Washington Corp. donation will aid Butte art groups

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation made a solid investment in Butte’s youth with a $75,000 grant — the largest arts grant in the foundation’s history — given to the Mother Lode and Orphan Girl theaters in Uptown Butte.

By LESLIE McCARTNEY – The Montana Standard

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2004/05/27/montana/a07052704_02.txt

‘‘You get an immeasurable return if you invest in kids,” said Mike Halligan, director of government and corporate relations for the Washington Corps., and executive director of the popular foundation.

Dennis Washington, a Missoula industrialist, owns the recently reopened Montana Resources copper mine on Butte’s east side.

Halligan said that one of the legacies that Washington wants to leave is helping and investing in the state’s children. The foundation is impressed with the Orphan Girl Theatre, Halligan said. The theater is dedicated to introducing, enhancing and enriching Butte’s youth by immersing them in the performing arts.

The gift will be spread over a three-year period, $25,000 each year, and is matched with another $25,000 given by Butte residents Loretta Peck, Arlis Gardner — Montana Resources’ president Frank Gardener’s wife — and School District No. 1. The money will be used to stage and staff summer camps. Before the camps were largely staged with just one teacher.

‘‘This is an opportunity for those kids that aren’t baseball players or run track,” said Frank Gardner.