GREAT FALLS — The holiday season is quickly approaching and to help people get prepared for Christmas, St. Thomas Child and Family Center is hosting their ‘Festival Of Trees’ this weekend.
Carrie Doty, director of St. Thomas, said, “Festival of Trees has been a part of the Great Falls community for a long time; St. Thomas has done it for well over 30 years. It's our fundraiser, we raise money for our scholarship funds and to help the needy families within St. Thomas.”
This is the biggest fundraiser they do to help with costs they need throughout the year to support their mission.
“That's what our goal is, to assist with childcare. It's expensive; the rates went up significantly over the past couple of years. We recognize how expensive that is and we truly want to help families out, particularly those families that don't qualify for assistance,” explained Doty.
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Although St. Thomas started the Festival of Trees event more than 30 years ago, they took a break for a while to revamp the event. They started it back up again in 2023.
“This has been amazing. Last year we brought it back, it was an incredible year. This year we're on track to do that again. We have over 17 live auction items, plus all that we have on our silent auction, so in total there's well over 25 trees that can go into somebody's home. You just have to be the highest bidder,” said Doty.
During the event, there will be an open bar, all-you-can-eat hors d'oeuvres, and both a silent and live auction, all contributing to a good cause.
“These trees, I like to call them plug and play, so people will bid on a tree and when it's time, we’ll deliver it to their place of business or their home. All we have to do is unwrap it from the plastic, plug it in, and it's ready to go,” Doty explained.
“This event is just really a big piece of my heart. I've been here with Saint Thomas since 2005, and seeing the excitement and the support, the community really does support Saint Thomas and the work that we do up here,” said Doty. “Yes, we're a Catholic-sponsored ministry, but we still exist on our own funding, and that gets stressful at times and it's rewarding at times, but nothing, nothing touches my heart more than to be able to tell a family ‘don't worry, we got you.’”
Festival of Frees is on Saturday, November 16, starting at 6pm at St. Thomas Child and Family Center (1710 Benefis Court).
There are tickets still available and those interested can call St. Thomas at 406-761-6538 to purchase one.
