Members of the Great Falls "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren" project served up an early turkey dinner on Monday.

It's a way for the group to show gratitude to their community partners.

More than 60 people who are raising grandchildren make up the group.

Community members help out in a number of ways, including making Christmas gifts for kids and backing legislation to support the rights of grandparents.

Jona McNamee, MSU-Extension Family & Consumer Science Agent, remarked, "These partners just come with gifts and money and time and effort and it was just time for us to give back to them."

Pat Roberts, who raises great-grandchildren & foster children, said, "When I come here and all these other grandparents are raising their children, then we all have something in common, really in common."

Employees of Golds Gym donated $500 to the group.

The money will allow the families to buy all the fixings for their own Thanksgiving dinners.

WEB EXTRA: the MSU website offers additional information about the group and services, including this summary:

In Montana, and other areas around the country, there is a growing population of grandparents who are called upon to be the primary care giver(s) to their grandchildren. Montana is currently ranked ninth in the nation for the increase in grandparents raising grandchildren from 1990-2000. Today, more than 6,000 grandparents in Montana are raising their grandchildren.