Shodair to hold fun family events with new mascots in Helena

Miracle Treat Day is a national campaign led by Dairy Queen to support Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. As Montana's only Miracle Network Hospital,  Shodair will receive $1 or more from every Blizzard Treat sold at the Dairy Queen at 2850 North Montana Ave.

The ice cream fundraiser will begin at 11 a.m. Shodair's new mascots Hope the Firefly and Thunder the Bison will attend. They are based on the children's book recently published by Shodair, The Bison & the Firefly.

 Shodair’s 2025 Champion Child, Ayliana Deadmond, will be joining the mascots. Deadmond, 17, is the hospital's advocate for mental health awareness. 

Festivities will continue on the Shodair Hospital lawn at 4 p.m. 

Hope and Thunder Days will start at 2755 Colonial Drive with a basketball show by pro dunker Isaac Fisher and his Flight Squad. There will also be face painting, balloon creations, games, prizes, Hope and Thunder cookies, and a dunk tank.

Guests can meet firefighters, Shodair's support dogs, and Hope and Thunder. There will be an obstacle course and giveaways of Squishmallow stuffies, basketballs, and sidewalk chalk.

“At Shodair Children’s Hospital, we work hard every day to help children and families through their darkest moments,” Kristin Chaney, Shodair’s marketing and brand strategist, said in a news release. “Hope and Thunder Days is our way of giving back. It’s a chance for families to connect, make a happy memory, and feel the hope we strive to inspire.”

Shodair, a nonprofit organization, offers a wide range of services, including acute, residential, and outpatient psychiatric care for children (ages 3–18). It is an accredited school for those in care, and the state’s only comprehensive medical genetics program, serving people of all ages. As Montana’s only Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, Shodair serves children from all 56 counties, with many patients receiving Medicaid assistance.

For more information, visit Shodair.org.