From KPAX.com

Through the rest of August boxes will be sitting all around Missoula waiting for school supply donations. The organization "Stuff The Bus" has been helping kids in need for the last seven years.

Each week two businesses empty their boxes in a bus. This week Shopko and the Montana Fair were featured.

One organizer for the group, Tom Anderson, says that he loves helping out the kids: "I'm also a bus driver and I see kids who need things everyday on the bus kids who go without, and having supplies, having new things is a real treat and a real benefit for these kids."

The following organizations are set up to receive donated items: Missoula Food Bank, Missoula Youth Homes, Poverello Center's Joseph Residence, Watson Children's Shelter, YWCA, and WORD's Family BASICS. Learn more about what school supplies are needed.

Each month, the YWCA Missoula Minute e-newsletter profiles a Circle of Change donor. Circle of Change members contribute $1,000 or more for five or more years, helping the YWCA achieve sustainable funding so that we can help women and children in crisis for years to come.

Julie Hilley is the owner of MkLAREN boutique in downtown Missoula. With her husband, Tom, she also owns the Sean Kelly's restaurants. This year, Julie will serve as a table captain at the YWCA's annual Women's Justice Benefit Luncheon fundraiser. Thank you, Julie!

YWCA: How did you come to be involved with the YWCA?

There is great diversity among individual American Indians as identity is developed, defined and redefined by entities, organizations and people. A continuum of Indian identity, unique to each individual, ranges from assimilated to traditional. There is no generic American Indian.

Identity is an issue with which human beings struggle throughout their lifetime. Questions of “Who am I?” and “How do I fit in?” are universal questions of the human condition. Historically, schools have been places for students to explore their identities. However, when the culture of students’ homes and communities is not evident in school, finding a way to belong within that system is more difficult and can lead to frustration.
Educators need to ensure that each student has an opportunity to feel included in the classroom either through materials or pedagogical practices.

From www.buffalopost.net

McDonald’s is including a Gen. George Armstrong Custer toy in its Happy Meals.

Um, why?

Well, it’s all part of a promotion coinciding with the recent release of the movie “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.”

Um, did anyone at McDonald’s think that this might not be a good idea?

That would be a big “um, no.”

This story from the Rapid City Journal quotes McDonald’s spokeswoman Danya Proud as saying in an e-mail, “At McDonald’s, we value and respect people of all ethnicities, as well as their cultural history …. As with all Happy Meal promotions, our goal is to provide families a positive experience that can be shared by all.” Read more

Racism Across 3 Generations from Reznet on Vimeo.