Holiday Pies Available

The faith based non-denominational youth group, JUMP is beginning their Annual Holiday Pie sales. They are also selling tickets for the Eagles’ Club meat raffle with winners drawn every day in December. The proceeds from these fundraising activities are used primarily to fund mission work.

With delivery taking place before Thanksgiving, the organization will have homemade apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies available for order. Individuals interested in purchasing a pie should contact any JUMP member or let Chrissy Downs, one of the team’s leaders, know. Downs can be reached at 406-262-4013.

According to Downs, JUMP members make and sell an average of 300 pies each year. “They are all 100% homemade by the group. We spend one weekend making and freezing dough and one weekend making the actual pies. Due to COVID, we did not sell pies last year, and people really missed them!”

In its second year, the Meat Raffle is conducted in conjunction with the Chinook Eagles’ Club. With only 1,000 tickets sold, every day in December, a lucky winner will be putting meat in the freezer. Thirty-one generous sponsors have donated rotating prizes which include a half a hog (processed but non-cured), a quarter of beef, 50 pounds of hamburger, and a meat bundle containing steaks, a roast, and twenty pounds of burger. Tickets for this raffle can be obtained from any JUMP or Eagles Club member.

“The Eagles are great supporters of JUMP, and they offered to share proceeds from the 31 days of meat raffled in December,” Downs reported.

JUMP members not only assist with selling raffle tickets but have partnered with the Eagles in other areas as well, helping with the fair booth and at dinners and benefits, for example.

All of this fundraising work is about service, and any revenue generated will fund mission trips, which mean more outreach and service work beyond the borders of Blaine County.

“Mission trips are the highlight of our year. This past year we went to work on a ranch in Montana owned by the LifeGuard group that is being renovated as a safe haven for trafficking victims.

The group really took this place into their hearts and are in the process of putting together a large donation from the proceeds of their summer fundraising to send to the ranch to help with the renovations. We also have a relationship with Intermountain Children’s Home here in Montana and try to help them as we are able,” explained Downs.

With administrative offices in Missoula, the LifeGuard Group is committed to helping people “confront apathy, avoid fear, and make a difference” in putting an end to human trafficking, Their safe house, Crooked Tree Ranch is set to open in January 2022.

Sharing a humanitarian mission, the Intermountain Children’s Home has a presence in the Flathead Valley as well as in the Helena area. In collaboration with others, the staff values “improving society’s ability to provide prevention, protection, treatment, and permanency for all struggling children, youth, and families.” When families require help with the complex emotional challenges that children and teens sometimes face, Intermountain offers innovative treatment.

During this time of year, JUMP leaders begin to explore potential sites for their summer mission work. In their exploration they focus on areas that have homeless and women and children’s’ shelters. “Our youth seem drawn to needs of this type. They also like physical labor, so we’re looking at Denver as a strong possibility,” Downs reported.

Although Hawaii is still on their radar, they will likely postpone their commitment with Project Hawai’i Incorporated for another year, given that some travel restrictions are still in place. With hopes of breaking the cycle of poverty, Project Hawai’i provides assistance to the island’s keiki (Hawaiian for children).

“We have traveled to do service work in several areas over the years, from right here in Montana to as far away as Georgia and Arkansas. We stay in the US with the exception of Canada. We feel that the needs here in the states are often overlooked, so we focus on those,” Downs said.

Downs explained that this year is considered a “medium” trip year. Medium defines a location that is close enough to not have to fly but far enough away to offer lifestyles different from those to which local youth are accustomed. “We take small trips in Montana, and our mediums are within a day or two drive. The large are when we fly. Another factor is contacts in those areas we look at. If someone has a friend or relative there, which we do in Denver, that is also helpful, as we can sometimes find worksites and housing with the help of that contact.”

Locally, JUMP members help with needs in the community as frequently as the membership is able. For instance, in the summer time, they hold Vacation Bible School; in the spring, they host an Easter Egg Hunt; and every fall, they conduct a food drive for the Food Pantry. Sometimes this service takes place as a large group and other times just a few youth work the hours around their sports and social schedules. The group meets weekly on Wednesday nights.

Downs described a typical meeting schedule: “On an average night, we see around 30 or 40 students from grades 7-12. We prepare a full meal each week, which we pay for through our fundraisers and donations from the community. Our goal is to provide a safe, positive environment for youth to gather and learn more about faith, good citizenship, and being the hands and feet of Jesus.”