Montana Guest Ranch Partners with HopeKids and Montana Children’s to Host 20 Children and Their Families with Life-threatening Medical Conditions in 2020

Tuesday, September 10, 2019—Bigfork, Montana—Flathead Lake Lodge, a family-owned guest ranch in Montana, is honored to announce that it will be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2020 with “A Week of Hope,” an event that will welcome families who have a child with a life-threatening medical condition to their 2,000 acre ranch in Bigfork. Slated for June 7 – 14, 2020, “A Week of Hope” was created to honor the ranch’s 75th anniversary and to give back and commemorate the last 75 years of family and Western traditions.  

“As we thought about how to celebrate our 75th anniversary, we knew it had to be bigger than us,” said Chase Averill, the third-generation General Manager at Flathead Lake Lodge. “For our family, it was important that we celebrate the legacy that was started by Grandpa Les when he opened the lodge is 1945 and continued by my own father, Doug as he helped carry on the Western way of life.”

To bring “A Week of Hope” to life, Flathead Lake Lodge has partnered with HopeKids, a national organization that provides ongoing events and activities for families who have a child with a life-threatening medical condition—and Montana Children’s, Kalispell Regional Healthcare’s pediatric facility offering high-quality inpatient and outpatient pediatric specialty care in northwest Montana. HopeKids works throughout the United States, with chapters in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas.

Through their cooperative efforts with HopeKids and Montana Children’s, Flathead Lake Lodge will welcome up to 20 children who have a life-threatening medical condition and their families for a week at Flathead Lake Lodge where they will experience the ranch like any other guest, complete with authentic Western experiences, horseback trail rides, water recreation, a barn dance and more.

“HopeKids prides itself on being an organization that builds deep relationships and community not only amongst the families we serve but also with our supporters,” said Josh Taylor, President of HopeKids, Inc. “We are thrilled to be working with Flathead Lake Lodge, an organization with values that not only align with ours but is also helping provide hope to families across the United States who have a child with a life-threatening medical condition. The partnership between HopeKids and the lodge is just another example of the power of giving and the impact it can have on those around us.” 

Throughout “A Week of Hope,” Montana Children’s will be facilitating medical care and support to the guests, as well as providing onsite physicians at Flathead Lake Lodge.

To help bring “A Week of Hope” to life, additional sponsors and donors are needed to help cover travel and hard costs for these children and their families. Flathead Lake Lodge has set up a donation page where individuals, companies and more can make tax-deductible donations, become a corporate sponsor or donate Delta SkyMiles.

Learn more about Flathead Lake Lodge at www.FlatheadLakeLodge.com and become involved with “A Week of Hope” at www.FlatheadLakeLodge.com/AWeekOfHope.

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About Flathead Lake Lodge
A family-owned and -operated guest ranch, Flathead Lake Lodge is located in Montana on the shores of Flathead Lake—the largest freshwater lake in the West. Encompassing 2,000 acres of terrain, Flathead Lake Lodge has been welcoming guests from around the world for nearly 75 years with its one-of-a-kind hospitality. A family travel destination, the lodge also hosts groups, corporate retreats, meetings, events and destination weddings. More information can be found at FlatheadLakeLodge.com or on Facebook and Instagram.