BUTTE - People were having a merry time at Butte’s homeless shelter with plenty of Christmas carols this Christmas Eve.
“I think there’s nothing like piano music live, it just rings throughout the shelter here,” said shelter staffer Janice Downey.
It’s the first Christmas since the Butte Rescue Mission opened its new shelter this summer. DeDe Dunn volunteered her time to entertain guests. The former music teacher is completely blind, but has every song memorized in her head.
“I think it cheers them up, I think it makes them feel lively. I think it might make laugh a little bit, especially if we make a mistake,” said Dunn.
The shelter houses many families with young children, and that’s why shelter officials want them to have a good Christmas.
“These children are going to walk away from here saying, ‘that was a good Christmas,’ even though they know they’re in a homeless shelter, they know that, but we try to make things good for them,” said Downey.
Donations of presents from the community have helped make this a good Christmas.
“This is the best Christmas my kids have ever had; they’ve never had this many presents ever and I’m just very thankful for Butte Rescue Mission,” said shelter resident Amanda Urton.
