Hopa Mountain News Blog

Hopa Mountain will host a conference call seminar on “Moving Ideas into Action” on Tuesday, Jan. 18, from noon to 1 p.m.

Led by Bliss Browne, executive director of Imagine Chicago, and Dr. Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, executive director of Hopa Mountain, the seminar is designed to help participants discover how to move ideas toward action by engaging their respective communities.

The program is free and open to the public. Participants must register in advance for calling instructions.

In addition, Hopa Mountain and Sage Solutions will present a two-day workshop on Creating Boards that Lead on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 25-26, at Bozeman’s C’Mon Inn. Hours are 5 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, and 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Presented by Terry Profota, founder of Sage Solutions and past board president of the Montana Nonprofit Association, and Sachatello-Sawyer, the workshop will focus on roles and responsibilities of nonprofit board members and energizing boards.

Fee is $30 for members, $35 nonmembers, and scholarships are available.

For information and registration for these seminars, call Hopa Mountain at 586-2455.

By Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer

Recently, I was humbled by the opportunity to visit two of Irving School’s third- grade classrooms, taught by Kristin Dantagnan and Michele Beitel, and participate in a meaningful and memorable lesson on giving. In the weeks leading up to the holidays, students from these two classrooms spent time baking at home with their parents and then selling these baked goods to raise money for children’s books to be given away.

With the funds they raised, these third-grade children selected, purchased, and wrapped 96 books, to be given to other students to share the gift of reading. When Madeline Kotowicz and I arrived for a classroom visit, these books were carefully wrapped by the students and waiting for us to pick them up and deliver them.

Spending time with these students and hearing what they, their teachers and parents had accomplished together was one of the most moving experiences of my career as the executive director of Hopa Mountain. Over a period of weeks, these children had clearly learned about the power and joy that comes from giving, and they in turn, reminded me. I asked them what “hope” meant to them as “hopa” is the Old English word for “hope.” They told me it meant “when you don’t give up,” “when you are brave,” “when you believe in yourself” and “when you believe in others.”

These students shared some of their favorite children’s books they had selected and then one by one, handed us the carefully wrapped books that they had worked so hard to obtain, to give away. Through the thoughtful work of their teachers and parents, these children had all learned the value of giving along with the importance of reading. I am sure it is a heartfelt lesson they will always remember, and so will I.

The importance of giving is a lesson that all children should have an opportunity to learn. Children that gain confidence in giving to others will give for a lifetime and gain vital life skills that contribute to their development into caring, competent adults. Giving is a life skill, as important as any other, taught at school and home. With parents and teachers positively modeling and reinforcing these skills by example and encouraging them throughout the year, these lessons become part of daily living.

Because of the generosity of so many people in our community, I have often thought that our town motto could be, “Bozeman, a generous town.” These third-grade students, their teachers, and their parents certainly reinforced this idea by working so hard to give the gift of reading this holiday season. Through their gifts, they give me hope for our future, and theirs.

Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer is the executive director of Hopa Mountain, a Bozeman-based nonprofit that invests in citizen leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education; www.hopamountain.org.

Hopa Mountain will host an afternoon workshop, “An Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry” on Tuesday, January 11th from 2:30- 5 p.m. in Bozeman Public Library’s Main Meeting Room. In this workshop, learn to change the way you think about change. Appreciative Inquiry is a method of acknowledging the best in groups and individuals and using constructive envisioning and planning to implement positive growth. This interactive workshop is open to the public and is free-of-charge.

Presented by Dr. Bonnie Sachatello-Sawyer, Executive Director of Hopa Mountain, this Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry workshop is designed for business and non-profit leaders and community members that want to use appreciative approaches when guiding groups and individuals to realize their full potential. Researchers David Cooperider and Diana Whitney define Appreciative Inquiry as a “cooperative search for the best in people, their organizations and the world around them.” It involves systematic discovery of what gives a system “life” when it is most effective and capable in economic, ecological, and human terms. All necessary workshop handouts and related materials will be supplied at the workshop.

Hopa Mountain is a Bozeman-based non-profit organization that invests in rural and tribal community leaders, adults and youth, who are working to improve education, ecological health, and economic development (www.hopamountain.org). Hopa Mountain provides these leaders with training, mentoring, and networking opportunities.

For more information or to register: Call Hopa Mountain at 586-2455 or email info@hopamountain.org