BOULDER — Boulder resident Linda Norden sometimes compares her community to a rowboat.

It keeps pulling along, despite a few economic windstorms.

“We’re only as strong as the bottom of the boat,” she said during a recent interview.

The strength comes from community members caring for each other.

Building “the boat” began more than two years ago, when Norden and a band of fellow citizens came together in the Horizons Program.

Boulder was one of the first 23 communities to join the Horizons Program in Montana.

Directed by Montana State University and funded by the Northwest Area Foundation, the program aims to reduce poverty and boost community.

Boulder and Whitehall’s Horizons programs proved so dynamic, that local residents star in a new, statewide DVD about the program, “Horizons Across Montana.”

The DVD is used to introduce other Montana communities to the program, said Norden.

One of the most recent successes, is The Mountain Arts Gallery and Gift Shop, which opened a storefront on Main Street just in time for the holidays.

It was created by artists and craftspeople who wanted a place to show and sell their arts and crafts.

They first brainstormed their ideas during a Horizons workshop.

Another Boulder group spruced up Main Street, installing brightly colored seasonal flags and new benches.

And Boulder’s 21st Century Community Learning Center Program recently landed a Horizons-Northwest Area Foundation $10,000 grant to expand its community garden program, said Norden.

It will offer workshops on how to grow your own food, plant fruit trees and preserve food.

Students in the program will grow fresh produce for JeffCo Food Share.

And new community gardens should be sprouting up around town, as well.

Building a skatepark is the focus of another group.

Others are working to help citizens in need.

So far, they’ve published a resource guide of all the social agencies and organizations serving the area.

On Tuesday, they will ask the Jefferson County Commission to offer an office space to house public services.

Norden envisions it as a place where people can go when they need assistance and don’t know where to turn.

“In any community you need to know there are places you can go where people will listen to you,” Norden said.

“You need someone that they can build a trust relationship with. It has to be private and safe and comfortable. A place where they can sit and have a cup of coffee. That’s one of our goals.”

It would be a place where elderly residents could get help filling out government forms or where the unemployed could practice job interviews or learn about financial assistance.

Once a space is found, the resource group will write a grant to hire a staff person, Norden said.

They are also seeking donations or leads on some inexpensive used furniture, a computer and a fax machine.

This is just a sample of a few ideas on the move.

New ones are always welcome, Norden said.

So are volunteers.

Norden urges folks to drop in on the monthly meeting of the Boulder Community Development Organization, which is carrying forward with the Horizons projects.

And coming soon, there will be a Boulder community blog.

Share your ideas at boulder.communityblogs.us.

And even better yet, coming soon is a class for would-be bloggers.

Reporter Marga Lincoln: 447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com