Jeremy LeLaCheur

Youth & Family Services (YFS) is pleased to announce that it received a grant in the amount of $1,000 from Walmart Giving. These funds will be used to support YFS’ Girls Inc. of Rapid City program. About YFS Girls Inc. of Rapid City Girls Inc. of Rapid City was founded in Rapid City in 1965 and it’s our mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Girls Inc. serves girls, ages 6-11, by providing fun, educational and recreational activities to girls after school and each weekday during the summer months. Our programs highlight community action, sports, health, careers, and life planning. These programs also celebrate members’ cultures and heritages and encourage the girls to develop self-reliance and life skills. From the very beginning, Girls Inc. has had a singular focus: to equip girls and young women to reach their fullest potential and become strong leaders. Across the decades, Girls Inc. has adapted to meet the specific barriers they face. We know that when girls are healthy, have the resources and opportunities to learn, and have the confidence and skills to speak out — that’s when girls succeed. About the Walmart Foundation In 1982, the Walmart Foundation was created to help support the communities Walmart serves. Together, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation generally provide more than $1 billion in cash and in-kind to support programs that align with their philanthropic priorities. Their philanthropic approach is rooted in the company’s mission to create opportunity, so people can live better. Through the philanthropic investments of Walmart.org, they strive to systematically address some of the biggest economic, environmental, and social challenges faced in the world today.

Youth & Family Services (YFS) is excited to announce the creation of its new raised-bed garden at the organization’s 120 East Adams Street site. The garden is part of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and National Head Start Association’s GroMoreGood Garden Grants initiative, which seeks to connect one million Head Start children across the country to garden education and fresh food. Additionally, Live Well Black Hills awarded YFS a grant to support this project. YFS received a GroMoreGood garden grant—totaling $3,350—to help create a new raised-bed garden on the 32,000+ sq. ft. playground that exists between YFS’ Child Development Center and Girls Inc. of Rapid City programs. This grant is paying for garden supplies and garden education sessions for the children. The $500 grant from Live Well Black Hills purchased materials to build the raised-bed garden boxes, soil, plants, seeds, and garden tools for children. Once the project is complete, children enrolled in YFS’ programs will be able to utilize the new raised-bed garden for garden and nutrition education purposes.    According to Sharon Oney, YFS Chief Grants Officer, “We are honored to receive grant support for this project. It is our hope that this garden will help to improve the lives of the children and families we serve.” Through the GroMoreGood Garden Grants Initiative, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation and The National Head Start Association will work together to combat some of the most pressing challenges facing today’s youngest generation, improving access to healthy food and increasing time spent outdoors connected to nature. The three-year program will make garden grants, garden kits, educational curriculum, and garden training available to all Head Start programs with the goal of creating more edible gardens and hands-on learning experiences for young children. On Friday, June 11, children from YFS’ Rapid City Head Start and Girls Inc. of Rapid City programs gathered to spread soil and plant a variety of plants in the new raised-bed garden. Plants that were transferred into the garden included squash, peas, tomatoes, and carrots.

Dr. Dale Berkebile, a retired physician and surgeon, of Rapid City officially assumed the duties of the president of the Youth & Family Services’ Board of Directors during the agency’s Annual Meeting which took place on July 22. Dr. Berkebile has been a member of YFS’ Board of Directors since 2014 and is a member of YFS’ Finance and Endowment, Facilities and Equipment, and Long Range Planning Committees. Dr. Berkebile was vice president of the YFS Board prior to taking over for outgoing president, Tonya Johnson. Johnson has been a board member since 2015 and will remain a member of the YFS Board of Directors. “I’m excited to work with the YFS Board of Directors and staff to provide opportunities for youth in western South Dakota. As we consider the needs of children and their families, there is a lot of work to be done,” shared Dr. Berkebile. “I’m confident that by partnering with parents, community partners, grant funders, and other supporters, Youth & Family Services programs will continue to provide positive, transformative change.”     Taking over as Vice President of the YFS Board of Directors is Dr. Willis Sutliff, retired pediatric specialist and current Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Sutliff has been a Board Member since 2009. YFS’ Board of Directors also approved nominations for the following community members to join YFS’ board at the July meeting: Amy Beaumont Sarah Bockelmann Scott Carlson Cathy Carpenter Snyder Michael Hildebrandt Ann Reiling Amy Scull Larson YFS’ Board Officers for 2021-2022 are: Dr. Dale Berkebile, President; Dr. Willis Sutliff, Vice President; JC Joyce, Secretary; and Greg Schweiss, Treasurer.

Youth & Family Services’ (YFS), together with SDSU Extension, will be hosting its annual Harvest Festival! This free, fun, family-friendly event will take place at YFS’ Fullerton Farm in Box Elder from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on Saturday, September 11. YFS Fullerton Farm is a three-acre plot that was originally donated to YFS in 2014. The farm is part of YFS’ Healthy for Life Garden Project which is intended to help children and their families achieve better health through increased access to and consumption of nutritious foods. Since 2014, YFS—with the help of many volunteers and community partners—has been successfully able to transform the land into a bountiful, ever-developing garden that is also home to a fruit tree orchard, a variety of fruit bushes, and multiple colonies of honeybees. The Harvest Festival is intended to be a fun way to celebrate the year’s growing season while welcoming community members to seeing the growing gardens, orchard, and beehives at YFS Fullerton Farm. There will be a variety of fun activities available intended to inspire healthy eating, a love for gardening, and to provide educational resources about wellness. At the Harvest Festival guests will be able to: Play games and win prizes Learn about honeybees Sample free, healthy snacks Learn about different gardening methods And more! YFS Fullerton Farm is located at 230 S. Ellsworth Road, Box Elder, S.D.

The Denny Menholt Auto Group in Rapid City stepped up in a big way for families enrolled in Youth & Family Services (YFS) programs this past week! The area business made a generous donation that allowed YFS to purchase 400 Thanksgiving meals which were distributed to families enrolled in the organization’s programs. “This has been a challenging year for all of us,” said Krista Morrison, Director of Marketing and Communications for Denny Menholt Auto Group. “As a local business, we are committed to not only providing exceptional service to our customers but also doing what we can to build and sustain a better community. We are proud to sponsor this community outreach effort to meet the basic needs of families who may be struggling right now.” Morrison went on to explain, “We stand behind our mission that together we make a difference in our community. The Denny Menholt Auto dealerships have a strong partnership with Youth & Family Services because this organization has a successful history of meeting needs. We hope that our commitment will inspire others to do the same.” YFS teamed with Timmons Market to order the food items that would make up each meal. In addition to placing and organizing the order, Timmons allowed YFS to purchase the food at a reduced rate; this enabled the non-profit to stretch their funds, thereby feeding more families. YFS staff assembled the meals on November 18. Families were able to pick up their meals later that day. Each of the 400 families were given a turkey, two cans of corn, 5 lbs. of potatoes, gravy, Jello, dinner rolls, and a pie. YFS staff delivered meals to enrolled families living outside Rapid City. “We are overcome with gratitude,” shared Connie Olson, YFS’ Chief Development Officer. “The generosity that the Denny Menholt Auto Group has extended to these families is just unbelievable. We are truly thankful for this caring and compassionate donation, and are so grateful for the continued support YFS receives from our wonderful community partners.”

Earlier this month, Bridget Williams, a licensed child and family mental health therapist at Youth & Services’ Counseling Center, became a recipient of the Western South Dakota Child Protection Council’s Child Abuse Prevention Recognition Award. Bridget works with individuals to help them heal from and cope with traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, anger, attachment, dissociation, attention difficulties or developmental challenges. She has impacted the lives of hundreds of children and families in South Dakota during her career as a school counselor in White River, as a therapist and clinical supervisor at Tiwahe Glu Kini Pi on the Rosebud Reservation, and as a mental health therapist at Catholic Social Services and YFS. Bridget also serves on the Pennington County Multi-Disciplinary Task Force. Her skills, care, and concern have strengthened the fabric of our community.

Youth & Family Services (YFS) is excited to share that it has received a grant from the Les Paul Foundation to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programming within the organization’s Middle School Program.   “We are delighted to have received this grant and are eager to see what the students will be able to learn and accomplish because of the support of the Les Paul Foundation,” shared Sharon Oney, YFS’ Chief Grants Officer. YFS’ Middle School Program supports informal and academic learning through STEM activities, tutoring/homework help and academic mentoring, and a focus on entrepreneurship and career pathways. Students are encouraged to study STEM disciplines, gain a sense of belonging (STEM identity), and explore careers. The program offers self-guided exploration in YFS’ technology lab and monthly instructor-facilitated special projects with a menu of courses aimed at engineering and fabrication, coding, robotics and automation, virtual reality, and aviation. Staff build on curricula provided by lab equipment vendors. Programming also includes field trips and shadowing activities in the local university and business community. YFS’ Middle School Program also supports parents in learning more about STEM opportunities for their youth through special events. About the Les Paul Foundation The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through support of music education, recording, innovation and medical research related to hearing. The Les Paul Foundation, an approved IRC 501(c) 3 organization has awarded over $4,000,000 to nonprofit organizations. For more information visit www.les-paul.com   

August 27, 2022 was a highly anticipated day for Youth & Family Services (YFS) staff as well as hundreds of individuals throughout the Black Hills and across the nation. Thousands watched in-person, on television, and online as McPherson Auction & Realty announced the winner of YFS’ 1953 Chevrolet truck raffle. In December of 2021, Mark, Jeff, and Joan Fullerton generously donated a gleaming, custom 1953 Chevrolet 3100 pickup to YFS. The siblings’ wish was that YFS would sell raffle tickets for the truck in order to raise funds to create an endowment through Youth & Family Services Foundation. The earnings from the new endowment would provide consistent and ongoing financial support for YFS’ Fullerton Farm and Garden Education Project. In 2014, Dale and Jackie Fullerton (Mark, Jeff, and Joan’s parents) donated a three-acre plot of land that later become known as YFS’ Fullerton Farm. Located in Box Elder, SD, Fullerton Farm is part of YFS’ Garden Education Project which is intended to help children and their families achieve better health through increased access to and consumption of nutritious foods. YFS’ Garden Education Project addresses food insecurity and provides hands-on, multicultural learning opportunities for youth to develop an understanding of how nutrition helps keep their minds and bodies strong. In addition to focusing on basic nutrition concepts and new tasting and growing experiences, staff have dedicated a significant portion of our curriculum and garden space to discussions around the farmer-to-consumer food system, environmental issues, and sustainability. With guidance and support from the Fullertons, YFS staff moved forward with the raffle and aimed to sell 1,000 tickets at $100 each for this classic truck. If staff were successful in selling every ticket, the raffle would generate $100,000 for the new endowment. After YFS staff spoke with Todd and Kevin McPherson about the raffle, the brothers were more than willing to help YFS announce the winner on August 27 during the McPherson car auction at Kool Deadwood Nights. Throughout the early part of the year, YFS staff showcased the truck and sold tickets at in-person events and through YFS’ website. The support and participation from the community was wonderful! Thankfully, by the morning of August 27, all but five tickets had been sold. The remaining five tickets were raffled off, live, during McPherson’s auction at the Deadwood Mountain Grand during Kool Deadwood Nights. Those five tickets raised more than $16,000 for YFS! After the final five tickets were auctioned off, Dorothy McPherson—Kevin and Todd McPherson’s mother—selected the winning raffle ticket from the raffle drum. Several seconds later, it was announced that winner of the 1953 Chevrolet was Black Hills local, Todd Hanson of Hermosa, SD. “Funds raised from this raffle are going to make a significant impact in the lives of children for years to come,” stated Connie Olson, YFS’ Chief Development Officer. “We are so pleased that because of the generosity of the Fullertons as well as everyone who participated in this raffle, children in our community will grow up with access […]