Columbus, MT

The results are in! Your voice has been heard! Because of such positive results of the spring afterschool survey, the Columbus Horizons Afterschool Committee is proceeding to have an exciting afterschool program hopefully in place by this fall.

The vision of the program is:

To provide an afterschool program that helps the youth of our community to overcome risk factors by providing them the tools that will allow them to make healthy life choices.

The mission statement of the program is:

To provide youth of this community with enriching activities, guidance and skills in a safe environment which will enable them to lead productive, healthy lives. We will address risk factors associated with poverty to allow youth to thrive, prosper and grow.

For the purpose of our mission, as was the Horizon’s Project, poverty is not only limited to financial issues. Poverty encompasses the lack of adequate emotional, mental and spiritual support systems as well as relationships with positive role models.

Joey Hegstrum, the Executive Director of the Stillwater Community Coalition and Sharon Diane, Prevention Specialist with the Stillwater Tobacco Use Prevention Program, have agreed to serve as co-coordinators with the Stillwater Community Coalition serving as the fiscal program using their 501(C)3 status.

Volunteers will be needed for such activities as the following:
sharing your talents by teaching a short hands-on enrichment activity or craft; helping kids with their homework; supervising recreation; serving a snack; heading up a fundraiser for the afterschool program; etc.

Immediate plans include negotiations for securing a location for the program, deciding on the dates/times, and conducting a contest for the after school program’s name. Contest deadline is July 31. Details of the contest will be in the Stillwater County News and at the Stillwater County Fair July 23-25.

Tentative plans are to target grades 3-5 and to conduct the program from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. The program will be held three to five days a week, depending on the facility and the number of volunteers.

The program is looking for volunteers for the areas described above.
If you would like to volunteer for the afterschool program, please contact Joey at 322-5228 or Sharon at 322-4296 or you may pick up application forms at the Stillwater County Extension Office located on the ground floor of the courthouse, 400 E 3rd Ave N, (322-8035).

http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/06/27/after-school-program-update/

The first phase of Horizons was comprised of study circles, where people from the Columbus area met from January to early March, 2007, to address what could be done to reduce poverty. As a result of the Action Forum (held March 4), three committees have been successful in moving forward: a mentoring program, a farmers’ market for local producers, and beautification of our community.

http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/06/26/horizons-accomplishments-study-circles/

Many people are not aware of the role that Horizons has taken in encouraging cooperation between the people of Columbus. Though some may know that the Farmers’ Market was brought in part by the Horizons Project, they sometimes forget the many things that went on before anything that visible could be accomplished. They don’t remember the things like Study Circles or Leadership Plenty.

Leadership Plenty was one of the biggest successes of Horizons, because not only did it bring together people from Columbus, but people from surrounding communities such as Absarokee. Different people would be at each meeting, but everyone still managed to cooperate and learn about the best kind of change that could be brought to their own homes.

Study Circles were another huge accomplishment. Not only did the people in those groups have to cooperate with each other and respect different opinions, but the three main areas that Horizons is focused on–Mentoring, Beautification, and the Farmers’ Market–grew from the Study Circles.

Now, Horizons can be seen in the beautification projects that it has already completed, and ones that it will do in the future. The strong Farmers’ Market is another accomplishment. The most important thing that Horizons has done is not an individual project, but the unification of a community. Many steps still have to be taken to truly accomplish this goal, but come later this summer, the first step can already be seen in the turnout for the Farmers’ Market.

http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/05/27/horizons-makes-a-difference/

In January, representatives of different organizations and groups from Columbus came together, along with many other communities, to a Community Conference held in Billings. The focus of the conference was to discuss how to better small communities, and to sustain them once they became successful.

Among the speakers was Dr. John Allen, who spoke about finding the positives within your own community and utilizing them. It is important to not get obsessed with the negatives, but to focus on the assets that you home already has, and improve upon them.

Other speakers had messages of making sure everyone in the community was able to have a part in what was going on. Communication is vital in programs like Horizons.

Breakout sessions included discussions about nurturing the entrepreuners within your own community, working with diverse cultures, and thriving in rural communities, among others. Even smaller groups were able to discuss specific topics, including housing issues, youth success, child care services, adding value to local assets, health care, and many more.

One of the speakers that had a message that hit closest to home was Jennifer Anderson of Forsyth. Through the Horizons Project, Forsyth has moved from focusing on the negatives to working together and using their assets. They have come up with creative ideas such as a fishing derby in order to generate communty involvement. They are an example of a town that is making the Horizons Project work for them.

http://columbus.communityblogs.us/2008/02/14/rural-community-conference/