Editor’s Note: The following is a letter sent by LIFTT’s Executive Director, Carlos Ramalho, to Evergreen ACE Hardware Owner Charles “Skip” King, thanking Mr. King and the team at his store at 1540 13th Street W for a donation of compost and potting soil to LIFTT’s ADA Accessible All-Inclusive Community Garden. The entire LIFTT team joins Carlos in expressing our gratitude for Evergreen ACE Hardware’s generosity.
May 7, 2025
Mr. Charles King
Owner, Evergreen ACE Hardware Store
1540 13th St W
Billings, MT 59102
Subject: Deep Gratitude for Your Generous Donation
Dear Mr. King,
On behalf of everyone at Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow (LIFTT), thank you for your generous donation of potting soil and compost in support of our community garden project. Your contribution has helped us transform an idea into earth, roots, and growth — literally and symbolically.
At LIFTT, we often talk about cultivating independence. Thanks to you, that metaphor now has a real-life greenhouse. Your support nurtures more than plants — it fosters self-reliance, health, and a sense of belonging for the aging and disabled individuals we serve across Eastern Montana.
In a world that sometimes forgets the power of small acts of generosity, your donation reminds us that growth begins beneath the surface. And just like compost enriches the soil, your kindness enriches our mission in ways we can’t always measure but certainly feel.
ACE Hardware has always stood for tools, but this time, you gave us the tools of possibility and renewal. Thank you for believing in community, inclusion, and the simple, radical act of helping things grow.
With warmest appreciation,
Carlos A. Ramalho, Executive Director, Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT)
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides aging and disabled members of the community with programs and services that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and south-central Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app for your Apple or Android Device.