For a young organization, Project 59870 has managed to accomplish a lot. And that didn’t go unnoticed by the Bitterroot Valley Chamber of Commerce, which has selected Project 59870 for its Community Asset Award.
Project 59870, known as “P5” among its five board members, was formed in 2019 as a companion to the Stevensville Civic Club. The venerable Civic Club has an IRS tax designation as a 501(c)(4). That means that donations to the club are not tax-deductible in the way that donations to a typical charity are. Project 59870 was a way to address that issue.
The name was coined by former board member Maureen Wali, who also designed the Project 59870 logo. Of course, the name refers to the Stevensville zip code and is a recognition that projects of interest to the organization can be generated from anywhere in the greater Stevensville area, not just within the town of Stevensville.
“Project 59870 recognizes that Stevensville as a community is bigger than just the town,” said Joan Prather, board member.
Coincidentally, Project 59870 was just getting organized when the Stevensville Main Street Association folded. So, they were able to step in and hold a holiday gala. They donated the money raised from that event to the Stevensville Sharing Tree, an organization that provides new clothing and gifts to families in need at the holidays.
Then COVID-19 hit. Many businesses in Stevensville were too small to qualify for CARES Act funding, so Project 59870 stepped up and organized a Stevensville Business Relief Fund, based loosely on the Hamilton Business Relief Fund that was created by the Hamilton Downtown Association. Businesses and individuals that had the ability donated to the fund so that the businesses that were hurting could apply for help through the relief fund. In all, twelve businesses received funding.
This year, the Stevensville Civic Club identified a splash pad at Lewis & Clark Park as a worthy project that they would facilitate. The received approval from the Stevensville town council to move forward. Project 59870 agreed to do the fundraising for this major installation which has a price tag of approximately $145,000. Fundraising is in full swing and $76,000 has been raised so far.
Project 59870 board members are Cheryl Burgmeier, Jaime Devlin, Brandon Dewey, Victoria Howell and Joan Prather. Each board member brings a unique perspective to the organization. Burgmeier is active in Stevensville’s American Legion and Auxiliary. Devlin represents the business community. Dewey is currently the mayor of Stevensville and represents local government. Prather ran the non-profit Stevensville Main Street Association for many years and recently served as Stevensville Civic Club president. Howell is the editor of the Bitterroot Star.
Project 59870 will be honored along with other Chamber award winners at the annual banquet which will be held May 22nd in Hamilton. For ticket information contact the Chamber office at 363-2400. For more information about Project 59870 contact Victoria at 207-8793.