GRANTEE STORIES

First Lady of Montana Lisa Bullock was presented with the first Spirit of Philanthropy award. Lisa has been an ever-present supporter of the Helena Area Community Foundation. She was a member of the Board from 2008-2013, serving as Treasurer for most of those years. She has also served on the Carroll College Board of Trustees and Montana Meth Project and Red Cross.

Along with Governor Bullock, Lisa is an advocate for feeding kids who come to school hungry. Through their initiative to alleviate childhood hunger in Montana, she assists with providing Breakfast after the Bell mini-grants to schools to increase school breakfast participation through innovative programs. She also helps to increase awareness and to support community organizations in this effort.

Lisa also helped start the Montana STEM Mentors, an initiative which asks women across Montana to become active leaders in their communities by mentoring young women who are interested in STEM related careers. She also serves as a Board Champion for the Montana Girls STEM Collaborative Project.

Curt and Mary Larsen were presented with HACF’s 2016 Steve Browning Spirit of Philanthropy Award.

At a special event at the Governor’s Mansion, the Larsen’s were described by HACF President, Marcy McLean as “humble philanthropists who are very generous to the Helena community with their time, talent, and money.”

Curt Larsen served on the board of HACF in the past and the couple made a generous gift annuity to HACF several years ago. Curt has worked with many other area non-profit organizations and was a founding member of the Prickly Pear Land Trust and president of the board. He was a founding member the Helena Habitat for Humanity and both he and Mary served on that board. He currently serves on the board of the Myrna Loy Center.

Mary Larsen is also deeply involved with local non-profits, having been a founder of Family Promise, whose board she continues to serve on. She has also been on the board of the Montana Learning Center at Canyon Ferry Lake, a Cub Scout leader, church camp director and joined her husband on global village work trips to Romania, Botswana and Chile with Habitat for Humanity. She continues to be involved with many church and community activities.