History of 406 For Kids
The heartfelt beginning of a nonprofit built to brighten hard days
Our Story
From Montana Roots to the Sunshine Factory
406 for Kids began with two Montana women, two very different journeys, and one shared belief: when families are facing some of the hardest days of their lives, they should never have to face them alone.
Lori Williamson is a native Montanan who grew up on her family’s ranch north of Cut Bank, Montana. Her family homesteaded the ranch more than 125 years ago, giving Lori deep roots in the state and an enduring appreciation for the strength, independence and generosity of Montana communities.
After completing a 30-year career, Lori found herself searching for a meaningful way to give back. That journey led her to Candlelighters NYC, where she volunteered with families who had traveled to New York City seeking treatment for children with cancer—often in a last-ditch effort to find a treatment that might save their child’s life.
Lori helped those families navigate an unfamiliar city during an unimaginable time. She learned that while she couldn’t change a diagnosis, she could change a day. She could solve a problem, create a little joy, offer comfort, or simply make something difficult a little easier.
It was there that Lori learned what would eventually become the heart of 406 for Kids:
We Turn Crappy into Happy.
Years later, when Lori’s elderly mother needed help in Kalispell, Lori and her husband, Terry returned to Montana to care for her.
Lori began volunteering at Logan Health Children’s Hospital and quickly noticed something that stayed with her: families were coming from communities all across Montana seeking specialized medical care for their children.
Many were far from home. They were exhausted, frightened and trying to manage everyday life while sitting beside a sick or injured child.
Lori knew there had to be a way to make those days a little easier.
That was when the idea for The Sunshine Factory began.
And Then Lori Met Candy
At about the same time, Lori and Terry attended their first Valicity’s Once Upon a Time Princess Ball.
There, Lori met Candy and Josh Faith.
Candy and her husband, Josh had experienced the unimaginable loss of their five-year-old daughter, Valicity, to leukemia. In Valicity’s memory, they created the Princess Ball—a magical community event designed to celebrate her life while raising money for organizations helping other children and families facing childhood cancer.
Lori and Candy connected immediately.
They were, as Lori describes it, soul sisters.
Candy understood from personal experience what it meant to live inside the world of childhood illness. Lori had walked alongside families in that same world. One brought the perspective of a mother who had lived it; the other brought a determination to create something that could make the journey a little less difficult.
Together, their experiences became something bigger.
They began building a place created entirely around families—a place where exhausted caregivers could rest, siblings could play, parents could breathe, and families could experience a few moments of normalcy and joy in the middle of circumstances that were anything but normal.
That place became The Sunshine Factory.
And the philosophy Lori first discovered years earlier while helping pediatric cancer families in New York became its heartbeat:
We may not be able to change what a family is going through.
But whenever we can, we can help Turn Crappy into Happy.
That is the story behind 406 for Kids.
And it is still what guides us today.