About

Many years ago, 19 years and 9 months to be exact, a little girl from Joliet, Montana, was troubled by severe pain in her leg. After doctor consultations in both Laurel and Billings, she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma; bone cancer. After her diagnosis, she was referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. The community of Joliet, and surrounding areas, kicked into high gear to help. Within 3 days of her diagnosis, the little girl, along with her parents were at Mayo, where she began testing and treatments. That all of this happened so quickly was entirely thanks to the community. They provided plane tickets and money, as well as a meal train to take care of the siblings that remained at home.

After nearly a year of chemo, rotationplasty surgery, and learning how to use a prosthesis, she was ready to heal, enjoy home and start back to school. She was able to enjoy her life and things were going well for a couple years, until the weld on the rotationplasty broke. This required a med-flight to Mayo and immediate surgery. Once again, this wonderful community came together in a time of crisis and provided the assistance and support this little girl, and her family, so desperately needed. Six times, all together, bone cancer returned to invade her body, and six times the community made sure she received the necessary treatments.

During her junior high years, she began talking about someday starting an organization that would help people who found themselves in situations where they needed help and encouragement. She was so in awe of the compassion, prayers and assistance provided by this community, and many who did not even know her, that she wanted others to experience the same feeling of love and support she had in her time of need. Over the years, she continued to share this dream with others.

In late July of 2018, she received a text asking if she could meet with some people that evening. They had an idea they wanted to share, and thought she might be interested. Her mother also received the same message. The meeting began with the announcement, “We are your support group. We know you want to do something to provide assistance to those in need. You tell us what you want, and we will do it.” Project Footprints was born.

The little girl has now grown into a young lady, graduated college with honors, and currently works in the field of human services. The encouragement and support she received, throughout her life, have made what at many points seemed to be impossible, a reality. Project Footprints is Morgan McQuillan’s way of saying THANK YOU to this community and a way of passing that love and support on to others during their times of need.