HELENA — In 2021, Jamie Forrest of Helena sent a video to the YWCA of Helena Staff to see how he could help them serve the community. They responded by sending him a video asking for donations of stuffed animals.
That’s when Forrest first organized a hand-made holiday craft sale to raise funds to purchase stuffies and toys for young people who use and depend on the YWCA’s facilities and services during the winter holidays. Now 8 years old, he described the motivation behind his craft sale idea.
“I felt like they don’t have enough Christmas presents for all the kids, and if I helped, they could. No one else wanted to help, so I did,” said Forrest.
“Jamie is a remarkable young person. We used to walk by the YWCA all the time, and one day, he asked what they did; I told him, and that inspired him to find a way to help support them,” said Meg Crane, Executive Director of Wild Rose School.
Forrest also uses sales profits to buy about 30 toys from Lasso the Moon Wonderful Toys in Downtown Helena to donate to the YWCA.
He adds that every kid deserves a toy or stuffed animal.
"I want kids always to have stuffies so they can have fun. Many of them don’t have some, and I have plenty, and so should everyone,” he explained.
The sale will occur on Saturday, December 7, from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm at Aspen Adult Services at 322 Fuller Avenue in Helena.
