GREAT FALLS — Spirit Halloween at 307 Northwest Bypass in Great Falls is participating in "Spirit Of Children" that is giving 100% of its donations to Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena.
Shodair is a psychiatric hospital that helps children and adolescents; it has been helping Montanans since 1896 and has gone through many changes throughout the years.
“I wish we can get rid of the stigma of it; we're the place some go to and try to keep it a secret, but what has been happening with the past year and a half, mental health is something we all need to talk about, and let people know," said Shodair's chief engineer Vance Gehringer.
Spirit Halloween has sent costumes, treat bags, and treats for the children.
“The whole floor and units dress up, we decorate the walls, we try to make it as special as we can for the kids,” explained Melissa Nichols, allied therapy manager at Shodair.
The donations provided by Spirit Halloween go beyond just a Halloween night or a costume, but will help build a better future for the kids.
Shodair is taking those donations to help build a new facility that will be approximately 131,00 square feet.
The new facility will have more rooms to accommodate more patients, areas designed for patients such as more activity rooms, an indoor pool, a recreational gym, and an educational area.
“This was all built around the patients, we did a survey with them to see what they needed and built around that,” said Gehringer.
This will allow Shodair to help more families and is projected to be completed by December of 2022.
From the Spirit Halloween website:
Funds raised by Spirit of Children would not be possible without the outpouring of support from local communities. Customers ring the iconic purple cowbell when they donate to Spirit of Children at checkout. Donors are encouraged to post a photo or video of themselves ringing the cowbell loudly and proudly using #MoreCowbell and #SpiritofChildren to encourage others to participate and bring smiles to children’s lives.
Click here to learn more about the "Spirit of Children" campaign on the Spirit Halloween website.
