For many children and their families in our community, summer is a stressful time spent looking for ways to make up for the meals they no longer receive once school is out. To help combat this problem, Youth & Family Services (YFS) is opening its dining room doors at 410 East Monroe St. to provide  FREE breakfasts and lunches to any child 18 years and younger through the YFS Summer Food Program. “Children across Rapid City benefit from this program by receiving nutritious meals, Monday through Friday, throughout the summer,” said Darcie Decker, YFS Nutrition Services Director. “The YFS Summer Food Program ensures children can get a nutritious meal when school isn’t in session.”

YFS’ Summer Food Program is set to run from May 28 – Aug. 16. Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. and lunches will be served from 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m., Monday through Friday. This program is free to all children, 18 years and younger. There is no registration required and accompanying adults can also eat for just $2. For any questions regarding the YFS Summer Food Program, please call Darcie Decker at 341-7201.

Cadence Thurlow-Herb and her father, James Hogue, having fun dancing at the 5th annual Father / Daughter Dance.

Last Thursday, April 9, Youth & Family Services Girls Incorporated^® of Rapid City and the YFS Fatherhood First program collaborated to host the 5^th annual Father/ Daughter Dance.

For the past five years, YFS Girls Inc. and YFS Fatherhood First staff members have worked together to provide YFS Girls Inc. members and their fathers or father figures with a memorable evening filled with food, fun, and dancing. This year, 39 girls were able to participate in the event with their fathers or father figures at the Enchanted Garden themed event.

The special evening began with a grand march where each of the attendees were formally announced and given a carnation provided by Fancies Flowers and Gifts. The lovely young ladies were escorted by their fathers or father figures down a runway that was prepared especially for them, and at the end of which they were able to get their pictures taken together. Next, the attendees were seated at beautifully decorated tables and served a delicious sit-down dinner that was provided by YFS’ Nutrition Services. After dinner, the fathers and their daughters made their way out to the dance floor to spend some time having fun with each other.

“This is a great, one-of-a-kind event where a father and his daughter(s) can enjoy each other’s company and strengthen their bonds for one another,” said John Gordon, YFS Fatherhood First Director. “This event was, without a doubt, one of the top experiences I have had as a human services professional. It is always great to see such positive memories being made for both the dads and their girls.”

For any questions regarding the YFS Fatherhood First program or YFS Girls Inc., please contact 342-4195.

This coming weekend, April 13 and 14, YFS Girls Incorporated^® of Rapid City will be showing off its members’ craftsman ship at the 25th anniversary of the Black Hills Motorcycle show!

For the past couple of months, YFS Girls Inc. members have been working to design, customize, and rebuild a 2012 Heritage Softail Harley Davidson motorcycle, donated by Black Hills Harley Davidson, as part of the Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program^TM. Helping with Horsepower™ was founded by Laura Klock, Dave Sietsema, and Erika Cobb of Klock Werks. The Helping With Horsepower™ Bike Rebuild Program is a fun and innovative, 20-week program that utilizes a damaged motorcycle as an effective tool to teach life lessons such as team work, self-confidence, problem solving and self-esteem, through hands on learning and instruction.

Approaching the eleventh week of the program, the girls’ bike, named Phoenix, is in a dismantled state. The girls have removed most parts of the bike that will be customized to the design they created. Once the 20-week project has ended and the motorcycle has been repaired and customized to the girls’ specifications, it will be raffled off to benefit Girls Inc., a program of Youth & Family Services. Each year Girls Inc. provides its more than 1,300 members, ages 6 -17, with fun and exciting educational and recreational activities during the school year and each weekday during the summer. Raffle tickets will be sold through the Zonta Club of the Black Hills. The winner of the customized motorcycle will be announced at the 30^th Annual Zonta Expo, which set to take place in October, 2013.

The progress of the girls work will be on display at the 25^th anniversary of the Black Hills Motorcycle Show, scheduled for April 14 and 15. The Black Hills Motorcycle Show sports the regions finest in customs, classics, street cruisers, and baggers. Spectators will be able to talk with the pros that know how to turn a motorcycle into a work of art! This year, Laura Klock, the founder of the Helping with Horsepower Bike Rebuild Program^TM will also be present at the event. Admission is only $6 and children six and under get in free. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s Black Hills Motorcycle Show will also benefit YFS Girls Inc.

For more information on the Black Hills Motorcycle Show, please contact Clay Trulson at (605) 381-0467 or by email at cctrulson@aol.com, or Rob Burton at (605) 391-7790.

For several months, members from Youth & Family Services Girls Incorporated® of Rapid City program have been working on a very special project to help give back to the Black Hills Community.

Since the beginning of the school year, YFS Girls Inc. members have been making hand-crafted, ceramic mugs and containers at the program center as part of project they’re calling, Sweet Ceramics. They were able to mold and glaze their creations before sending them into the kiln. So far, YFS Girls Inc. members have created more than 60 individual pieces!

The YFS Girls Inc. members’ carefully crafted works of art will be sold in a 3-day, silent auction to raise funds for an emergency foster care program that operates in Rapid City. Each of the ceramic pieces will be auctioned off with a trail mix snack.

YFS Girls Inc. serves girls ages 6-17, and provides fun and exciting educational and recreational activities during the school year and each weekday during the summer. Its programs highlight community action, sports, health, careers and life planning.

For more information on YFS Girls Inc., please call 341-5010.

“Pay Attention!” is a five-night series workshop hosted by the Youth & Family Services Counseling Center. These workshops are intended for parents, teachers, relatives and caregivers who have an interest in child, teen, and adult behavior and executive functioning skills. Information on the causes of and treatments for executive functioning problems, such as ADHD and other attention-based disorders, will be presented along with family strategies for home and school success, and the ins and outs of medication treatment.

Executive functioning is the area of the brain that is responsible for regulating attention, planning, organization, self-monitoring, motivation, time management, memory and concentration, decision making and impulse control.

Parenting a child with these issues challenges the best of parenting skills. Parents and caregivers must be skilled in implementing strategies for situations that most other parents will not have to confront, but the “Pay Attention!” workshop provides great tools and resources that can help.

The next “Pay Attention!” workshop series will begin on Thursday, April 4. Classes will be held every Thursday night through May 2 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the YFS Counseling Center located at 202 E. Adams St. in Rapid City. The cost is $76 per individual or $90 for two adults. A sliding fee scale is available. Registration is required. For more information on this workshop or to register, please call the YFS Counseling Center at 342-4789.