Funds to Fly: Giving Kids the Childhood They Deserve and Much More
For most teenagers, going to prom is simply part of growing up. You find the perfect tuxedo or dress. You get ready with your friends. You take pictures. You laugh. You walk into the dance feeling like every other teenager in the room.
For two boys in foster care in Butte, that experience might never have happened without The Salvation Army.
The boys desperately wanted to attend prom, and they craved sharing that experience with their friends. But for children dwelling in the foster care system, the extras that define most childhoods – enjoying birthday celebrations, playing sports, attending driver's education, participating in school activities, and, yes, having a tuxedo for prom – are not in the equation.
That's where Funds to Fly comes in.
The Salvation Army in Butte has long been called to serve Native American children and families in the community, and especially for children in foster care who often miss out on the ordinary experiences other children take for granted. Native American and Alaska Native American children make up only 8.7% of Montana's child population, yet they account for four times that representation in the foster care system.
For these two young men hoping for a prom experience, Funds to Fly found a way to make it happen. A local tuxedo rental business partnered with The Salvation Army and provided the boys with tuxedos.
They were able to dress up and to attend their prom. They experienced this memorable occasion with their friends.
But something else happened in that tuxedo shop.
The partnership created an opportunity for The Salvation Army to build a relationship, not only with the boys, but with the shop’s owner. The experience opened a door to talk about faith, about hope and about the love of Jesus with both parties.
Funds to Fly helps provide the ordinary opportunities that most children take for granted. A birthday party. A registration fee for a sports team. Driver's education so a teenager doesn't have to sit on the sidelines while their friends learn to drive. A prom tuxedo. For a child in foster care, these are crucial experiences. Sometimes, the most important thing we can give a child is the chance to be a kid.
This is part of a larger vision taking shape in Butte.
The Salvation Army team reaches out to Native American families in the Butte area because they believe God has called them to serve, listen, build trust, and learn how to communicate the Gospel in ways that honor Native culture and language. This means recognizing culturally meaningful ways to communicate the Gospel and to introduce people to the God of Scripture.
The Salvation Army believes:
- Kids deserve a birthday party.
- Kids deserve to play.
- Kids deserve to learn to drive.
- Kids deserve to go to prom.
- Individuals deserve to feel belonging.
- Individuals deserve to feel valued.
And most importantly, we all deserve to encounter the love of the Creator who sees us, knows us, and has not forgotten a single one of us.