HELENA — This Thursday morning, the organization Kids’ Chance of Montana received a matching donation of up to $150,000.
The Montana State Fund, the state’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company, donated up to $150,000 in matching donations to Kids’ Chance of Montana. That’s up to $30,000/year in matching donations over the next 5 years. Kids’ Chance of Montana’s aim is to assist dependents of those who have been injured or killed on the job.
During Thursday’s presentation, Mia Palmer was awarded a $4,000 renewable scholarship that will go towards her schooling where she will be studying Interior Design. Her father, Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer, was shot in the line of duty and severely injured in 2019 while in pursuit of a murder suspect.
Mia was extremely thankful for the money and acknowledged the support that made this opportunity possible.
“Like, my dad, like, and all the troopers, they put so much effort into just keeping our community safe and our highway safe. And it’s just so nice to see that kinda come back to our families and stuff, because sometimes it can be really hard. So, it’s just so nice having that extra support and showing that we are also cared for,” says Mia.
Leah Tietz, the Kids’ Chance of Montana Board President, says that assisting dependents’ education like this can be extremely helpful to families. And that after a life-altering injury, families can struggle to return to the same place they were at financially before the incident.
“We recognize that plans their kids may have had to go to school may have been disrupted. They may now be going directly to work. Or they may feel like they can’t afford to go pursue their education. And so, we saw that as a need and something that we felt we could help with. And obviously, I’m with the university system and education is near and dear and something I just really wanted to be a part of to help the students that were affected by this,” says Tietz.
Since the 2018 school year, Kids’ Chance of Montana has helped 28 kids from across Montana attend school, not only in 4-year institutions, but other trades options, as well.
