Rockin 4 Recovery is an organization established in 2023 to raise funds for veterans in Cascade County who are struggling with addiction and alcoholism. The group’s approach involves placing rocking chairs at various businesses and locations throughout the county and rocking for recovery. They also host Rockin 4 Recovery events such as concerts and BBQs, with all proceeds directed towards supporting veterans in Cascade County.
Rockin 4 Recovery was founded through a partnership with Jonathan Mungle, Dean Snow, Kathy Hankes, Denver Cobb, and Thomas Risberg. This group initiated Rockin 4 Recovery to raise funds for the Veterans Treatment Court. “When I came up with this, I wasn’t too sure if it was just going to be me going alone,” explained Jonathan. “But I found these awesome people to put around me for it, and they’ve really elevated this thing to something I never saw it becoming.”
Rockin 4 Recovery closely collaborates with Sober Life, run by Dean. Kathy and Denver oversee the veteran treatment court and together they support the veterans of Cascade County. The veteran court is funded by the state, but state funding is often limited. This presents an opportunity to help reduce barriers for people in need. Many homeless individuals do not have the resources to pay for basic necessities such as haircuts. By raising funds, Rockin 4 Recovery aims to provide support for these individuals, especially for expenses that may not be covered by state funds.
The organization primarily raises funds to help cover the costs of the Veterans Treatment Court and works closely with Sober Life, where several veterans receive peer support. The peer support provider can take them to purchase items they need, such as work boots, and assist them with resume building and providing someone to talk to. “The passion for myself was just bringing more awareness of this stuff,” explained Jonathan. “Being a veteran, these are my guys and I support them in any way that I can.”
“Rockin 4 Recovery” hosts various events to raise funds and is not limited to just one type of activity. The one consistent feature in their events is the presence of rocking chairs. They place these chairs in front of downtown restaurants and use tables, similar to the Christmas concept of people ringing a bell. They have also auctioned off people to receive a pie in the face, including Dean and Kathy, and organize concerts.
Rockin 4 Recovery will have a booth at the upcoming Montana State Fair, running from July 26th to August 3rd, to raise more awareness for their cause. Two veterans who are in the later phases of the program will be responsible for manning the booth as part of their community engagement.
Rockin 4 Recovery has been receiving significant support from the community and is reaching out for volunteers to join them in manning the rocking chairs, asking for donations, and selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a $500 Scheels gift card. This is an excellent way to raise awareness for the group and provides an opportunity to sit down and relax during the fair. Volunteers are needed in 2-hour slots, but they are open to shorter or longer volunteering times.
Additionally, they hope to attract attention by having people in uniform from the base volunteer. If anyone is interested in helping out at the fair or contributing different ideas and suggestions, please contact Rockin 4 Recovery on Facebook, email Jonathan.d.mungle@gmail.com, or call (406) 231-6356.
Author: Karen Anderson
Karen is the Editor-in-Chief overseeing all news operations at Foxys Publishing Co. She also loves photography and spending time with her dogs.
