GREAT FALLS — Door prizes, wine, live music - all things often seen in downtown Great Falls. Along with all of that, a new organization could be found Wednesday night; it's called "1000 In Action," a child abuse prevention organization.
The agency hosted its inaugural dinner at 5th & Wine in downtown Great Falls to thank donors and attract new ones along with other members of the community.
The name was taken from the idea to get 1,000 people to donate $100 a year for a total of $100,000 per year, given they meet that self-proclaimed lofty goal.
Co-founder Jen Barnett got the idea after reading about a child homicide from last year and wanted to change something.
“Jen, Tasha, and I lost a lot of sleep over that and talked a lot about the problem and how it just seems to be getting worse,” Barnett said. “Collectively, we wanted to do something about it.”
They aren’t sure exactly how many donors they have but are inviting anyone and everyone to help if they can.
Co-founder Tasha Johnson said they have professionals in several aspects of child welfare that all serve on an advisory committee to help talk about ideas and their daily challenges.
“To have that key group of individuals talking in one room… it’s been enlightening and alarming but mostly hopeful,” Johnson said. “I’m so excited about having them all on board and that’s the key thing about our organization.”
They plan on making this an annual dinner and hope to have more events in Great Falls soon.
If you would like to donate or get more information you can visit their website or their Facebook page.
