Christmas tree auction gives Billings residents a chance to give back this holiday season

BILLINGS, Mont. — For some families, the holiday season brings added financial pressure as parents work to make sure there’s food on the table and presents under the Christmas tree. One Montana nonprofit is working to ease some of that burden, while finding creative ways to raise money to help even more families this year. The Intermountain Community Development Foundation is preparing to help 90 families through its Family Holiday Giving Program. That’s more than three times the number of families the organization helped when the program started three years ago. Families are nominated through other organizations and receive holiday food boxes, Christmas presents for children, stocking stuffers and clothing. The foundation also provides grocery and gas gift cards to help with other household expenses. Executive Director Mitzie Racine says the need has continued to grow, particularly as families navigate economic challenges. “We’ve seen a huge need, especially with the economy and just things that are going on,” Racine said. “We have a lot of families that have certain things that are happening and it’s really important for us. And that’s our whole foundation is what we want to do is give back to our community.” To help support the