News

Actions

Community opens hearts and wallets to help Opportunity Resources cope with budget cuts

Posted at 5:30 PM, Apr 13, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-13 19:30:05-04

MISSOULA – Missoulians are rallying around Opportunity Resources, Inc. as the landmark program to help adults with disabilities copes with one of largest round of budget cuts its faced in more than 60 years.

And while its going to be hard to make up a $2 million shortfall for this next year, the $100,000 collected during the agency’s annual fund raiser couldn’t come at a better time.

This is a challenging year for ORI, which lost founder Eva Amundson this past year and is now scrambling to keep programs going after legislative budget cuts, and the loss of other funding sources.

The agency’s 2018 video was released this week, and shown during the ORI Gala this past weekend. It must have touched some hearts, because the various auctions and raffles raised more than $100,000 as business leaders and community members pitched in to help a program that’s changed lives and helped business by teaching job skills for 63 years.

“Not only do we want the community to become more inclusive, but we want to set an example of that inclusion," said Opportunity Resources CEO Joshua Kendrick. "A great example of an individual with a disability with a true heart of gold is Barclay Nickel. Barclay works on one of our crews. Barclay also serves as a board member for Opportunity Resources. Outside of Opportunity Barclay is a very active, involved community member, singing in multiple choirs, volunteering at the Food Bank. Barclay is a great example of an individual with a true heart of gold.” 

If you missed the Gala, you can click here to find out how you can help Opportunity Resources with its funding challenges

You can see the full “Hearts of Gold” video below: