City Harvest (GCH), Box 205, Missoula, 59806. 523-3663. www.gardencityharvest.org. We have four active programs:
1. Community Gardens. Tim Hall, director. 550 -3663. In early April, GCH opens a network of six community garden sites where people are given access to land on which to grow their own organic food. Plots are 15-by-15 feet and cost $25 plus a $15 cleanup deposit for the season. Water and tools are provided. The sites are: 1) River Road Community Garden, 1631 River Road, 1/4 mile west of Russell Street; 2) ASUM Garden is south of the UM Golf Course, behind the new student housing on Higgins Avenue; 3) Northside Community Garden, on the corner of Cooley and Holmes; 4) Orchard Gardens, located at homeWORD’s affordable housing site, just west of Reserve on Grove Street; 5) Meadow Hill Flagship Garden at the end of 24th Street near Meadow Hill Middle School; 6)The Second Street garden, just east of Russell on Second and Inez streets. We also offer the Volunteer for Veggies program at each of our gardens. In exchange for labor in the garden, participants receive vegetables for their efforts.
2. GCH/University of Montana PEAS Farm, 3010 Duncan Drives, Josh Slotnick, farm director, 239-6993. The PEAS Farm is the result of a partnership between Garden City Harvest and the University of Montana’s Environmental Studies Program. In order to support an 80-member Community Supported Agriculture Program, as well as supply the Missoula Food Bank with approximately 20,000 pounds of produce annually, we grow a diverse array of vegetables, fruits and flowers on the farm’s 6 1/2 acres. The farm is also home to EVST’s Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society Program, as well as Garden City Harvest’s Youth Harvest and Community Education programs. This farm is a vibrant outdoor learning center for people of all ages, with the lessons being rooted in small-scale farming and the benefits of a local and sustainable agriculture.
3. Youth Harvest. Tim Ballard, director. 240-7924. Youth Harvest is a therapeutic, service-oriented, employment program for at-risk adolescents. Five teens are hired each growing season and become an integral part of the dynamic community of the farm, participating in production from seed to harvest. Youth Harvest is a collaboration with Youth Drug Court and the Human Resource Council.
4. Community Education Program, Jason Mendala, program coordinator, 239-5524. The program, created in 2005, hosts field trips and summer day camps for Missoula youth at the PEAS Farm. CEP provides hands-on, farm-based lessons and activities for around 1,000 students each year, helping visitors explore connections between food, agriculture, science, and their everyday lives. The CEP curriculum is specifically designed for youth ages kindergarten through fifth grade. This program is open to all Missoula area schools with an emphasis on Missoula County Public Schools.
• Garnet Preservation Association. Contact Sherwood Moore, 728-1695. Board meets third Wednesday of each month, 5:30 p.m., 3255 Fort Missoula Road, Missoula, 59804. Dedicated to protecting, preserving and interpreting Garnet Ghost Town. Elections held once a year.
• Humane Society of Western Montana, 5930 Highway 93 S., P.O. Box 1059, Missoula, MT. Web site www.myHSWM.org. Phone 549-HSWM. Bringing people and animals together to enrich each other’slives. Matchmaking adoption program, lost/found services, low-income spay/neuter clinics, affordable dog training, free behavior helpline, pet food bank, critter camp, tours, humane education, cremations, microchipping, dog licenses and volunteer opportunities. For the animals in our care: Vaccinations, necessary veterinary care, foster care for those in need and spaying/neutering.
• Institute for Sustainable Transportation. www.sustainabletransportation.org. Phone 880-6834. Research, design, advocacy and collaboration for transportation that’s safe, equitable and environmentally sound.
• Japan Friendship Club of Montana. Contact Ian Marquand at 251-3778. Monthly noon meetings. A grassroots organization since 1994, welcomes and provides hosting for visitors from Japan to Missoula.
• League of Women Voters of Missoula. Luncheons the second Monday of the month at the Missoula Children’s Theatre. Contact Gladys Hardin, 543-4096.
• LIGHT (Low-Income Group for Human Treatment). Advocates for low-income Missoula County residents. Call Betty, 829-8044, or Kathy, 728-5505. Box 1375, Missoula 59806.
• Master Gardener’s Program. Missoula County Extension office, 2825 Santa Fe Court, 258-4213.
• Mensa International. Providing a forum for intellectual exchange among members. For meeting times and how to become a member, call Mariana Priske, 880-4222.
• Missoula County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue is a not-for-profit organization of volunteers who perform search and rescue functions for the citizens of and visitors to Missoula County. SAR activities include locating missing or overdue persons in backcountry areas, SCUBA search and recovery, swiftwater rescue, ice rescue, snowmobile operations, locating downed aircraft, avalanche response, providing educational opportunities, and assisting local law enforcement. SAR members train in survival, sign cutting and tracking, snowmobile operations, boat operations, avalanche rescue, orienteering, radio operations, backcountry travel, first aid and CPR, search management, swiftwater rescue, diveoperations, evidence search and recovery, high- and low-angle rope rescue, helicopter operations and K9 handling. Prospective members must live in Missoula County and are subject to a criminal history investigation and a probationary membership period. Persons interested in volunteering should attend one of the following meetings: Missoula, the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at 2147 Ernest Dr.: Seeley Lake, the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the U.S. Forest Service Visitors Center. Donations accepted at: MCSSAR, Box 8323, Missoula, 59807. Contact Information: Detective Dave Brenner, Missoula County Sheriff’s Department, (406) 258-4810; R.J. Nelsen, chief, Missoula County SAR, (406) 531-0300.
• Missoula County Sheriff’s Posse and Cowboy Polo Club. Winter meetings are the first Tuesday of every month, October through April, at 7 p.m. at the Press Box upstairs conference room. Summer meetings are held at the posse’s polo arena in Turah. Regular practices are Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, but may vary with out-of-town tournament dates. New members welcome. Call Jeff Patterson,
728-8222 or 258-6246.
• Missoula Crimestoppers. Contact the city crime prevention officer at the Missoula Police Department or Missoula County Sheriff’s Office, 721-4444.
• Missoula Democratic Central Committee. P.O. Box 9305. www.missoulademocrats.org. Meets second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m., City Council Chambers, 140 W. Pine St.
• Missoula Farmers Market. Farmers, gardeners and orchardists invited to participate. Source of locally grown vegetables, fruits, flowers, plants, eggs, honey and baked goods. Open Saturdays, first week in
May to third week in October, 8:30 a.m.-noon. Tuesdays, July and August, 5:45 p.m.-7:15 p.m. Call market master, 777-2636 or 721-5652.
• Missoula Garden Circle. Missoula County Extension Office, 2825 Santa Fe Court. 829-4200.
• Missoula Historic Preservation Commission. Meets first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Contact Philip Maechling, 258-4657.
• Humane Society of Western Montana. 5930 U.S. Highway 93 S., Missoula 59803. 549-3934 or 549-9864. Dedicated to ensuring the humane treatment of animals. Offers a companion-animal adoption program, free classes on pet care and training, a free pet behavior help telephone line, school presentations and an animal-assisted therapy program. Open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Web site: www.missoulahumanesociety.org.
• The Missoula International Friendship Program (MIFP) is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that has operated in Missoula since 1988. MIFP promotes global awareness, understanding, friendship, and intercultural learning by matching international students with Missoula-area community friends. Requires only once-a-month contact between community friends and their international students. Matches are made in August for fall semester and January for spring semester. For more information, or if you would like to be a community friend, please call the Office of Foreign Student and Scholar Services at 243-2226.
• Missoula Newcomers Club. Morning coffee, first Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m. at members’ homes. You don’t have to be new to Missoula to join; features game nights where spouses are welcome;pinochle groups; bunco; special activities throughout the year. Cathie Jacobson, 728-8004, or Mary Hoolsema, 251-0359.
• MOMS Club of Missoula is a local chapter of an international nonprofit support group for stay-at-home moms (www.momsclub.org). Offers shared activities for mothers and their children such as meetings with interesting speakers and discussions, park play days, weekly play groups, activity groups, and a monthly “Moms’ Night Out.” For more information, call 541-MOMS. monicadenton@msn.com.
• Montana Information Site, www.MontanaLinks.com. Information on the arts, business, education, events, fun stuff, government and politics, media, sports and travel categories.
• Montana Libertarian Party. Box 4803, Missoula, 59806. Web site: www.lp.org. Toll-free: (800) ELECT-US. mtlpinfo@aol.com. Contact Mike Fellows, 721-9020.
• Montana Native Plant Society. Box 8783, Missoula, 59807-8783. Meets the second Thursday of each month from October to May. Meeting place and times announced in the Missoulian.
• Montana People’s Action. 208 E. Main St. 728-5297. A grassroots, membership organization that assists communities of low-income citizens (neighborhoods, housing projects, trailer courts) in organizing to have a greater voice in community issues that affect them. Does not handle individual consumer complaints.
• Montana Public Interest Research Group. (MontPIRG). 360 Corbin Hall, University of Montana, Missoula 59812. 243-2908. Nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as a public-interest watchdog and works for educated consumers, a clean environment and a more responsible government.
• Mountain West NSA Speaker Association. www.tohirespeakers.com. A statewide, nonprofit organization pledging to provide its clientele with professional, entertaining, educational and inspirational keynotes, seminars and workshops for businesses and organizations throughout the world.
• Montana Association of Railroad Passengers. 1603 Jackson St., 728-2178. Dedicated to retain, improve and increase railroad passenger service in the state of Montana.
• National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) of Missoula, 1130 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT 59801. Web site: www.mcbimissoula.org. E-mail: ncbi@ncbimissoula.org. NCBI Missoula helps individuals, communities and organizations build a just and inclusive society. To accomplish its mission, NCBI offers workshops and trains leaders on how to reduce prejudice, prevent violence and resolve conflict. The three pillars of NCBI’s work are: developing young leaders, strengthening communities and building more effective businesses and organizations.
• Organic Certification Association of Montana. Provides independent third-party inspection and certification for organic farms. Contact OCAM, Box 7414, Missoula, 59807. Call (406) 862-6362.
• People’s Market. Offers crafts people a chance to sell their work on Saturday mornings in the summer in downtown Missoula. Runs May through October.
• Pambo Toto Jewelry, www.pambatoto.com. 239-2340. Created to raise funds for Sanctuary of Hope, a home for orphans otuside of Nairobi, Kenya. Jewelry is mostly handmade fair trade beads from Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries.
• Pride! Inc. Meets second Monday of each month, 7 p.m., 127 N. Higgins Ave., conference room. Works to secure legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals.
• Reproductive Rights Coalition. Contact Planned Parenthood, Public Affairs Office in Helena at 457-2469 or Missoula communications director at 728-0402, Ext. 30. A coalition of local groups that meets periodically to promote public education about reproductive freedom of choice. Also is involved in lobbying and identification of abortion-rights candidates.
• Republican Central Committee. Contact 543-7430. www.missoulagop.org.
• New Rocky Mountaineers Outdoor Club. Contact Gerald Olbu, 549-4769. Meets weekly for hiking, skiing, etc.
• The Rocky Mountain Photography Club. Meets second Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m., at the Missoula Public Library, 301 E. Main St., Community Room, Southgate Mall. Photographers of all levels share expertise, creativity, concerns and passions in a supportive environment. Guest speakers, field trips to areas such as Glacier and Yellowstone national parks, workshops and competitions are planned. Web site: www.rockymountainphotoclub.com.
• Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary. A nonprofit sanctuary for disabled animals. Residents include blind dogs, deaf dogs, blind horses, blind cats, invalid cats, and others with medical problems like muscular dystrophy. Contact Steve Smith or Alayne Marker at (406) 793-6000. 400 Rolling Dog Ranch Lane, Ovando, MT 59854. Web site: www.rollingdogranch.org.
• Singles of Missoula. Devoted to networking singles for fun and interesting activities. Monthly potluck and newsletter which announces activities such as discussion groups, nature walks, skiing, movies and dancing. Box 2322, Missoula, 59806. President, Laurel Trader, Ltrader5019@msn.com. 721-5019. Schedule of weekly events available at www.singlesofmissoula.org.
• Sons and Daughters of Italy. Contact Debby Barberio, 721-7217.
• Sons and Daughters of Montana Pioneers. Contact Virginia Anderson, 543-3385. State meetings yearly. Elections held in August.
• S.T.A.R. Dog Services. Volunteer group of pet owners who, with their registered Pet Partners, provide animal-assisted activities or therapy to people in therapeutic settings. Provides for instruction for potential Pet Partners. Evaluates new pet partner teams. Associated with Delta Society. Contact Gary Kammerer, 777-3527.
• Tegner No. 224 Vasa Order of America Swedish Cultural Organization. Chartered May 1912 in Missoula. Contact Bob Linsted, 251-2718. Meets the third Friday of each month, 7 p.m., Nordic Pines.
• Teen Challenge Montana Outreach Women’s Residential Center, 3815 S. Seventh St. W., Missoula, MT 59801. 543-1912.
• Teen Challenge Thrift Store, 1035 Mount Ave., Missoula, MT 59901. 728-1171.
• Toastmasters International, Missoula Breakfast Forum. Helps men and women learn the arts of speaking, listening and thinking. Meets 6:30 a.m. each Thursday at Perkins Restaurant.
• ToP Consultants. Provides methods for facilitated group processes with strategic planning, consensus building and action planning. Assists businesses and nonprofits in collecting data, discussing tough issues and preparation of presentations through focused conversations. Contact Monica Trimble, 880-4627, Jenny Mish, 542-8093.
• Travelers’ Rest Chapter of Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. As keepers of the story and stewards of the trail, provides regional leadership in maintaining the physical, written and verbal integrity of the Lewis and Clark Trail through stewardship, scholarship, education, partnership and cultural inclusiveness in western Montana. Meets first Thursday of each month, September through May, Lolo Community Center, 7 p.m. 273-4848. Travelers’ Rest Chapter, P.O. Box, 447, Lolo, MT 59847.
• Treasure State Toastmasters. A nonprofit educational organization dedicated to assisting people who wish to improve their public speaking, communication and leadership skills. Meets every Wednesday, 6 p.m., at Durham Learning Center, St. Patrick Hospital. Guests are welcome. Contact Jim Mickelson, 728-9117.
• Western Montana Chapter of the American Culinary Federation. Box 7585, Missoula, 59803-7585.
• Western Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society. Meets the fourth Thursday of the month, 7 p.m., at NCO Building at Fort Missoula (across from museum), Box 5737, Missoula, MT 59806.
• Western Montana Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. Provides social contact and mutual support among Peace Corps alumni and those interested in the Peace Corps. Provides educational presentations regarding Peace Corps experiences to interested groups. Meets throughout the year at various times and locations. Call Dennis Bangs, 549-1631.