Stevens honored as “Volunteer of the Game”
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RONAN — Patty Stevens has had many irons in the fire over the years. She currently serves on the Salish Kootenai College Foundation Board and the Governor of Montana’s Interagency Coordinating Council for Prevention. She is also a former SKC board member, Ronan school board member and has opened up her home to foster children.
But none of the irons burns brighter than Stevens’ love for mentoring and interacting with youth. Stevens’ passion stems from a desire to be part of the solution.
“I didn’t want to complain,” Stevens said. “I wanted to do something to make a difference.”
She prefers working with children because she said they are easier to work with than adults.
“(Children) are more honest with you,” Stevens said.
But rather than waiting for opportunities to volunteer, Stevens creates activities she thinks would benefit youth.
Some days Stevens wakes up thinking of ways she can help more.
“I am constantly going through things I could be doing in my mind,” Stevens said.
“There are all these programs in the summer but you got to figure out something for kids to do in the fall and winter.”
This summer, for the first time, Stevens and her husband sponsored a horse and culture camp that exposes local youth to horses and provides a safe place for them to gather.
“I like working with the kids. I like showing them how to ride horses, bead, paddle a canoe, put up and take down a teepee,” Stevens said of the many activities that were taught at the camp.
“I thought it was a great idea,” said Rosie Matt, a parent that attended the camp for three days. “Just the fact they had all the community come together like that was amazing and showed how dedicated (the Stevens) are to the youth and creating programs for the youth.”
Stevens said about 23 kids and more than 12 adults attended the two-week long camp hosted at her home.
Because of all her dedication to mentoring and volunteerism, the Governor’s Office of Community Service honored Stevens as the “Volunteer of the Game” during the University of Montana’s home game Oct. 15. During the 2011 Grizzly’s football season the Governor’s Office of Community Service is recognizing community volunteers at home games.
“Montana has a long tradition of neighbor helping neighbor,” said Gov. Brian Schweitzer said in a news release. “We congratulate and thank Patty for her outstanding community leadership that benefits children and families in Indian Country.”
When Stevens received the call that she would be honored at the football game, her first thought was, ‘Oh, my, am I going to have to throw a football?”
But even without the pressure to toss or catch any footballs, the experience was still overwhelming.
“I was like ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m doing this in front of all these people’ but it was such an honor to be selected. They could have picked anyone,” Stevens said.
Her granddaughter and grandson also accompanied her on the field to receive her certificate.
Stevens sometimes attends games but usually to help out making frybread for friends at the tailgates.
In addition to occasionally volunteering her frybread-making skills when needed, Stevens also helped coordinate an annual hunting camp that brought together elders, adults and youth from all over Indian Country this summer, and is involved in an up-and-coming community based nonprofit organization called the Salish Institute. She recently took also took part in a video produced by the Department of Public Health and Human Services called “Keep Talking Montana” that highlights local challenges and successes in preventing underage drinking. In the video, Stevens encourages parents to talk to their children about the dangers of underage drinking. Stevens’ two teenage sons were involved in an accident in which one of them died and since then she’s become an advocate for preventing underage drinking and was appointing to the Governor’s Interagency Coordinating Council for Prevention, which has served on for the past four years.
Stevens said she enjoys working on the state level, but she prefers hands-on work with children because in some cases parents and role models are absent.
“I just want to be involved,” Stevens said.
